Friday, May 11, 2007

Non-Story

There's a story in the Daily Wipe today about a student at Jena High School. It seems that a couple of weeks ago, some students got in a fight. Some black students and some white students. I don't know all the particulars, but there were repercussions and some black students got arrested. They're considered innocent until proven guilty and the usual suspects are coming out on either side of the controversy. It's a heck of a mess, but this morning, we get a story about a gun.

It seems the victim of the latest crime came to school and had a gun in his vehicle. The police were called, yada, yada, yada. Except that having a gun in your car in Louisiana isn't a problem. It certainly isn't against the law, and if the reporters, or the cops who responded, or the administrators of the school would bother to actually read the law, they'd learn it isn't a problem.

Here, for your edification, is the law in question.
§95.2. Carrying a firearm, or dangerous weapon, by a student or nonstudent on school property, at school-sponsored functions or firearm-free zone
Quite a title, isn't it? Yet it seems to be the law that would apply. Carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property, etc, etc, etc. The law is quite explicit, that bringing a gun on a school property without proper authorization is a felony. A five-year felony. Certainly something to be avoided. Carrying a gun on a school property is bad juju.

Except for the exceptions. In Louisiana there are always exceptions. And sure enough, there in subsection C, we find:
C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to: .. (5) Any constitutionally protected activity which cannot be regulated by the state, such as a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle.
So, in the exceptions, we find that any constitutionally protected activity is exempt, and they give the example of a gun contained entirely within a vehicle. It ain't against the law in Louisiana to carry a gun in your car. And you can drive that car anywhere in the state with that gun inside and it isn't against the law. In fact, it is a constitutionaly protected activity.

I shouldn't have to tell anyone this. Not the reporters, not the administrators, certainly not the police who responded.

Bozos!

5 comments:

Rivrdog said...

Bozos to the right of us, Bozos to the left of us, and here we are stuck in the Middle of the Circus!

Matt G said...

Nice to have other cops assisting in the fight to educate other cops that Gun does not equal Criminal.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't say if it was a handgun or not. The law in my state says a minor may not possess or transport a handgun. A minor may have posession of a long gun however and if 18 may purchase long guns. This is a class A misdemeanor and class D felony for further offenses. I'm not sure if this applies to La though.Is the law different there or was it a long gun?

Pawpaw said...

Matt. The law here is different. It doesn't matter whether it is a handgun or a long gun. The Louisiana Constitution says transporting a firearm in your car is constitutionally protected. That trumps everything, in Louisiana.

Anonymous said...

Another article I read said it was a .22 rifle of his father's that he had brought home from camp and left in his truck behind the seat. I think that was in one of the Town Talk articles.

But as you said, it's a moot point according to the statutue itself. Hopefully his attorney will read the whole thing. The kid is about to get expelled for a year, which basically means he won't graduate.