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In an unexpected move, the city of New Orleans, with the apparent cooperation of its police department, is attempting to establish expansive gun-free zones, exploiting a legal loophole that could have far-reaching consequences.
William Kirk, President of Washington Gun Law, highlights the city’s innovative yet contentious strategy to disarm civilians by designating the New Orleans Police Department’s 8th Precinct as a vocational school, thereby extending gun-free zones significantly throughout the city, including major areas like Bourbon Street.
Louisiana recently celebrated the implementation of its constitutional carry law, becoming the 29th state to adopt such legislation.
However, the New Orleans City Council’s efforts to counteract this by proposing extensive gun-free zones throughout the city have raised alarms among gun rights advocates.
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These zones would leverage the law that defines schools and their 1,000 ft perimeters as gun-free, despite the 8th Precinct not being a regular educational institution. The city argues that since police cadets may occasionally attend classes there, it qualifies as a school.
Kirk argues that this move could set a dangerous precedent. If successful, similar tactics could be adopted by other jurisdictions, effectively creating new gun-free zones around police precincts and other areas under the guise of temporary educational activities.
The implications extend beyond just gun rights, as such measures could be applied to various facilities, potentially impacting public access and rights across different states.
The New Orleans strategy has sparked significant debate and is expected to face legal challenges. Gun-rights advocates like Kirk urge vigilance, warning that if left unchecked, this approach could spread rapidly, affecting gun rights on a broader scale.
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Easiest way to avoid New Orleans GFZ is just to completely avoid NO; really nothing there to make it worth visiting.
Want to make a police precinct into a “school” so it can be a gun free zone? Then you also need to disarm the police personnel while they are on the grounds of said “school”. Is there weapons training done at this “school”, then those weapons must be replaced with inert replicas. Oh they are for the sworn law officers?? Guess what, they are subject to the same laws as Joe citizen. If they are carrying a weapon, not just a fire arm, but any weapon they are not allowed on those grounds unless that weapon is secured off the campus. What? You mean squad cars are nolonger where the police can store their weapons? Ooopps.
Given that the state legislature passed the constitutional carry legislation, it would seem that state law could also be passed to prohibit establishment of police stations as vocational schools, and/or prohibit extending gun free zones beyond a lesser radius than currently allowed for any dual function facility that the city decides to “transform” into a school in tandem with other civil function.
The GFZ was tried at the federal level under the “Crime Control Act” of 1990 under GHWB (41) but ruled unconstitutional. I believe that the Act was ruled a power grab by Congress threatening interstate commerce. At the state level the patch work CC restrictions in ILLinois seems the has beat New Orleans in this GFZ 1000 feet scheme by several years.