Louisiana: House Committee Scheduled to Hear HB-826 to Repeal Self-Defense Law Wed

[The_Shadow]

This Wednesday, April 23, the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee will consider House Bill 826. Sponsored by state Representative Wesley Bishop (D-New Orleans), NRA-opposed HB 826 would repeal Louisiana's "stand your ground" statute and tip the scales in favor of criminals who attack law-abiding citizens in public. Make no mistake, this is a direct assault on your right to self-defense outside of your home, vehicle or place of business.

Under current law, a person who is engaged in a lawful activity and who is in a place where he or she has a right to be, does not have a duty to retreat from a violent attack. He or she may meet force with force, including deadly force -- but only if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.

Don't let anti-gun state lawmakers put forward misinformation and strip away your self-defense rights - here's what you can do to help defeat HB 826:
Attend Wednesday's hearing at 9:30 a.m. in Committee Room 6 of the State Capitol. Upon arrival at the committee room, you will want to complete and sign a RED card against HB 826. You may indicate on the card whether you wish to speak or simply register your opposition to this measure.

Using the contact information provided below, please call AND e-mail members of the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee and politely urge them to OPPOSE HB 826. Additionally, messages can be left for all state Representatives at the state Capitol during the week by calling (225) 342-6945.

House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee:
Rep. Joe Lopinto (R-Metairie), Chairman
504-838-5430
Lopintoj@legis.la.gov

Rep. Helena Moreno (D-New Orleans), Vice-Chairman
504-568-2740
Morenoh@legis.la.gov

Rep. Bryan Adams (R-Gretna)
504-361-6013
Adamsb@legis.la.gov

Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans)
504-243-7783
Larep100@legis.la.gov

Rep. Terry Brown (I-Colfax)
855-261-6566
Browntr@legis.la.gov

Rep. Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport)
318-676-7137
Larep002@legis.la.gov

Rep. Mickey Guillory (D-Eunice)
337-457-0194
Larep041@legis.la.gov

Rep. Chris Hazel (R-Pineville)
318-767-6082
Hazelc@legis.la.gov

Rep. Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs)
225-791-2199
Hodgesv@legis.la.gov

Rep. Dalton Honore (D-Baton Rouge)
225-771-5674
Honored@legis.la.gov

Rep. Frank Howard (R-Many)
318-256-4135
Howardf@legis.la.gov

Rep. Terry Landry (D-New Iberia)
337-373-9380
Landryt@legis.la.gov

Rep. Sherman Mack (R-Livingston)
225-686-3887
Macks@legis.la.gov

Rep. Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport)
318-632-5887
Nortonb@legis.la.gov

Rep. Steven Pylant (R-Winnsboro)
318-435-7313
Pylants@legis.la.gov

Rep. Ebony Woodruff (D-Harvey)
504-361-6972
Woodruffe@legis.la.gov

 

[Hitman]

Although this is a must defeat bill, I'm pretty confident this one is going down in flames.

.....hopefully....

 

[AustinBR]

Although this is a must defeat bill, I'm pretty confident this one is going down in flames.

.....hopefully....

Yeah...I don't see how it could pass...

 

[JadeRaven]

Yeah I think they should replace it with a "turn the other cheek" law and strengthen it with a "committing crime is illegal" law.

 

[geoney]

Yeah I think they should replace it with a "turn the other cheek" law and strengthen it with a "committing crime is illegal" law.

lol

 

[Robhic]

Aw, what the hell. I wrote 'em anyway. Figured it couldn't hurt: "I fail to see how this bill, HB826, is in the best interests of Louisiana residents ... unless they are criminals!

If attacked for any reason, this legislation fails to protect the potential victim by compelling him or her to run away. Now, this is NOT a bad tactic and can keep one from getting involved in a criminal situation.

But it is not always a viable course of action. When you can't vacate the area, you must stand your ground. And this is where I strongly believe this bill is misguided.

Please don't give criminals more tools with which to commit their criminal acts against law-abiding citizens. It's just not right.

Thank you for your consideration and vote against this bad bill."



Maybe being polite will get their attention?

 

[Vigilante Sniper]

I emailed them, all of them.

 

[Emperor]

Looks like another letter to the black delegation is in order!

 

[AustinBR]

I will drop some emails when I get home!

--Sent From My Galaxy S4

 

[Tom Gresham]

Also up to be heard tomorrow is Barbara Norton's bill to make it a crime to "expose" an unlocked firearm to a child who is 10 years old or younger. This is the kind of nonsense that actually has a chance of passing.

http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=889188

 

[Emperor]

Ok, here it is! Going out while I eat my yogurt!

