As the State legislature wraps the special session, several voices on either side of the issues have levied opinions. One of the more controversial issues being the bill to allow permitless carry of a concealed weapon.
Joe Lopinto, Jefferson Parish Sheriff, says that the bill isn’t inherently earth shattering.
“I don’t think it’s the end of the world. Things won’t change much.”
However, he does say that not all situations are created equal and a place like New Orleans could use the tighter restrictions as opposed to some of the smaller jurisdictions in the state.
“You look at New Orleans and the problems in the French Quarter, for example, and you realize how important it is.”
The Sheriff also points out that the landscape of gun owners will change overtime and we will find more untrained novices behind the barrel of a gun.
“What I don’t like about it is getting away from the training.”
He says he can foresee, as more people forgo training, classes and facilities shutting down as the demand for them would decrease.
“Think, three years from now, there’s no training because no one was able to maintain the business now that it is no longer required.”
Sheriff Lopinto maintains that although the instances may not be enumerable, it is a reasonable conclusion that at some point two people will end up meeting each other at such a time when one should have been trained or maybe shouldn’t have been armed at all.
“Will it happen often? No. But, at some point you are going to have a good person end up in a bad situation that probably shouldn’t have had a gun in the first place.”
The legislature is in the process of voting through the proposed bills. They could adjourn the session as early as Thursday.
