Hello, readers. It’s good to be back – albeit temporary, and for a topic I thought more people would be celebrating rather than whining about like small children, in search of the nearest consolatory mammary. I’m about to break some hearts and offend some senses. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is – and that’s unfortunate. I’m going to lay out some truths about Louisiana’s new “Constitutional Carry Law” – something that really isn’t new at all, but rather a long overdue re-run from a time when The People (at least some of them) had actual freedom.
I’ve seen post after post and comment after comment from people chiding our legislators and current governor for implementing permit-less carrying of weapons (namely firearms) here in Louisiana – and I only subscribe to one social media platform. I don’t even want to imagine what foolishness is being conjured up elsewhere on the interwebs.
I’d like to lay out a couple of points regarding this topic, and the naysayers out there.
The 2nd Amendment of The Constitution of the United States reads “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of The People to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.” I don’t mean to yell, but apparently those last four words have eluded some of you. Also, punctuation is important, folks. Commas are crucial. Don’t believe me? Have a text conversation with a Gen-X person. You’ll see.
I’m not going to get into all the reasons why 2A opposers are communists, and there are many reasons why that is true, but it’s important to understand that our 2A rights are uniquely American, and when you oppose something so intricately woven into American culture and history, you’ve become the anthesis of a patriot. Remember, the “R” in communism stands for Rights – just as the “F” in socialism stands for Freedom, and the “L” in stupidity stands for Liberty. I’m not suggesting that you’re required to own, carry, or like guns – but you sure as hell need to shut up about mine. How many I own, how I carry them, and their intended purpose are no one’s concern, unless my handling of them somehow negatively impacts your quality of life – which I assure you, is not, and never will be the case.
If you’ve read any of my previous articles, you’ve seen me quote the late James Yeager. I’d be remiss not to continue that tradition here – especially on this topic. James distinguished between two groups of gun owners in America – the gun community and the gun culture. What’s the difference, you ask? Well James said it like this – “The gun community is full of a bunch of politically correct, butt-kissing, boot lickers that want to appease their liberal masters.” James went on to say about the gun community – “May the chains of your slavery weigh lightly on your shoulders.” That particular quote should resonate with readers more intensely in part-2 of this article, but basically the gun community is made up of advocates for the unconstitutional permitting process that our great state has finally culled. Regarding the gun culture, James said, “The gun culture is a group of people simply doing what our Creator gave us the right to do – not the constitution, our Creator.” What does all that mean? Well, it means your life was designed. Simply because you exist, you have an inherent right to protect your life, and the life of any other innocent person, by the most effective / efficient means available to you – so long as you haven’t committed an act against another by which you forfeited your right to live. Since shortly after the invention of gunpowder, those means have, and continue to be, firearms. The 2nd Amendment did not grant you this right – it was put in place to protect a right that some very intelligent people understood already existed. You and I were just fortunate enough to have been born into a nation whose founders recognized that truth and decided to write it down.
On July 4th, 2024, “Constitutional Carry” or permit-less carrying of concealed weapons became legal for all Louisiana residents, age 18 and over, who have the legal authority to possess a firearm. Basically, if you’re a resident of Louisiana, have attained the age of 18, and are not a person convicted of certain felonies or a person deemed non compos mentis, like ol’ JB,you can now hide your firearm on your person without first procuring a permission slip. Excuseme, permit. Some of you might not realize it, but prior to 7/4/24, someone meeting these same criteria, in Louisiana, could legally carry a firearm on their person as long as it was visible to the public. Yeah, that’s right. As soon as they covered their gun with a jacket, boot, or shirttail they became criminals under the previous law.
Some people are up in arms (figuratively speaking, of course) because now, no one meeting the criteria previously stated is required to obtain a state issued permission slip… I mean permit, to carry their gun in a concealed fashion. Let me be very clear about this next thing – mandatory permitting processes for carrying firearms are an infringement and are nothing more than a tax levied against The People – a tax you were required to pay in order to exercise a right provided by your Creator and emphatically defended in the US Constitution. However, the permitting process did come with a mandatory training requirement that no longer exists under the current law. To people making the argument that training should be required, I get it, and I’ll go easy on you, but please consider some things before you hop on the “government mandated training” bandwagon.