Representative Landry,

As your committee gets ready to hear HB 826, the dangerous attempt to repeal the state’s *Stand Your Ground Law* I ask you to consider these points:

Your constituents benefit from this law just like any other Legislator’s constituents do.

Stand Your Ground Laws do not discriminate against your constituents more or less than any other Legislator’s constituents.

Repealing self defense laws doesn’t make your law abiding constituents safer, it makes them less able to defend themselves from unlawful criminals.

If your constituents knew you were constantly opposing beneficial firearms legislation and discounting their Right to defend themselves and their families in the name of ideology, they probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

Republicans don’t own the 2nd Amendment or claim it as their issue! The 2nd Amendment is for ALL Louisianans, even Democrats and yes, your constituents too! The party line is not a valid reason when it comes to the 2nd Amendment! Race or ethnicity should not be used as an excuse to deprive ANY one from the protections of the 2nd Amendment and/or their inherent Right to self defense!

There is NO rationale, or logical reason to repeal this law! Absolutely none!

Please, oppose HB 826 when it comes before you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Baton Rouge


Can't wait to hear from them!

 

[Hitman]

Can't wait to hear from them!

You won't..... :/

 

[Emperor]

You won't..... :/

If I were one of them, I would respond! I would explain my position to me with facts and poignant arguments!

 

[Tom Gresham]

Looks like HB 826 has been removed from Wednesday's agenda, but Norton's HB 1189 is still there. Here's some info to pass along to legislators.



• HB 1189 makes it a crime to intentionally, or with criminal negligence, expose children aged 0-10 to firearms that are not locked in a container or equipped with a locking device. Requiring all Louisianans with children in this age group to essentially render firearms inoperable prohibits their immediate use for protection and fails to take into account each family’s own self-defense needs.

• Although there are exceptions in the bill for formalized instruction and shooting with your children at an established range or while hunting, parents would not be able to show their kids how to safely handle a firearm at home or to shoot recreationally on their own property without possibly violating this act.

• The biggest problem is that the act required for violation is exposure. This is obviously an extremely broad term that could be construed to cover a lot of perfectly safe, innocent behavior with a firearm. If you regularly carry and take your jacket off when you get home, *exposing* a holstered firearm to your child, you would seemingly violate the provisions of the bill, even though there is no danger created by this activity. The bill would also seem to prohibit taking a child under 10 to a firearms museum, to a parade that included firearms, or to a military funeral that include a gun salute.

• The mental states outlined in the bill (*intentional or criminally negligent expose a firearm*) are an extremely low hurdle to meet to trigger an arrest and prosecution. All of the examples outlined above involve an intentional exposure and the accused parent would have had one of the requisite mental states.

• From 2001-2010, firearms were involved in just 1.6% of all fatal accidents among children in Louisiana aged 0-10 (18 out of 1,135). Nearly the same number of fatal accidents could be attributed to bicycle wrecks (14) and to accidental poisonings (13). Motor vehicle accidents accounted for the largest percentage of fatalities (33%), followed by suffocation (25%), drowning (15%), fire/burns (14%), Perhaps Louisiana should consider adopting a general child endangerment law to address all of the potentially harmful situations a parent could fail to protect their kids from.

• If the goal is to further reduce firearms accidents, we should encourage participation in firearms safety programs. NRA developed and began offering the Eddie Eagle gun accident prevention program to children K-6 with a simple message that if they find a gun unsupervised, they should *Stop. Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell An Adult.* Since the program’s inception in 1988, over 432,000 children in Louisiana have received this life-saving message. The program has been taught by more than 100 Louisiana law enforcement agencies and 60 Louisiana schools, including a day care program here in Baton Rouge that has been presented to over 6,000 kids. The message from the program has been used by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Louisiana in partnership with local law enforcement. This message inevitably carries to parents and guardians in the homes where these kids live – and remains with the kids as they mature into adulthood. And again, this has all taken place without any state legislation and serves as an example of how promoting firearms safety education can have an impact without a mandate.

 

[Tom Gresham]

Latest info. Need people at the committee meeting.

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/s...nse-law-from-tomorrows-agenda.aspx?s=&st=&ps=

 

[Emperor]

Bump

Everyone, don't forget to attend to these emails. As unlikely as this HB 1189 is to make it out, you cannot take that for granted.

Also, the more opposition that these anti-2nd Amendment Bills get, the less likely they are to waste their time pushing these in the future. You may remember how the mandatory training Bill was pulled facing overwhelming opposition.

 

[shootinFe]

email sent to all committee members for HB 1189 and HB 826

 

[Emperor]

Norton is up with her Bill!

http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/av.aspx?roomid=106

 

[whitsend]

Norton is up with her Bill!

http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/av.aspx?roomid=106

 

[Emperor]

Dead for Session!