It’s not unusual for states to pass pro-gun laws and big-city bureaucrats disagree with those laws. What is uncommon, however, is for police leaders to get into a public spat with the state attorney general over such laws.
That’s what happened recently in Louisiana when New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick decided that the carry laws passed by the state just weren’t right for her city.
Kirkpatrick has a beef with the state law that allows open carry of firearms without gun owners being forced to jump through government hoops and pay a fee just to practice their rights. And when 13 people were shot at a recent small parade, she couldn’t contain her disdain any longer.
Kirkpatrick told wdsu.com that there were thousands of people in attendance for a small parade, and officers observed many people with guns. And what doesn’t sit well with Kirkpatrick is that state law doesn’t allow officers to approach people carrying guns and ask if they have permits!
Oh, the horror! As we all know, that’s one reason such laws were passed. Why be harassed by policemen simply because you choose to practice a constitutionally protected right?
“I understand constitutional carry and why it would be okay in some parts of Louisiana, but you can’t say that is true for New Orleans,” Kirkpatrick told the news channel. “I’m a person who appreciates constitutional carry but not in every location. New Orleans is unique. We have no business with guns at a parade or in our entertainment areas at all.”
Obviously, she doesn’t really understand and appreciate constitutional carry if she thinks everyone should have that right until they enter New Orleans. Then, apparently, she’d prefer her own version of stop-and-frisk.
While Kirkpatrick’s statement probably seemed logical to some, it also caught the attention of others who don’t think along those lines. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill was one of the people who not only disagreed but couldn’t let the statement stand.
Murril fired back, pointing out that Kirkpatrick was doing what many anti-gun bureaucrats and politicians do best—blaming the gun and not the violent criminal who uses the gun for nefarious means.
“Since when do violent criminals who shoot multiple people follow our laws?” Murril said in a released statement. “I wouldn’t classify them as ‘responsible gun owners.’ Let’s talk about the NOPD consent decree—$150 million has been spent so far and kids are shooting each other because police aren’t allowed to enforce the law and gun-carrying criminals aren’t facing consequences. Now is the time to focus on capturing the criminals responsible for this lawlessness, not place blame on a state law that received overwhelming support by the people’s representatives in the Legislature.”
While it’s unclear who got the last word in the spat, it’s unlikely that New Orleans officials can soon begin stopping people with guns and asking for permits. Not only is the state legislature unlikely to change the law, but Louisiana’s firearms preemption law, passed in 2012, states that local ordinances regulating the carrying of firearms in public may not be more restrictive than state law.
