BATON ROUGE — A Louisiana legislator has authored a bill that, if signed into law, would allow the carrying of guns on college and university campuses. 

The bill, HB99, written by Caddo Parish Rep. Danny McCormick (R), says that anyone lawfully permitted to carry a firearm under state and federal law would be allowed to carry said firearm "in any building or facility on the campus of a public college or university in this state or a private or independent college or university that is a recipient of any state funding."

Under the current statute, all campuses are firearm-free zones.

"It is the intent of the legislature to affirm that the right to keep and bear 25 arms is a fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment to the United States," the bill's text reads. 

The bill says that the new law would still prohibit the presence of firearms where it is restricted by federal law, as well as in active disciplinary or administrative hearings, in medical or mental health treatment centers operated by the college or university and events with security screening or controlled access, like an athletic event.

McCormick's legislation says that private facilities and classrooms within a college or university may restrict the carrying of a firearm. Additionally, the bill says that "no student, faculty member, staff member or visitor shall be subject to discipline, penalty or retaliation solely for carrying a firearm" under the proposed law.

Schools will also be prohibited from requiring anyone on campus to register or declare eligibility for their guns, as well as being barred from imposing rules more restrictive than state law regarding firearms.

Texas has had a similar law on the books since 2015, which allows people with handgun licenses to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. Several other states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Montana, also have similar laws, including West Virginia's Campus Self-Defense Act, which was signed into law in 2023.