From a press release
Today (Monday Sept. 12), Mayor Mitch Landrieu signed a gun safety ordinance into law. Introduced by Jason Williams and James Gray, the ordinance was unanimously passed by the City Council.
The ordinance has addresses three areas by:
- Making it mandatory for residents to report a lost or stolen gun;
- Making all NORDC facilities “firearm-free zones”; and
- Criminalizes the negligent carrying of a concealed firearm.
“Public safety is our top priority, and in order to keep our citizens safe, we must do everything we can to promote gun safety and reduce gun violence on our streets and in our community,” Mayor Landrieu says. “By signing the Gun Safety Ordinance into law, we are giving NOPD more tools to stem the tide of gun violence in New Orleans.”
Specifically, the ordinance requires the owner of a lost or stolen firearm to report a NOPD officer within 48 hours of discovery. Not reporting the lost or stolen firearm will carry a $250 fine and subsequent offenses will carry a $500 fine. At this time, no state law exists requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
While state law already prohibits possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon in a “firearm-free zone,” which includes anywhere on or within 1,000 feet of a school campus, on a school bus, or at a facility where a school event, such as a prom, is taking place, the city’s gun safety ordinance explicitly makes all New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) parks and facilities “firearm-free zones.” Each NORDC facility will be marked by appropriate signage as a “firearm-free zone.” Altering or defacing this signage violates this ordinance.
Violation of this ordinance carry a punishable offense of a $500 fine or six months’ imprisonment.The city’s gun safety Ordinance mirrors this state law, which already prohibits “negligent carrying of a concealed firearm,” which is defined as carrying a concealed firearm in a way that places others in reasonable apprehension that it may discharge or that a crime is being committed. Violation is punishable by a $500 fine or six months’ imprisonment.
