Louisiana

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Louisiana

This jurisdictional hub aggregates FRC holdings related to Louisiana. It supports research on the state’s firearms history, technology, law, policy, and culture from French and Spanish colonial periods through statehood to the present.

Legal sources: statutes and session laws, administrative code, attorney general opinions, appellate decisions, and select parish/municipal ordinances.
Historical materials: newspapers, photographs, maps, catalogs, maritime and port records, militia and Civil War archives, and oral histories tied to Louisiana people and places.
Research outputs: technical reports, academic studies, training manuals, and curated datasets relevant to the state.

Cite the Firearms Research Center and the item’s handle/DOI when using materials. Rights and licensing vary by item.

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La. Const. of 1879 art. III
(1879)
Provided the right to bear arms, but authorizes the passage of laws restricting the carrying of concealed weapons.
Ordinances Ordained and Established by the Mayor & City Council of the City of New Orleans 66 (1817)
(1817)
Art. 10. It shall not be lawful for any person to have or keep within the city and suburbs, or within two miles of the same (except the public magazine, or place of depot appointed for that purpose) any quantity of gunpowder, at any one time, exceeding one hundred pounds weight, in any one place, house, store or out-house, which said quantity of one hundred pounds shall be separated in several stone jugs or tin canisters, each of which shall not contain more than ten pounds of powder, and shall be provided with a safe and sufficient stopple; and if any person or person shall keep any greater quantity of gunpowder at any one time than one hundred pounds, in any one place, house, store or out-house, or if the same gunpowder, so kept as aforesaid, shall not be separated in the manner herein above directed, he, she, or they shall forfeit all such gunpowder so kept contrary to the true intent and meaning of this ordinance, or so permitted to be kept, and which shall not be separated as aforesaid, and shall also forfeit and pay a fine not less than twenty-five, nor more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit, by the Mayor or any other competent magistrate; one half to the informer, and the other half for the use of the city
Evening Gun, no. 251, in E.C. Wharton, New Orleans Laws and General Ordinances 89 (1857).
(1857)
That the captains of police of the first, second, third and fourth districts be, and are hereby, instructed to purchase the powder necessary for firing the evening guns in said districts, and present the vouchers for the same, after they have been approved by the chief of police, and it shall be the duty of the said captains to detail a member of the police force of each of said districts to fire the said evening guns, without extra compensation."
1873 La. Acts 117
(1873)
An Act Conferring Certain Additional Powers and Privileges on the Metairie Cemetery Association, and to Punish Trespassers,§ 1: And any person who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure placed therein, or shall willfully destroy, cut, break or remove any tree, shrub or plant within the limits of said cemetery, or shoot or discharge any gun or firearms within said limits, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall upon conviction thereof, before any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction
Jewell's Digest of the City Ordinances, Together with the Constitutional Provisions, Acts of the General Assembly, and Decisions of the Courts Relative to the Government of the City of New Orleans 1 (1882)
(1879)
Prohibition of Weapons in Balls, Theatres, etc., Title 1-Amusements, Chapter 1-General Ordinances, Articles 1-6 : That hereafter it shall not be lawful for any person to carry a dangerous weapon, concealed or otherwise, into a theatre, public hall, tavern, picnic ground, place for shows or exhibitions, house or other place of public entertainment or amusement.
1902 La. Acts 150, in 2 Solomon Wolff, Constitution and Revised Laws of Louisiana 1718 (1904)
(1903)
Imposed a license tax of ten dollars on all wholesale dealers of pistols and rifles, and a five dollar license tax on wholesale dealers of pistol and rifle cartridges. Imposed a one hundred dollar license tax on retail dealers of pistols and rifles and a fifty dollar tax on retail dealers of pistol and rifle cartridges. Also provided that any person who shall sell pistols, rifles, pistol cartridges, or rifle cartridges without paying the license tax is guilty of a misdemeanor
