Uzi submachine guns will be a topic of discussion when the Louisiana State Legislature convenes at its April session. Lawmakers will consider a bill making it illegal to give the weapon to children ages 12 and younger.
The bill does not list any other type of submachine gun.
The bill first appeared on the interim calendar early this month and was filed by Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport.
“I think it’s so important that we, as legislators, continue to make sure that we can do everything that we can to protect the safety of our children,” Norton said. “When I think about the fact of a 12-year-old having access to a machine gun, it concerns me.”
The bill defines the criminal act as “the intentional giving, selling, donating, providing, lending, delivering, or otherwise transferring an Uzi submachine gun to any child 12 years of age or younger.” This includes use on firing ranges.
Federal law does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to own a handgun, but law provides for temporary transfer of possession for activities such as hunting and target practice.
Global diplomacy freshman Robyn Krieger thinks supervised children should be able to use submachine guns at ranges.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Krieger said of the bill. “I don’t think it should be illegal as long as they have the proper supervision, and they’re not 4-year-olds handling fully-automatic submachine guns. I don’t really think it should go through.”
Last August, a video surfaced showing a 9-year-old child accidentally shooting her instructor while firing an Uzi at a gun range in Arizona. The recoil caused the girl to shoot the instructor in the head.
Norton’s bill could help keep these incidents from occurring in the future, said accounting sophomore Gary Gillette.
“I think there should be laws so things like that are preventable,” Gillette said. “That’s just a danger.”
The penalty for breaking the proposed law is up to two years in prison (with or without hard labor), a fine between $1,000 and $5,000 or both.
Norton authored another gun-related bill last year, which would have created the crime of “unlawful exposure to unsafe firearms of children.” The law required firearm owners to keep their weapons secure and inoperable to prevent children from using them.
The bill was voted down by the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice last April.
Norton said she is not against guns and owns one herself. She said her legislation is more about protecting children from harm.
“The only way [the children] are going to be future leaders of tomorrow is we have to do everything that we need to do in order to protect them today,” Norton said.