Louisiana Allows Permitless Carry. Here Is How People Still Get Arrested for Guns

On July 4, 2024, Louisiana became a permitless carry state. Since then, most adults 18 and older who can legally possess a firearm may carry a concealed handgun without a permit or mandatory training. Louisiana law provides this authority under La. R.S. 14:95(M).

A lot of people heard that news and stopped paying attention to the rest of the law. Permitless carry changed who needs a permit. It did not eliminate restrictions on where a concealed handgun may be carried, who is prohibited from possessing a firearm, or the consequences that can follow when a gun is involved in another alleged offense.

Places That Are Still Off Limits

Permitless carry does not mean you can carry everywhere. Louisiana law restricts concealed handguns in locations including law enforcement buildings, detention facilities, courthouses and courtrooms, polling places, the State Capitol, certain portions of airports, certain places of worship unless authorized, Class A-General alcohol establishments, and schools, school campuses, and school buses. Private property owners may also prohibit or restrict concealed handguns on their property.

Louisiana changed its parade rule in 2025. A person who is an active participant in a permitted parade or demonstration may not carry a concealed handgun there, but the statute specifically exempts a bystander or spectator attending the event.

The alcohol rule also requires some precision. Louisiana prohibits concealed carry in the permitted area of an establishment holding a Class A-General retail permit for alcohol consumed on the premises. Separately, Louisiana’s firearm law generally prohibits intentionally possessing a firearm on the premises of an alcoholic beverage outlet, but it contains exceptions, including for lawful carry at qualifying Class A-Restaurant establishments.

You Have to Tell the Officer

If you are carrying a handgun and a police officer approaches you in an official manner or with an identified official purpose, Louisiana law requires you to notify the officer that you have a weapon on your person. You must also submit to a pat down and allow the officer to temporarily disarm you. This requirement expressly applies to people carrying without a permit under La. R.S. 14:95(M).

For a permit holder, failure to comply results in a six-month automatic suspension of the permit. A person carrying without a permit who fails to comply is subject to the penalties in La. R.S. 40:1379.3(L), which generally provide for a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.

People Who Still Cannot Possess a Gun at All

Permitless carry only applies to people who are legally allowed to possess a firearm. Louisiana law prohibits firearm possession by people convicted of certain enumerated felonies, including felony crimes of violence and specified drug, burglary, weapons, and sex offenses. The state prohibition generally stops applying when the person has gone ten years without another felony conviction after completing the sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of sentence for the qualifying offense.

A violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1 carries a sentence of five to twenty years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, along with a fine of $1,000 to $5,000.

Louisiana also separately prohibits firearm possession by people convicted of domestic abuse battery and certain qualifying battery-of-a-dating-partner offenses. A violation of La. R.S. 14:95.10 carries one to twenty years of imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000.

Guns and Drugs

Louisiana law can impose severe penalties when a firearm is involved with illegal drugs. Under La. R.S. 14:95(E), using, possessing, or having a firearm under immediate control while unlawfully possessing a controlled dangerous substance can result in five to ten years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.

There is an important exception: those enhanced penalties do not apply when the unlawful possession involves fourteen grams or less of marijuana. The statute also separately covers firearms involved during the unlawful sale or distribution of controlled dangerous substances.

That means the details matter. What substance was involved, how much was allegedly possessed, where the firearm was located, and whether the person actually possessed or had immediate control over it can significantly affect the case.

The Federal Traps

Federal law has its own list of people prohibited from possessing firearms, and Louisiana’s permitless carry law does not override those federal restrictions.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), federal law prohibits firearm possession by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a federally controlled substance. Marijuana remains federally controlled. However, the application of this prohibition to marijuana users has been significantly limited by recent Fifth Circuit decisions. The Fifth Circuit has held § 922(g)(3) unconstitutional as applied in cases where the government relied on habitual or occasional marijuana use without sufficient evidence connecting firearm possession to intoxication or dangerousness. Because this area remains actively litigated, marijuana use and firearm possession can still create serious federal legal issues, but it is not accurate to say that every Louisiana medical marijuana patient who possesses a firearm automatically commits a federal crime.

Federal law also generally prohibits firearm possession by a person who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States. It also generally prohibits possession by a person admitted under a nonimmigrant visa, although federal law contains specific exceptions for certain nonimmigrant visa holders. Louisiana’s permitless carry law does not override these federal restrictions.

For noncitizens, a firearm arrest or conviction can also create serious immigration consequences depending on the exact offense, immigration status, and case history.

If You Were Arrested on a Gun Charge

The details decide these cases: where exactly the gun was, who had access to the car, whether the officer had a lawful reason for the stop and search, whether drugs or another alleged offense were involved, and whether a prior conviction actually qualifies as a prohibiting offense.

If you or someone in your family was arrested on a gun charge anywhere in Louisiana, call us at 225-341-6945. If the person arrested is not a U.S. citizen, tell us that on the first call. It can change the legal strategy.