Levi Peirce, The Consolidation and Revision of the Statutes of the State, of a General Nature 185 (1852)
(1852)
When gunpowder is shipped on board of a steamboat, which shall at all times be stowed away at as great a distance as possible from the furnace, a written notification of the fact shall be placed in three conspicuous parts of the boat; and in the event of such notification not being so exhibited , then for any loss of property, or life, for which the powder shall be deemed the cause, the owner shall be liable to the shipper for the full amount of said loss or damage; and the captain, in the event of loss of life being the result of such accident, shall be adjudged guilty of manslaughter.§ 6. Any person or persons who shall ship or put on board, or cause to be shipped or put on board of any steamboat, within this State, any gunpowder, without giving notice thereof a the time of making the shipment to the master clerk of said boat, shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars, which may be sued for and recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction by the owner, captain or clerk of said boat, for his or her own use and benefit
Proceedings of the Board of Police of the Town of Opelousas, §§ 1-6, in The Opelousas Journal, Jun. 26, 1874, at 3 (Opelousas, Louisiana).
(1874)
to prevent the carrying concealed weapons within the corporate limits of the town of Opelousa
Police Code, or Collection of the Ordinances of Police Made by the City Council of New-Orleans 114-116 (1808)
(1808)
Captains of vessels are obliged, within twenty four hours from their arrival in this port, to deposit the gun-powder they may have on board, in the powder-magazine situate on the right bank of the river, the owner paying to the keeper of the magazine a suitable compensation. All citizens are strictly forbidden to keep in their houses, or elsewhere within the city or suburbs, more than one hundred pounds of gun-powder at a time, and in case of fire, such as live near the place where it is, if they have powder in their houses, shall be obliged to throw into their wells the barrels containing the same.
1804 Ind. Acts 108,§ 4
(1804)
Prohibited a "slave or mulatto" from carrying or possessing a gun, powder, shot, club or other weapon and ammunition. (This is an improperly cited Louisiana Territory law, not a law of the territory of Indiana.)
An Ordinance to Establish a Uniform Rate of Taxes and Licenses, in The New Orleans Crescent, December 30, 1868, at 6 (New Orleans, Louisiana).
(1869)
imposed a 50 dollar tax on pistol galleries
Title XIV. Of Aleatory Contracts (Art. 2982-2984) Book III, art. 2983, (La. 1940) (enacted 1808)
(1808)
The law grants no action for the payment of what has been won at gaming or by a bet, except for games tending to promote skill in the use of arms, such as the exercise of the gun, foot, horse and chariot racing."
1870 La. Acts 159-60
(1870)
Sec. 73. [...] It shall be unlawful for any person to carry any gun, pistol, bowie knife or other dangerous weapon, concealed or unconcealed, on any day of election during the hours the polls are open, or on any day of registration or revision of registration, within a distance of one-half mile of any place of registration or revision of registration; any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, and imprisonment in the parish jail not less than one month.
Henry Jefferson Leovy, The Laws and General Ordinances of the City of New Orleans 242 (1857)
(1857)
680: Every keeper of a pistol gallery, the whole tax being levied on each and every gallery, sixty dollars.
1 John Ray, Digest of the Statutes of the State of Louisiana 387 (1870)
(1870)
If any person shall voluntarily engage in a duel with rapier or small sword, back sword, pistol or other dangerous weapon to the hazard of life, and death shall ensue, the survivor shall, upon conviction, suffer death; and all and every person aiding and abetting as second, agent or abettor, shall, on conviction, be punished as accessories before the fact in murder
Ordinance no. 103, §§ 1-3, in St. Tammany Farmer, September 11, 1909, at 7, 7 (Slidell, Louisiana).
(1909)
That it shall be unlawful for any person at any time to explode, shoot any firecracker, firearms, Roman candle, or any other fireworks that may be used for the purpose of celebrating, within the corporate limits of the Town of Slidell.
1828 La. Acts 367-68
(1828)
25: If any person shall challenge another, or shall accept a challenge to fight with sword, pistol, rapier or other dangerous weapon, every person so challenging or accepting such challenge, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned not exceeding two years
