todd.elliott@eunicetoday.com
State Rep. Mickey Guillory urges voters to review upcoming Louisiana state constitutional amendments that will be on the Nov. 6 ballot before they go to the polls this election day.
Guillory – who was invited to speak to the Kiwanis Club on Thursday – focused on Amendment N. 2 on the ballot. He said the proposed bill is a “controversial” gun control bill.
“There area lot of pros and cons that go with this bill,” Guillory said. “The District Attorneys Association – who came before the Criminal Justice Committee – their position on this is that they were neutral, which tells me that they’re against it.”
Guillory said the bill (SB 303) provides that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right which shall not be infringed upon and any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny. He said the bill was supported by the National Rifle Association, of which he was a member.
However, Guillory said that not all NRA members are in support of this bill.
He said that one concern is that the bill would transfer gun control out of the legislative branch of state government to the judicial branch.
“We’ll have more cases in court concerning firearms,” Guillory said. “If you look at this bill...this bill would take control out of the state legislative body’s hands, where we wouldn’t be able to pass a bill to prevent someone from carrying a concealed weapon.”
Guillory said that while he is “leery” of the bill, he still considers himself a “gun man” who wouldn’t want to see a bill that could allow people to carry concealed weapons in places like college campuses.
“The way the law is set up now, we have protection,” Guillory said. “People can’t carry guns on campus, you can’t have them in a church, you can’t carry them in a bar room. These are places that you do not want to see guns. If we vote this down, the state law stays the same.”
Guillory said that the bill was sponsored by Dist. 32 Sen. Neil Riser of Columbia. Guillory said the right to keep and bear arms is protected by the U.S. constitution while the State Senate Bill, and proposed amendment to Louisiana’s constitution, is redundant and makes it possible to open “loopholes” to reinterpret gun laws.
“I don’t want to tell anyone how to vote, I just want to emphasize the concern,” Guillory said. “What I’d like to do is encourage everyone to just go and vote. That’s a privilege that a lot of people don’t have in other countries...go vote for what you think is best for the state of Louisiana and for the city of Eunice.”
Baloney. The legislature can pass whatever bills they want, and the governor can sign them. However, with this amendment it becomes incumbent upon them to actually respect the right to arms with no ambiguity. Judicial review is not judicial legislation, it is the proper practice of keeping the politicians on the level. About time, I'd say.
These laws only disarm the law abiding citizens. Thath's why we see places like churches, school class rooms, and theaters becoming bloody playgrounds for a mentally deranged person.
Let's arrest and prosecute the criminals, and leave the law abiding citizens alone. Let's stop telling the law abiding where they can exercise their freedom to protect themselves and their loved ones from criminals.
MThompson
Lakeway TX