On Thursday, June 12, the Louisiana House was set to take up Senate Bill 51, NRA-backed legislation sponsored by State Senator Joe McPherson (D-Woodworth) that would allow employees and customers to transport and store firearms in their private, locked motor vehicles while parked in publicly-accessible parking areas. House members opposing SB 51 took their cues from big business and industry lobbyists and attempted a number of procedural maneuvers, all designed to prevent the bill from being voted on by the full House this session. A motion to return the bill to the calendar by State Representative Kay Kellogg Katz (R-Monroe), an equivalent to pulling the bill from further consideration, failed on a 59-35 vote. A motion to recommit the bill to the House Civil Law Committee by State Representative Rick Gallot (D-Ruston), another attempt to effectively kill the bill with just one week left in session, passed on a 54-44 vote. Senator McPherson and NRA-ILA worked House members all afternoon to try and resurrect the bill, and eventually won a motion to discharge the bill from the Civil Law committee on a 61-31 vote. This places the bill back on the House calendar for floor consideration next Tuesday or Wednesday. It is critical that you contact your State Representatives and urge them to support SB 51, to oppose any further procedural attempts to delay or deny a vote on SB 51 this session, and to oppose any gutting amendments to the bill. Please contact their district offices over the weekend and leave a message for them; let's make sure district staff members find those voicemail boxes full on Monday! Then please contact them again by email and by phone in Baton Rouge next week at (225) 342-6945. Contact information for your State Representatives can be found at http://www.legis.state.la.us. You may also visit that site to determine how your Representative voted this week. State Representative Jim Tucker-Speaker of the House [email protected] (504) 393-5646 The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it will prepare a management plan for the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Ouachita Parish, LA. The 4,500-acre Refuge is three miles north of Monroe. Resident game and migratory game bird hunting occur on the refuge. The Service is asking for suggestions and information on the scope of the issues to consider in the planning process. Comments must be submitted by Monday, June 23. An open house will be held during the scoping phase. Questions and comments should be directed to Tina Chouinard, Natural Resource Planner, at 318-305-0643, or at [email protected]. If you hunt this Refuge, it is important for you to participate in the planning process to secure hunting opportunities for the future. |