Open Carry in Louisiana

Louisiana's illegal-carrying statute targets the intentional concealment of a firearm; it does not require a permit to carry a firearm openly. The place-based bans in the same statute apply to possession of a dangerous weapon whether open or concealed: on a school campus during school hours or on a school bus, and in a law enforcement building, detention facility, courthouse or courtroom, and the state capitol. Possessing a firearm on the premises of a bar or other alcoholic beverage outlet is also a crime (exception for permit holders and lawful permitless carriers in Class A-Restaurant premises). A person under eighteen may not knowingly possess a handgun except in listed situations (hunting, ranges, safety courses, at home or with written parental permission).

Because anyone eighteen or older who may legally possess a firearm may carry a concealed handgun without a permit (since July 4, 2024), such a person may keep a handgun concealed in a vehicle; no state rule requiring it to be unloaded or locked was found. The school firearm-free-zone law exempts a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle. Permit holders and permitless carriers must tell an officer who approaches in an official manner that they are armed.

Permit holders and permitless carriers may not carry a concealed handgun in: a law enforcement office, station or building; a detention facility, prison or jail; a courthouse or courtroom (a judge may carry in his own courtroom); a polling place; a municipal or other public building used as the meeting place of a political subdivision's governing authority; the state capitol; areas of an airport where federal law bans firearms; a church, synagogue, mosque or similar place of worship unless authorized by its administrator; a permitted parade or demonstration (for active participants); the permitted area of a business with a Class A-General retail permit to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption; and any school, school campus or school bus. Private property owners may prohibit carrying, and a person may not carry into another's private residence without consent. Firearms are also banned on school property, at school-sponsored functions and within 1,000 feet of a school campus (the 1,000-foot zone exempts permit holders and permitless carriers carrying concealed, private property and firearms entirely inside a vehicle).