§95. Illegal carrying of weapons
A. Illegal carrying of weapons is any of the following:
(1)(a) The intentional concealment of any firearm, or other instrumentality
customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon, on one's person.
(b) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to a person with a valid
concealed handgun permit issued pursuant to R.S. 40:1379.1.1, 1379.3, or 1379.3.2 nor shall
it prohibit a person with a valid concealed handgun permit issued pursuant to R.S.
40:1379.1.1, 1379.3, or 1379.3.2 from carrying a concealed firearm or other instrumentality
customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon on his person unless
otherwise prohibited by this Section.
(2) The ownership, possession, custody, or use of any firearm, or other
instrumentality customarily used as a dangerous weapon, at any time by an enemy alien.
(3) The ownership, possession, custody, or use of any tools, or dynamite, or
nitroglycerine, or explosives, or other instrumentality customarily used by thieves or burglars
at any time by any person with the intent to commit a crime.
(4)(a) The intentional possession or use by any person of a dangerous weapon on a
school campus during regular school hours or on a school bus. "School" means any
elementary, secondary, or high school, or vocational-technical school in this state and
"campus" means all facilities and property within the boundary of the school property.
"School" shall not mean a vocational-technical school that is privately owned. "School bus"
means any motor bus being used to transport children to and from school or in connection
with school activities.
(b) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to:
(i) A peace officer as defined by R.S. 14:30(B) in the performance of his official
duties.
(ii) A school official or employee acting during the normal course of his employment
or a student acting under the direction of such school official or employee.
(iii) Any person having the written permission of the principal or school board and
engaged in competition or in marksmanship or safety instruction.
(5)(a) The intentional possession or use of a dangerous weapon by any person in any
of the following locations:
(i) A law enforcement office, station, or building.
(ii) A detention facility, prison, or jail.
(iii) A courthouse or courtroom, provided that a judge may carry such a weapon in
his own courtroom.
(iv) The state capitol building.
(b) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to a peace officer as defined by
R.S. 40:2402 in the performance of his official duties.
B.(1) Whoever commits the crime of illegal carrying of weapons shall be fined not
more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.
(2) Whoever commits the crime of illegal carrying of weapons with any firearm used
in the commission of a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B), shall be fined not more
than two thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not less than one
year nor more than two years, or both. Any sentence issued pursuant to the provisions of this
Paragraph and any sentence issued pursuant to a violation of a crime of violence as defined
in R.S. 14:2(B) shall be served consecutively.
C. On a second conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned with or without hard
labor for not more than five years.
D. On third and subsequent convictions, the offender shall be imprisoned with or
without hard labor for not more than ten years without benefit of parole, probation, or
suspension of sentence.
E. If the offender uses, possesses, or has under his immediate control any firearm,
or other instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous
weapon, while committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence or while unlawfully
in the possession of a controlled dangerous substance except the possession of fourteen
grams or less of marijuana, or during the unlawful sale or distribution of a controlled
dangerous substance, the offender shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and
imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five nor more than ten years without the benefit of
probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, the
offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than twenty years nor more than thirty
years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
F.(1) For purposes of determining whether a defendant has a prior conviction for a
violation of this Section, a conviction pursuant to this Section or a conviction pursuant to an
ordinance of a local governmental subdivision of this state which contains the elements
provided for in Subsection A of this Section shall constitute a prior conviction.
(2) The enhanced penalty upon second, third, and subsequent convictions shall not
be applicable in cases where more than five years have elapsed since the expiration of the
maximum sentence, or sentences, of the previous conviction or convictions, and the time of
the commission of the last offense for which he has been convicted; the sentence to be
imposed in such event shall be the same as may be imposed upon a first conviction.
(3) Any ordinance that prohibits the unlawful carrying of firearms enacted by a
municipality, town, or similar political subdivision or governing authority of this state shall
be subject to the provisions of R.S. 40:1796.
G.(1) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to sheriffs and their deputies,
state and city police, constables and town marshals, or persons vested with police power
when in the actual discharge of official duties. These provisions shall not apply to sheriffs
and their deputies and state and city police who are not actually discharging their official
duties, provided that such persons are full time, active, and certified by the Council on Peace
Officer Standards and Training and have on their persons valid identification as duly
commissioned law enforcement officers.
