Opinion: Louisiana Gov. John Bell Edwards – 2A Fudd butter extraordinaire

by Lee Williams

It’s not easy to get a Constitutional Carry bill onto a governor’s desk in any state. In fact, it’s a monumental task, which can take years. It requires teams of dedicated Second Amendment advocates and more than a few politicians who understand the true intent of the Second Amendment to get any momentum at all. It also takes money – a lot of money – because the moment a Constitutional Carry bill is introduced, Team Bloomberg and his red-shirted goon squad launch a campaign to see it killed, and it’s always difficult to compete with Nanny Warbucks and his cultists on any financial level.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards kicked his state’s gun owners in the teeth last week, when he vetoed Senate Bill 118, which would have allowed law abiding Louisianans to carry concealed firearms without having to genuflect and buy a permission slip from the government. Sad, that. A lot of hard work was wiped out with one stroke of the governor’s pen. Pro-gun groups are trying to rally the faithful to get them to urge their lawmakers to support a veto session, so Edward’s idiocy can be overridden. I wish them Godspeed.

The only thing about the whole sordid affair that gave me half a chuckle is the statement Edwards wrote to justify why he turned Quisling and backstabbed millions of his own constituents. His statement may be the single dumbest communique ever issued by a sitting governor in the entire history of sitting governors. It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn’t written in response to his totalitarian veto, which ripped Second Amendment rights from millions of Louisianans’ hands.

As most Second-Amendment butters do, Edwards starts off by claiming he is a “strong supporter of the Second Amendment.” Folks, when it comes from a politician, a statement like this is almost always followed by a but, and Edwards certainly didn’t disappoint.

“But I simply cannot support carrying a concealed carry firearm without proper education and safety training – and I believe the majority of Louisianans agree with me,” he wrote.

Well, Gov, a couple of quick points: First, most Louisianans do not agree with you or any other tyrant who violates their rights. Second, concealed carriers do not need the government to tell them to get proper “education and safety training,” which are actually the same thing. We do that on our own, and we enjoy it.

Edwards also claimed he was an “enthusiastic outdoorsman and hunter.” The good gov couldn’t have achieved Fudd status faster if he had donned a plaid hat, grabbed a double-barreled boomstick and commenced to chase him some rascally rabbits.

He also claims to have support from senior law enforcement officials, but we know who they are. We know their type. They’re politicians – not real cops – cut from the same bolt of cloth as those police officials who ordered their officers to kick doors and illegally confiscate firearms from the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Said Edwards: “Simply put, it is not too much to ask that a person who wishes to carry a concealed weapon in public be required to attend basic marksmanship and safety training to the understand the regulations associated with such an action. That’s reasonable and responsible, and for these reasons, I have vetoed the permitless carry bill.”

The mainstream media likes to refer to Constitutional Carry as “permitless carry.” I strongly disagree with the label, since you don’t need a permit to exercise a constitutional right. That Gov. Edwards would use the term too isn’t a surprise. He clearly doesn’t understand the concept either.