BATON ROUGE – New data from the Louisiana Law Enforcement Commission may indicate the state’s firearms confiscation law is being poorly enforced.
Each parish was measured based on the volume of firearm transfer orders and the amount of firearms actually returned in 2023. The data shows there are more than 100 cases in which defendants are in possession of guns.
Passed in 2014 and recently upheld by the Supreme Court, the law requires that judges must order people convicted of domestic violence to give up their firearms. Sheriff’s offices must track their return, and they can’t possess firearms for 10 years after their conviction.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, there were more than 1,200 firearm transfer orders, of which only 51 were surrendered.
Mariah Weinsky, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition to Prevent Domestic Violence, said there is a lack of education about the seriousness of domestic violence and that the data isn’t surprising because it matches up with the experiences domestic violence victims have with the justice system and their attempts to seek safety.
“Domestic violence is downplayed in our system and in our society. If we downplay domestic violence and don’t understand how serious it is, we’re making excuses instead of making the changes that are needed,” Weinsky said.
Weinsky said proper enforcement is essential for the law to be effective, and although the law has many flaws, he believes it will help victims of domestic violence.
“We’ve seen it implemented successfully in other parishes, where there have been ongoing firearm transfers and hundreds of firearms have been prevented from being used to harm victims,” ​​she said.
She encourages all victims of domestic violence to seek support and to call the statewide hotline whenever they need help.