When New Orleans officials announced their plans to designated a police substation in the French Quarter as a vo-tech in order to set up a semi-gun-free zone" in the popular tourist destination, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill was quick to push back on the idea. As she pointed out, the New Orleans Police Department can't simply point to a building a call it a school; vo-techs are accredited institutions under Louisiana law, and simply hosting classes for cops doesn't qualify the precinct building as a vocational-technical school. 

But after a meeting this week between Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick and Murrill, the city's top cop says the department is moving forward with its plans, albeit with a tweak. Instead of the faux-tech proposed by the NOPD, the department now plans on partnering with an existing vo-tech that will host classes in the substation. 

“I appreciate the attorney general for sitting down and talking it through and that led to a much better outcome,” Kirkpatrick said.

The plan is to open a vocational-technical school in the Eight District Police Station. According to state law, guns are prohibited within 1,000 feet of a school. Signage will alert visitors of the firearm-free zone.

The school got pushback from Attorney General Liz Murrill, who questioned its legitimacy.

On Thursday, city officials met with Murrill to come up with a solution, landing on a partnership between NOPD and an already established votech school.

“Then you definitely have a vocational school located in the French Quarter, and that would be an agreed approach, by my understanding, that the attorney general would be comfortable with,” Kirkpatrick said.

According to the superintendent, the Eighth District Police Station would act as a satellite campus.

“It would be a happy marriage,” Kirkpatrick said.

If Murrill has signed off on the city's plans (and so far, I haven't seen any comment from the AG herself), that would be an incredibly disappointing development. Still, the Quarter won't be a true "gun-free zone" even if classes are offered at the French Quarter substation. Under Louisiana law, those with valid concealed carry licenses can still bear arms within 1,000 feet of a school, so the only impact would be on those residents and visitors hoping to take advantage of the state's permitless carry law. 

The city's attempt to do an end-run around the state's Constitutional Carry law is only going to confuse lawful gun owners. To make matters worse, Kirkpatrick says she's not sure when the substation will start offering classes. The city already contends that, due to pre-existing local ordinances, Constitutional Carry won't take effect in New Orleans until August 1st. What happens if classes aren't taking place at the substation when that date rolls around? Will Murrill's office still allow that building to be designated as a vo-tech even if it's not actually being used for that purpose, or will Constitutional Carry be in effect in the French Quarter until classes begin? 

I've reached out to Murrill's office for comment, and I hope she'll be able to join me on an upcoming Bearing Arms' Cam & Co to explain what's happening with Constitutional Carry in the Crescent City. Given the French Quarter violence being committed by individuals not allowed to possess a firearm at all, making it harder for legal gun owners to protect themselves is an extraordinarily bad idea... as well as a step backward on public safety and civil rights.