SB 51 is being hijacked

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This is the bill that would ensure your right to have a gun locked in your car on your employer's parking lot.

Multiple ammendments were proposed on this in the Louisiana House, sending it back to a committee for review. Most of these amendments are really bad and must be defeated. Among them are proposals that would remove the penalty on an employer who fires or disciplines you for having a gun in your car - this would render the new law mostly useless. Another would prohibit you from letting anyone know there is a gun in your car; and if you do, you could be fired or disciplined. Another would allow your employer to require you to keep the gun locked in a safe inside your car - ridiculous!

This has been assigned to the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. I am not certain that the members of this committee will do right by us on this bill, but you should call them immediately and tell them to pass the bill without the amendments. You can view the members' list here: house.louisiana.gov/H_Cmtes/H_CMTE_CL.asp

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Through a fortunate turn of events, this bill is now back on the schedule for the House floor without going to the committee. The amendments are still officially proposed for the bill, so call your reps NOW to tell them not to mess with the bill and to pass it.

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Amazingly, this bill has now passed the House. The worst of the amendments were rejected. It now goes to the Senate for concurrence on the amendments that did get added.

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Could you please post which amendments got added? If you know of course.

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The Senate has now concurred with the House version. I think this means it goes to the Governor next for his signature.

Rep. Wooton (the author of the Concealed Carry on Campus bill) added some amendments which clarified the liability exemption for employers, removed the specific penalty one could sue for in civil court if one's employer violated this law (you can still sue, the penalties would be determined in court instead), and gave permission for an employer to require that guns stored in your car have to be hidden from view or locked in a lock-box (not the same lock-box that Al Gore used to go on and on about ). He also narrowed the exception clause so that an employer could prohibit car storage if

[align=left]access is restricted or limited through the use of a fence, gate, security station, signage, or other means of restricting or limiting general public access onto the parking area, and if one of the following conditions applies:[/align]

[align=left](a) The employer or business entity provides facilities for the temporary storage ofunloaded firearms.[/align]


[align=left](b) The employer or business entity provides an alternative parking area reasonablyclose to the main parking area in which employees and other persons may transport or store firearms in locked, privately-owned motor vehicles.

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[align=left]I did not see a start date on this, so I guess it will take effect August 15, 2008, when most new laws take effect.[/align]

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So basically, if your company has a front gate with a security guard, you can't drive through witha gun? Or are they required to provide a place to unload and lock your firearm?

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Re-read the quoted part of the bill. Your employer can deny your right to store in your car ONLY if they have a secure access parking lot AND they provide EITHER a temporary weapon storage area OR an alternate lot reasonably nearby where car storage is allowed.

If all they have is a gated, guarded lot, then you can store in your car. If they do not have a gate, a guard or some other means of restriicting access to the lot, then you can store in your car. If they have a restricted access lot and also another lot nearby, they may restrict your parking to the alternate lot, if you want to store a weapn in your car (I foresee many break-ins in such a lot and would recommend some sort of car safe and alarm). If they have a restricted access lot and provide a place to store your weapon, you cannot store in your car, but must use their storage area (I can't wait to see the dreadfull mess some businesses will make of THAT provision, although I like it better than the alternate lot provision).

While the 2 alternate methods somewhat infringe on our right to have the weapon in our car, the law's intent is clear:your employer cannot fire or discipline you for wanting to exercise your RKBA, and that's a good thing.

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I'm pleased to report that the bill passed and was just signed by the governor. It will take effect August 15, 2008. I've been told that there was a very large amount of public input to the Legislature on this bill, so thanks to all who participated.

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This is a horrible bill, and will do nothing to help attract new businesses to the state and especially crime-ridden New Orleans.

Redneck Politics at its worst. :celebrate



Disappointed in New Orleans

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"Redneck politics at its worst"?

All those liberal non-redneck cities which have banned guns are the most violent. The non-redneck policies punish law-abiding citizens and make them more vulnerable to just about everything while our "redneck politics" empower citizens to protect themselves.

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I might point out to NEWORLEANIAN that I, too, am a New Orleans resident. I think this is a terriffic piece of legislation that, frankly, is a redundant protection to the state constitution's enumeration of individual right to carry. Before this passed, anyone fired for having a firearm peacefully locked in their car could claim a civil rights violation. Of course, Louisiana is an at-will employment state, so no sane employer would ever give a reason for termination for fear of a lawsuit. That alone more than outweighs any allegedly anti-business slant in SB 51. Louisiana is poised for an explosion in business investment - if the businesses are smart enough to see it.