Louisiana House snubs call to keep automatic guns from kids
Published 8:59 pm Thursday, May 25, 2017
BATON ROUGE— Louisiana lawmakers have spiked a proposal to keep fully automatic weapons away from young children.
The House voted 61-21 Thursday against Rep. Barbara Norton’s bill to fine, and possibly imprison, people who allow children under 13 to handle fully automatic firearms.
The Shreveport Democrat proposed the bill after a 9-year-old Arizona girl lost control of the Uzi submachine gun she was firing and fatally shot her gun range instructor in 2014.
Bill opponents said Norton’s intentions are admirable, but called her proposal vague.
Lafayette Rep. Stuart Bishop feared being fined for letting his child shoot a paintball gun, which he said could be considered a fully automatic gun, under the measure’s definition.
Livingston Rep. Sherman Mack said current child endangerment laws make the bill unnecessary.
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House Bill 67: www.legis.la.gov