Obviously, I’m an advocate for firearm training. I don’t believe that anyone carrying a firearm in this country, professionally or otherwise, should do so on a whim, or just because they’re allowed. However, I also don’t think it’s the business of the government to impose mandatory training on its subjects. Excuse me, “citizens.” Previously, people had to seek out a licensed firearm instructor, pay money to learn a curriculum that, at minimum, had to be approved by the state, then literally sign away their right to medical privacy in order to apply for a permit to conceal a weapon that they, without jumping through the master’s circus hoops, could already legally open carry – which is a FAR LESS safe method of carrying a gun. The People were being financially penalized and having their right to medical privacy violated, just so they could legally cover their firearm when out in public. On top of that, folks had to pay money to the government in order to receive their permit once their application AND FINGERPRINTS were approved. People applying for permits were forced to undergo fees and processing not unlike that of someone arrested and charged with / convicted of a crime. And we allowed it. Not only did we allow it – we voted for it time and time again – like idiot sheep headed for slaughter.
If you believe training should be mandatory before someone is legally allowed to exercise their right to bear arms, fine. I’ll agree with you that training should be mandated by the government, but only under the following conditions:
This is never going to happen, by the way. So please stop going on about training needing to be government mandated. All you’re doing is inviting more and more government control over your life. Instead, take responsibility for yourself and set the example of a responsible gun owner for others. Go get training on your own. Take the initiative yourself instead of begging the government to set the rules for you and charging you a fee to do it. You might say something to the effect of “well, I’m responsible enough to get training but that doesn’t mean anyone else will be.” To that I’d say you’re probably also responsible enough to be a safe driver, but you can’t control a vehicle someone else is operating. Be vigilant out there on the street – when you’re driving and when you’re packing heat. Damn, I knew I should’ve been a rapper.
To those that say 18 is too young – you piss me off the absolute most! What a disgusting thing to say! Tell that despotic lie to the teenage patriots who gave life and limb at every battle fought for this country from Lexington & Concord, to Normandy, to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and every other theater of war in between.
We shoved GUNS in their hands and told them to fight and die to protect the very freedom that the voting populous back home is freely giving away. Those warriors didn’t fight and die for the political agenda of a president or a political party – although that’s often what got them there in the first place. In their hearts they sacrificed EVERYTHING for you and me to live in the best country ever founded in the history of the world, and for anyone to support limitations on any freedom that’s inherently American, is absolutely disgraceful. In this state, you can drive a car at 15, you can drive a car by yourself at 16, you can legally consent to perform any sexual act you so desire at age 17. You can’t buy a beer until your 21, but by God we can force our young men to register with selective service and slap a rifle in their hands at 18. Maybe 18 is too young, but there has to be some sort of standard by which to determine who is and who is not an adult. So, until the military age is increased to 21, I’m fully on board with 18-year-olds packing heat… and buying beer for that matter.
It’s appalling to me that I’ve seen some of my own students come out against certain elements of the Constitutional Carry legislation. Some of y’all really know how to make an instructor feel like a failure. However, the people who are lamenting the loudest tend to be the “social justice warrior” type personalities. The ones who are quick to argue online because it’s safe behind a keyboard, and when their ignorance is put on display, they can simply resort to name calling, with no fear of getting smacked in the mouth. The truth of the matter is that people who actively call for more gun control, and who hate the abolishment of the permitting process, are often the very ones most negatively impacted by the infringement of 2A rights. The permitting process that was recently trashed, negatively impacted people in low-income neighborhoods more than anyone else, and gun control has been the vehicle most used by our government, namely the left side of it, to oppress certain demographics of the American citizenry. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it… but you’ll have to wait until next week. Hopefully, I’ve stirred your curiosity, or perhaps your anger, enough to cause you to tune in for part-2.
Until then,
Avoid what you can. Defeat what you can’t.
Ryan
Ryan Barnette is not a licensed attorney and no information provided in “Slicing the Pie” or any other publication authored by Ryan Barnette should be construed, in any way, as official, legal advice.