BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Louisiana bill is advancing that would prohibit people from concealed carrying a firearm at a parade unless they have a permit.

HB627 prohibits people from concealed carrying guns within 100 feet of a parade that has been given a permit by the city. If someone has a concealed carry permit, which is not required after this July, they can bring their gun to a parade. With the new law on the horizon, lawmakers, especially in New Orleans, wanted to give law enforcement some backup on seeing who is allowed to have a gun.

“Mardi Gras has hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. There’s a ton of alcohol. There’s kids everywhere. And to think that people could be roaming around with a gun and no one can stop them scared all of us,” State Rep. Mandie Landry said.

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Opponents of the bill say it is curtailing the new permitless concealed carry law before it even goes into effect. A representative from the National Rifle Association said that police should be able to determine who is a threat without this law.

“We are saying that law enforcement treats everyone the same and they already have the ability if they’re carrying negligently, if they are under the influence, or if they’re drinking 0.05 or over,” said Kelby Seanor with the NRA.

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It is already law that someone participating in a parade can not concealed carry. The 100 feet would include sidewalks and restaurants along parade routes during the time a permit is allotted. It would not apply to private residences that are along parade routes.

The bill passed out of committee with bipartisan support. Landry said that she’s going to be putting in a lot of work to get it through on the House floor.

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