1920 La. Acts 170
(1920)
An Act Defining the Crime of Burglary with Explosives and Providing the Punishment Therefor,§ 1-2: any persons who, with intent to commit crime, breaks and enters, either by day or night, any building whether inhabited or not, and opens or attempts to open any vault, safe or other secure place by use of nitro-glycerine, dynamite, gunpowder or any other explosive, shall be deemed guilty of burglary with explosives.
An Ordinance concerning the Port and Levee of New-Orleans, Art. 27 (City Council Decree, 23 Feb., 1827)
(1827)
It shall not be lawful to fire off any cannon or other piece of artillery, or fire arms of any kind, on board of any ship, steam-boat, or other craft within the port of Orleans, except from day-break to the hour of retreat ; that is to say, until nine o'clock from the 15th of March to the 15th of September, and until eight o'clock during the remainder of the year
An Ordinance Concerning Cattle, Fences of Plantations and Other Objects of the Rural Police, within the City of New-Orleans, Art. 16 (31 July, 1828), in D. Augustin, A General Digest of the Ordinances and Resolutions of the Corporation of New Orleans 310-11 (1831)
(1828)
Whoever shall fire a gun or other kind of fire-arms near any other inhabited place ; whoever shall fire at pigeons, or shall kill or wound any domestic animal, while hunting or fowling on another person's land, shall, in every such case, be fined from twenty-five to fifty dollars, besides his being liable for damages to the party concerned, and even to prosecution, if cause be found."
1870 La. Acts 127
(1870)
Persons, Trades, Professions and Occupations Subject to Taxation,§ 3, pt. 6: From each proprietor or keeper of every billiard saloon, bowling alley or pistol gallery, in which there is but one table, alley or target, twenty-five dollars; where there are two tables, alleys or targets, forty dollars; where there are more than two tables, alleys or targets, ten dollars additional on each table, alley or target
1912 La. Acts 505
(1912)
Twenty-fifth: To regulate the buying, caring, storing, selling and using of gun powder and fire crackers, and fireworks manufactured or prepared therefrom, and all other combustible or explosive substances, the exhibition of fireworks, the discharge of firearms and the lights, in barns, stables and other buildings, and restrain the making of bonfires at any place within the limits of the city.
1816 La. Acts 92
(1816)
An Act to Amend the Act Entitled "An Act to Incorporate the city of New Orleans" and the Act Entitled "An act to determine the mode of election of the mayor, recorder and other public officers necessary for the administration and police of the city of New Orleans and for Other Purposes [sic],§ 1: [T]he mayor and city council of the city of New Orleans shall have full power and authority . . . [T]o prevent gun powder being stowed within the walls and suburbs in such quantity as to endanger the public safety .
Hohn C. White, Digest of the Laws and Ordinances of the Parish of East Feliciana 80 (1847)
(1848)
Prohibited discharge of arms within the limits of the town Clinton, except in extreme circumstances. Punishable by fine.
An Act prescribing the rules and conduct to be observed with respect to Negroes and other Slaves of this territory, in A General Digest of the Acts of the Legislature of Louisiana, Passed from the Year 1804 to 1827, at 103-04 (1828)
(1806)
19: No slave shall, by day or by night, carry any visible or hidden arms, not even with a permission for so doing, and in case any person or persons shall find any slave or slaves, using or carrying such fire arms, or any offensive weapons of any other kind, contrary to the true meaning of this act, he, she or they, lawfully, may seize and carry away such fire arms, or other offensive weapons
Ordinances Ordained and Established by the Mayor & City Council of the City of New Orleans 68 (1817)
(1817)
12: No person shall hereafter be permitted to fire or discharge any gun, pistol, fowling piece or firearm, nor to discharge or let off any rocket, cracker, squib or other fire-works, in any street, court yard, lot, walk or public way, within the city or suburbs, or from the door or window of any house or other building, or near any house or other inhabited part of said city or suburbs, on any account whatever particularly on the occasion of festivals or public rejoicings, under the penalty of from five to ten dollars upon each offender,
John Q. Flynn Flynn's Digest of the City Ordinances, Together with the Constitutional Provisions, Acts of the General Assembly, and Decisions of the Courts Relative to the Government of the City of New Orleans 545 (1896)
