Louisiana Rescinds Ban on Carrying Firearm While Frogging at Night

There's a saying that nothing good happens after 2:00 AM. That may well be true, because I can't say that I've had a lot of wonders hit me at that time of the morning/night. I haven't had much bad happen, admittedly, but still...

Some people who are into nighttime activities, though, find themselves out and about at all hours due to those activities, and some of those things are actually kind of wholesome.

Like frogging.

I'm not someone who has any interest in the activity, personally, but a lot of people in a lot of places are fans. Especially in Louisiana.

Unfortunately, because they're out at night, those who engage in frogging had a problem. Some nighttime activities aren't as wholesome as what they're doing, but the law left them defenseless. They couldn't carry a gun while frogging.

Now, they can.

 It’s now legal to take your firearm while hunting frogs at night in Louisiana. 

Act 109, by Sen. Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales, repealed a prohibition on carrying a rifle, shotgun or firearm while frogging after the sun goes down. The law change went into effect Aug. 1.

Lambert said the firearm ban was likely unconstitutional after state lawmakers expanded gun rights a few years ago and allowed firearms to be carried in more locations. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries asked him to carry the legislation to undo the restriction over concern it conflicted with other state laws. 

Lambert, an attorney, also owns vacation cottages in Pierre Part and takes guests on frog hunts. 

...

Guns aren’t used to hunt frogs. The prohibition was likely put in place to deter people from illegally hunting deer at night. Lambert said people who had rifles with them to shoot deer could, in theory, claim they were hunting frogs when caught by state Wildlife and Fisheries agents. 

That was probably true. You don't need a gun to hunt frogs. The French aren't that hard to take down without a firearm.

Neither are the amphibians, but I couldn't resist making fun of the French.

Anywho, I think I get the poaching concerns here, but on the same token, the prohibition on any gun at all means that someone who might be out frogging legally and encounters someone like, you know, a poacher, they would be unable to defend themselves.

That's not how a gun-friendly state should have things.

It's not about the frogs. Or the French.

It's about our right to keep and bear arms. Louisiana is making the right move here. It's a move they shouldn't have to make, admittedly, but those mistakes were made in the past, and now they're correcting them. That's a good thing, and I'm glad to see it.

Ending prohibitions on carrying guns while engaging in various lawful activities is what should be happening across the board, and Louisiana made that step while a lot of other states haven't. Maybe not necessarily for frogging, mind you, but in other ways. Some states won't make those steps, so good on Louisiana for actually doing it.

Now, if only we could finally do something about those oh-so-annoying French.

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