(2) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any law enforcement officer who
is retired from full-time active law enforcement service with at least twelve years service
upon retirement, nor shall it apply to any enforcement officer of the office of state parks in
the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism who is retired from active duty as an
enforcement officer, provided that:
(a) The retired officer has on his person valid identification as a retired law
enforcement officer, which identification shall be provided by the entity that employed the
officer prior to his public retirement. This exception shall not apply to an officer who is
medically retired based upon any mental impairment.
(b) The retired officer was properly certified by the Council on Peace Officer
Standards and Training at the time of retirement, in accordance with R.S. 40:1379.3(D)(1)(f).
(3)(a) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to active or retired reserve or
auxiliary law enforcement officers qualified annually by the Council on Peace Officer
Standards and Training and who have on their person valid identification as active or retired
reserve law or auxiliary municipal police officers. The active or retired reserve or auxiliary
municipal police officer shall be qualified annually in the use of firearms by the Council on
Peace Officer Standards and Training and have proof of such certification.
(b) For the purposes of this Paragraph, a reserve or auxiliary municipal police officer
shall be defined as a volunteer, nonregular, sworn member of a law enforcement agency who
serves with or without compensation and has regular police powers while functioning as such
agency's representative, and who participates on a regular basis in agency activities including
but not limited to those pertaining to crime prevention or control, and the preservation of the
peace and enforcement of the law.
(4) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any retired elected head of a law
enforcement department, provided that he was qualified in the use of firearms by the Council
on Peace Officer Standards and Training at the time of retirement.
H.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (A)(4) of this Section and in Paragraph (2)
of this Subsection, the provisions of this Section shall not prohibit active justices or judges
of the supreme court, courts of appeal, district courts, parish courts, juvenile courts, family
courts, city courts, federal courts domiciled in the state of Louisiana, and traffic courts;
members of either house of the legislature; officers of either house of the legislature; the
legislative auditor; designated investigative auditors; constables; coroners; designated
coroner investigators; district attorneys and designated assistant district attorneys; United
States attorneys and assistant United States attorneys and investigators; the governor; the
lieutenant governor; the secretary of state; the treasurer; the commissioner of agriculture; the
commissioner of insurance; the attorney general; designated assistant attorneys general; city
prosecutors; designated assistant city prosecutors; a United States representative from
Louisiana and his designated, employed congressional staffer; a United States senator from
Louisiana and his designated, employed congressional staffer; justices of the peace; parish
presidents; and mayor-presidents from possessing and concealing a handgun on their person
when such persons are qualified annually in the use of firearms by the Council on Peace
Officer Standards and Training.
(2) Nothing in this Subsection shall permit the carrying of a weapon in the state
capitol building with the exception of the following state officials if they are annually
qualified in the use of firearms by the Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training:
(a) The attorney general and members of his Louisiana Bureau of Investigation
security detail.
(b) Members of the legislature.
I. The provisions of this Section shall not prohibit the carrying of a concealed
handgun by a person who is a college or university police officer under the provisions of R.S.
17:1805 and who is carrying a concealed handgun in accordance with the provisions of that
statute.
J. Repealed by Acts 2018, No. 341, §2.
K.(1) The provisions of this Section shall not prohibit a retired or former justice or
judge of the supreme court, courts of appeal, district courts, parish courts, juvenile courts,
family courts, city courts, or federal courts; former governor; former lieutenant governor;
former secretary of state; former treasurer; former commissioner of agriculture; former
commissioner of insurance; retired or former attorney general; retired or former assistant
attorneys general; retired or former district attorneys; retired or former assistant district
attorneys; retired or former United States attorneys, retired or former assistant United States
attorneys, or retired or former federal investigators; retired or former justices of the peace;
retired or former members of the United States Congress; and former members of either
house of the legislature from possessing and concealing a handgun on their person, provided
that such retired person or former member of the legislature is qualified annually, at their
expense, in the use of firearms by the Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training and
has on their person valid identification showing proof of their status as a former member of
the legislature or as a retired or former justice, judge, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary
of state, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, attorney general,
assistant attorney general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, United States attorney,
or assistant United States attorney or federal investigator, or retired justice of the peace. For
a former member of the legislature, the valid identification showing proof of status as a
former legislator required by the provisions of this Paragraph shall be a legislative badge
issued by the Louisiana Legislature that shall include the former member's name, the number
of the district that the former member was elected to represent, the years that the former
member served in the legislature, and words that indicate the person's status as a former
member of the legislature.
