The possibility of firearms on campus is closer to reality after a State Senate judiciary panel voted Tuesday during the regular session to change the Louisiana Constitution and eliminate gun prohibition.
The proposal, SB 303, could reach the Senate floor as early as next week for debate, according to Jason Droddy, University director of external affairs.
“It could mean guns on campus,” Droddy said.
He said the future of the bill won’t be clear until the end of the legislative session, but it has already acquired most of the 26 co-signatures needed to pass through the Senate.
He said the bill’s language wipes any restriction on guns and possibly all types of weapons.
Current Louisiana law recognizes the right to carry firearms but allows for laws that restrict where citizens can carry them, such as private businesses and school campuses.
The bill’s rewrite “provides that any denial, infringement and restriction of this right be subject to a standard of strict scrutiny by a court in determining its constitutionality.”
The bill’s passage would make restrictions more difficult than before, Droddy said.
“The legal bar for a restriction is very high,” he said. “You need compelling government interest. That means a very hard time with any restrictions.”
The proposal passed 6-1 in the Senate committee, according to The Associated Press. The only senator to vote against the bill was Sen. Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, a University graduate.
The Board of Regents gave a statement during the committee meeting highlighting the bill’s implication on university campuses, according to Meg Casper, Regents associate commissioner for public affairs.
“We’re certainly concerned,” Casper said.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]