(1893)
1342: It shall be unlawful for any one to sell, or lease, or give through himself or any other person, any pistol, dirk, bowie knife, toy pistol for which cartridges are used, or any other dangerous weapon which may be carried concealed, to any person under the age of eighteen years.
1812 La. Acts 172, 174
(1813)
1: Prohibited the carrying of any concealed weapon, including a dirk, dagger, knife, pistol, or any other deadly weapon.
An Ordinance Respecting Public Balls, New Orleans, LA (Passed 27 Oct. 1817)
(1817)
Prohibited any person from entering any public ballroom with any cane, stick, sword, or any other weapon. Such weapons shall be checked in at the entrance with receipt documentation.
Albert Voorhies, Revised Laws of Louisiana 161 (1884)
(1884)
949: When gunpowder is shipped on board of a steamboat it shall be stored away at as great a distance as possible from the furnace, and a written notification of the fact shall be placed in three conspicuous parts of the boat; and in the event of such notification not being so exhibited, then for any loss of property or life for which the powder may be deemed the cause, the owner and captain shall be liable to the penalty provided in the proceeding section.§ 950. Any person who shall ship or put on board, or cause to be shipped or put on board of any steamboat within this State, any gunpowder, without giving notice thereof, at the time of making the shipment, to the master or clerk of said boat, shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars
Hohn C. White, Digest of the Laws and Ordinances of the Parish of East Feliciana 68 (1847)
(1848)
No slave shall carry a gun to hunt, except on the plantation of his master or mistress; nor then unless accompanied by the overseer or some other free white member of the family, or has a written permit from his owner or overseer, which permit shall state for what said slave is hunting:
1908 La. Acts 405-06
(1908)
An Act to Protect Game Birds. . . ,§ 7: That it shall be unlawful to kill any of the birds named in this Act in the open season, noted herein by any means other than by ordinary gun capable of being held to and shot from the shoulder.
1 Henry A. Bullard & Thomas Curry, A New Digest of the Statute Laws of the State of Louisiana 252 (1842)
(1842)
59: Prohibited the carrying of " any concealed weapon, such as a dirk, dagger, knife, pistol, or any other deadly weapon." Punishable by fine of $20-50.
1855 La. Acts 148
(1855)
Ch. 120: Prohibited the concealed carrying of "pistols, bowie knife, dirk, or any other dangerous weapon." Violators fined not exceeding one thousand dollars or no more than three months imprisonment.
2 John Ray, Digest of the Statutes of the State of Louisiana 190 (1870)
(1870) Test
37. [SEC 38.] A soldier, who unnecessarily or without order from a superior officer, comes to any parade with his musket, rifle or pistol loaded with ball, slug or shot, or so loads the same while on parade, or unnecessarily or without order from a superior officer, discharges the same when going to, returning from, or upon parade, shall forfeit not less than five nor more than twenty dollars, to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction upon complaint of the clerk, one-half to his use and one-half to the use of the Commanding officer.
1804 La. Acts 284
(1804)
An Act for Regulating and Governing the Militia of the Territory of New Orleans,§ 13: each non-commissioned officer and private of the infantry, shall constantly keep himself provided with good musket or guns, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints and a knapsack, a cartridge box or pouch, with box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges
1918 La. Acts 132
(1918)
3: That it shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, or kill wild deer with any gun, or other firearm with any devise for deadening the sound of the explosion attached or fitted thereto, which device is commonly called a silencer.
1932 La. Acts 337-38
(1932)
No. 79,§ 1-2: Prohibited selling, loaning, giving, purchasing, possession, carrying, or transporting a machine gun.
Treaty Between the United States of America and the French Republic, Art. III, Apr. 30, 1803, 8 Stat. 202, T. S. No. 86
(1803)
Granted the inhabitants of the ceded territory all rights, advantages, and immunities of a full US citizen.
Henry Jefferson Leovy, The Laws and General Ordinances of the City of New Orleans 257, § 635-36 (1870)
(1870)
636(5): Prohibited unlicensed shooting galleries from operating within city limits.

Louisiana

Louisiana

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