NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – The New Orleans City Council is moving forward with their plan to crack down on gun owners who don’t secure their firearms.
New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas says, in the last two years, 19 children, between the ages of 2 and 16, have died by gunfire in the city, and so far this year, the trend seems to be continuing.
“The two recent shootings where teenagers who were friends got access to a gun that was not protected,” Councilman Thomas said. “It was not within the lockbox. It was not in a safe place, and two friends were involved in the killing. We have to do something about that.”
The New Orleans city council agreed to amend the city’s gun ownership ordinance. The new ordinance will allow NOPD to arrest any adult who’s responsible for the careless storage of a firearm that leads to a juvenile’s injury or death.
The gun owner could spend up to 6 months in jail or pay a $500 fine in less severe cases.
“With gun violence in this country right now, and gun violence in this community, and the proliferation of guns, the most responsible thing that a gun owner can do, that an adult can do is make sure they protect their gun and keep it away from their children,” Thomas said.
The amended ordinance would make the city of New Orleans the most restrictive city in the state as it relates to gun ownership.
Louisiana doesn’t currently have a law that imposes a penalty on someone who fails to secure a gun, making it accessible to a child.
Thomas says he’s aware the ordinance may hit a legal roadblock.
“Well, I mean, you know, everything is up for challenge when you’re talking about policy and the law and amending the law, but until that happens, at least now we’re going to have a discussion about responsibility if you’re a gun owner,” Thomas said.
The ordinance was initiated by an NOPD lieutenant with the backing of the full council.
As the law stood before, an officer was allowed to issue a summons to the perpetrating gun owner.
“In general, if we would store our guns more carefully and recognize the devastation that they can cause to families and to individuals, I think we’d see better storage about weapons,” New Orleans City Councilman Eugene Green said.
