New Orleans police cordoned off Bourbon Street in the city’s historic district after gun play left nine people injured and one dead. Louisiana has the highest gun murder rate and the weakest gun laws in the nation. (Photo: Megan Mackel/Twitter)
Mitch Landreiu, the exasperated Mayor of New Orleans, has called his city “out of control” after the latest shootout turned historic Bourbon Street into the OK Corral.
One person was killed and nine were injured in the holiday gun fight.
The National Rifle Association spent $30 million on Trump’s election campaign. In exchange, the President-elect has promised to make concealed permits issued in one state legal across the country, even in states where concealed carry is currently outlawed.
Right now states with concealed carry laws must sign reciprocity agreements to honor another state’s concealed carry permit. The permits are meaningless in states without agreements.
Superintendent Harrison on the Bourbon shooting @wdsu @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/MbpeHZKFH2
— megan k mackel (@nolacameragirl) November 27, 2016
If Trump follows through with his promise (no guarantee), states like New York, Maryland and others could see their murder rates spike.
Louisiana’s gun laws are so lax, anyone over age 17 can carry a concealed gun in public without a permit.
Under Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal gun owners have gained even wider latitude.
During his administration, he’s signed bills into law that allow a “stand your ground” legal defense in shootings and allows gun owners to carry concealed weapons in alcohol-serving restaurants.
Jindal has also signed legislation allowing guns in places of worship and has introduced lifetime concealed-carry permits.
As a result, critics say the state’s biggest tourist attraction has been turned into a war zone and the entire state is a shooting gallery.
Residents are twice as likely as the national average to be murdered by a firearm, according to a federal study.
Between 2004 and 2013, Louisiana had the highest number of gun deaths per capita and the most gun murders per capita in the nation, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In all, 18.8 people per 100,000 state residents were killed by handgun in 2013, twice the national average, according to the CDC.
In the latest shooting, nine people were injured and one was killed early Sunday (Nov. 27) morning. The victims were between the ages of 20 and 37, according to media reports.
The 1:30 a.m. shootout took place in the heart of New Orleans’ tourist district at the intersection of Bourbon St. and Iberville St., one block from Canal St.
“The violence continues to spin out of control with people brandishing weapons whenever they think they can,” Landreiu told local television station WDSU. “It’s really unfortunate.”
Two people were arrested on gun charges. One was charged with illegal possession of a handgun.
The city bans weapons in the French Quarter during festivities, like the city’s signature Mardi Gras celebration. This past weekend tourists were in town for the “Bayou Classic” college football tournament.
The shooting took place even though about 30 police officers were patrolling the area to head off post-event incidents, police said.
Eight other people were arrested in the French Quarter over the weekend on gun charges, according to NOLA.com.
New Orleans is the state capital of gun violence. It had the highest murder rate of any U.S. city, according to the CDC study, even higher than Chicago’s, which Trump singled out during the campaign.
Critics have blamed gun violence on the state’s lax gun laws and poor regulation of the firearms industry, according to The Trace, a non-profit group that charts U.S. gun violence.
Louisiana gun owners are not required to obtain a license or register their weapons, and the state does not restrict assault weapons or high-capacity magazines.
Gun dealers are not required to obtain a state license, conduct employee background checks, or comply with any security or anti-theft regulations, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.