New Orleans Paper Calls for ‘Gun-Free’ French Quarter After Uneventful Super Bowl Weekend

In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl festivities in New Orleans, there was a steady stream of articles and opinion pieces in the local media bemoaning the fact that Louisiana’s permitless carry law extends to the tourist-packed French Quarter. The fact that guns aren’t banned from the historic district was sure to cause a problem when hundreds of thousands of visitors descended on the city, or at least that’s what foes of the permitless carry law predicted. 

As it turns out, during Super Bowl weekend the French Quarter was about as peaceful as it ever is, and there’s no evidence that a single gun owner caused any kinds of problems. Despite the unfounded fears from anti-gunners, the New Orleans Advocate is once again repeating its call to turn the Quarter into a “gun-free zone”. 

Outside the Caesars Superdome, streets were clean, lights lit and potholes filled. And with an imposing security presence visible throughout the French Quarter, the site of unspeakable tragedy just over a month ago, visitors reported feeling safe. 

We congratulate everyone who worked to put our best foot forward before the world.

And we’d like to take this opportunity, while everyone’s still focused on all that went right, to talk about what comes next.

We’re not worried about the culture, other than to note that finding ways to properly compensate the people who produce it is an ongoing challenge.

As for the impressive infrastructure fixes, we say keep it going and bring the focus and can-do spirit that produced quick results to the rest of the city, the places where most residents live.

And on public safety, we’re glad to see so much thought now being put into preventing a repeat of the deadly terrorist attack early New Year’s morning that claimed 14 innocent lives. The iconic, highly congested French Quarter is now far better protected from another vehicular attack than before. 

But a key vulnerability remains, one that would be easy for state lawmakers to remedy.

Louisiana’s new concealed carry law, passed last year and signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, allows people to carry firearms without a permit or training.

Local and law enforcement officials had pleaded to create a carve-out for the densely packed, economically vital French Quarter, noting that the new law impedes police officers’ ability to take preemptive action and head off potentially dangerous situations.

At least the paper obliquely acknowledged that the large scale attack on French Quarter revelers last month involved the use of a vehicle, not just a gun. But what the editors still fail to realize (or choose to ignore) is that anyone with murderous intent or a desire to destroy as many innocent lives as possible isn’t going to be dissuaded by a “no guns allowed” sign. 

Here’s how Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the city’s main destination marketing organization, recently put it:

“Do I think that the biggest risk to Bourbon Street is a truck accessing it and driving the way that this one did? No, I think the biggest risk right now continues to be the law change on concealed carry, and that is something the Legislature should take another look at.”

We agree, and continue to find the arguments against a carve-out — mainly centering on individual gun rights — weak. Exceptions in the name of public safety already exist, including school zones.

It’s absolutely crazy to me that even after a homicidal individual actually used a truck to slaughter innocent people, Leger and the paper’s editors think the biggest threat to public safety are folks exercising their right to bear arms in self-defense. It’s almost as bad to see The Advocate‘s snarking about the “weak” argument that we have the right to carry. 

It’s true that under federal law, permitless carry isn’t allowed in school zones. What the paper neglects to inform its readers, however, is that those with a valid concealed carry license can generally carry in a school zone (though not on a school campus itself). New Orleans officials have tried to designate a NOPD substation in the French Quarter as a vo-tech in order to establish a “gun-free school zone” in the tourist district, but even if they’re ultimately successful in doing so it won’t impact those who possess a valid carry license. 

There’s no reason to make that change, however. As we saw last weekend, tens of thousands of revelers can have a great time enjoying all that the Quarter has to offer while keeping our Second Amendment rights intact. And unfortunately, as we saw on New Year’s Day, madmen with murder on their mind don’t give a damn about any of the laws on the books. Turning the Quarter into a “gun-free zone” or even limiting lawful carry to those who possess a valid license would only empower the bad guys, while leaving many residents and visitors unable to defend themselves or others.