(2) The retired or former justice, judge, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of
state, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, attorney general,
assistant attorney general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, justice of the peace, or
former member of the United States Congress or either house of the legislature shall be
qualified annually in the use of firearms by the Council on Peace Officer Standards and
Training and have proof of qualification.
(3) This Subsection shall not apply to a retired or former justice, judge, governor,
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner
of insurance, attorney general, assistant attorney general, district attorney, assistant district
attorney, United States attorney, assistant United States attorney or federal investigator,
retired justice of the peace, or to a former member of the legislature or the United States
Congress who is medically retired based upon any mental impairment, or who has entered
a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to or been found guilty of a felony offense.
(4) For the purposes of this Subsection:
(a) "Retired assistant United States attorney" or "retired federal investigator" means
an assistant United States attorney or investigator receiving retirement benefits from the
Federal Employees Retirement System.
(b) "Retired district attorney" or "retired assistant district attorney" means a district
attorney or an assistant district attorney receiving retirement benefits from the District
Attorneys' Retirement System.
(c) "Retired United States attorney" means a presidentially appointed United States
attorney who separated from service in good standing.
L. The provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section shall not apply to any person
who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to R.S. 14:95.1 or any other state
or federal law and who is carrying a concealed firearm on or about his person while in the
act of evacuating during a mandatory evacuation order issued during a state of emergency
or disaster declared pursuant to the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance
and Disaster Act. For purposes of this Subsection, "in the act of evacuating" means the
immediate and urgent movement of a person away from the evacuation area within forty-eight hours after a mandatory evacuation is ordered. The forty-eight-hour period may be
extended by an order issued by the governor.
M. The provisions of Subparagraph (A)(1)(a) of this Section shall not apply to any
person who is eighteen years of age or older and is not prohibited from possessing a firearm
under R.S. 14:95.1, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), or any other state or federal law.
N. Any person lawfully carrying a handgun pursuant to Subsection M of this Section
shall be subject to the restrictions contained in R.S. 40:1379.3(I), (L), (M), (N), and (O).
Amended by Acts 1956, No. 345, §1; Acts 1958, No. 21, §1; Acts 1958, No. 379,
§§1, 3; Acts 1968, No. 647, §1; Acts 1975, No. 492, §1; Acts 1986, No. 38, §1; Acts 1992,
No. 1017, §1; Acts 1993, No. 636, §1; Acts 1993, No. 844, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No.
143, §1; Acts 1995, No. 636, §1; Acts 1995, No. 930, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1195, §1; Acts
1995, No. 1199, §1; Acts 1997, No. 508, §1; Acts 1997, No. 611, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1064,
§1; Acts 1999, No. 738, §1; Acts 1999, No. 924, §1; Acts 1999, No. 953, §1; Acts 2003, No.
608, §1; Acts 2003, No. 766, §1; Acts 2006, No. 515, §1; Acts 2006, No. 589, §1; Acts 2008,
No. 172, §1; Acts 2011, No. 159, §1; Acts 2012, No. 302, §1; Acts 2012, No. 383, §1; Acts
2014, No. 390, §2; Acts 2014, No. 776, §1, eff. June 19, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 176, §1; Acts
2015, No. 288, §1; Acts 2016, No. 541, §1; Acts 2016, No. 543, §1; Acts 2018, No. 341,
§§1, 2; Acts 2018, No. 709, §1; Acts 2020, No. 322, §1; Acts 2021, No. 465, §1; Acts 2022,
No. 126, §1, eff. May 26, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 433, §1; Acts 2022, No. 587, §§1, 2; Acts
2022, No. 602, §1; Acts 2022, No. 680, §1; Acts 2023, No. 257, §1; Acts 2024, 2 nd Ex. Sess.,
No. 1, §1, eff. July 4, 2024; Acts 2024, No. 6, §§2, 3, eff. July 4, 2024; Acts 2024, No. 38,
§1; Acts 2024, No. 189, §1; Acts 2024, No. 451, §1; Acts 2024, No. 535, §1, eff. July 4,
2024; Acts 2025, No. 420, §1.