The Ease of Exercising the Right to Bear Arms Reaches a Hollow Point: Louisiana's Right to Bear Arms Secured for the Future

Abstract

The age of the United States Supreme Court’s Heller and McDonald rulings has coincided with a new age of mass shootings. As gun rights advocates lobby to stave off gun bans, others scramble to balance the line between responsible firearms regulations and complete gun bans. Although the Court’s have historically attached the Second Amendment right to bear arms to militia functions, recent jurisprudence has secured the right to bear arms as a fundamental right distinct from militia service. Critics say that state and local governments wishing to regulate firearms are left with their hands tied. Some states, including Louisiana, prefer the discretion to pass lax gun regulations and establish state constitutional protections. However, most challenges to state and municipal gun regulations survive the scrutiny of federal courts. The Court’s latest interpretations of the Second Amendment plainly do not nullify state and federal regulations. For example, gun regulations prohibiting the possession and ownership of firearms by felons or habitually violent criminals, persons suffering mental illness, and those not of the age of majority survive judicial scrutiny. As Louisiana continues to rank among the states with the laxest gun regulations, it simultaneously ranks among the states with the highest rate of domestic violence fatalities involving firearms and general gun violence. The Author proposes reasonable regulations and advises the Louisiana Legislature to establish stricter gun regulations within the parameters of the ruling jurisprudence.