Louisiana Governor Signs NRA-Backed Bowhunting Measure into Law

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) signed House Bill 212 into law this week just in time for the fall 2015 hunting season. Bowhunters are now permitted to carry any caliber firearm for protection while hunting. The NRA-backed bill, sponsored by State Senator Rick Ward (R-Port Allen), amends the previous statute that prevented bowhunters from carrying pistols larger than .22 caliber with snake shot or rat shot ammunition.

Jindal also signed NRA-backed Senate Bill 133, sponsored by state senator Barrow Peacock (R-Shreveport), increasing the amount of land available to hunters. Until now, parishes could to use their zoning authority to regulate hunting in “heavily populated areas—including tracts of land greater than 5 acres with only a single-family residence. The bill takes effect Aug. 1.