Can You Carry a Gun in New Orleans? Permits, Zones, and Penalties

Yes, you can carry a gun in New Orleans. Since July 4, 2024, any person at least 18 years old who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm may carry openly or concealed anywhere in Louisiana without a permit.¹ Louisiana’s state preemption law bars New Orleans and every other city or parish from writing stricter firearm rules, so the rules that apply in the French Quarter are the same ones that apply everywhere else in the state.² That said, there are people who can’t carry at all, and places where carry is illegal no matter what.

Who Is Prohibited From Carrying

Permitless carry only applies if you are legally allowed to possess a firearm in the first place. Louisiana law bars anyone convicted of a felony classified as a crime of violence, or certain other serious felonies, from possessing a firearm for ten years after finishing their sentence, probation, or parole. Violating that ban brings five to twenty years at hard labor and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000.³

Someone subject to a domestic violence protective order also cannot possess a firearm for the duration of the order, provided the order finds the person poses a credible threat to a family, household, or dating partner.⁴

Federal law adds more categories: unlawful users of controlled substances, people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution, those dishonorably discharged from the military, anyone under indictment for a felony, and anyone who has renounced U.S. citizenship. These federal prohibitions apply in Louisiana and override the permitless carry law.

Where You Cannot Carry in New Orleans

Permitless carry does not mean carry everywhere. Louisiana’s concealed handgun statute keeps a long list of places off-limits to firearms whether you hold a permit or not:⁵

Law enforcement offices, stations, and buildings
Jails, prisons, and detention facilities
Courthouses and courtrooms (a judge may carry in their own courtroom)
Polling places
Government meeting places used by any parish or municipal governing authority
The State Capitol building
Airport security zones (a lawfully encased firearm can still enter the terminal to check as baggage)
Places of worship, unless the person in charge of the facility authorizes it
Parades and permitted demonstrations
Establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption
Schools, school campuses, and school buses

Bars and Restaurants That Serve Alcohol

The alcohol rule catches a lot of visitors off guard. It is not limited to bars whose main business is booze. Louisiana prohibits possessing a firearm at any commercial establishment that sells alcohol by the drink for on-premises consumption, whether alcohol is the point of the business or just a sideline.⁵ In practical terms that covers bars, nightclubs, and the permitted area of restaurants that serve drinks. In a city built around its nightlife, that reaches most of the French Quarter and well beyond.

Schools and the 1,000-Foot Zone

Schools get an extra layer of protection. Carrying a firearm on a school campus, on school transportation, at a school-sponsored event, or within 1,000 feet of a school campus is a felony punishable by up to five years at hard labor.⁶ With schools scattered throughout New Orleans, those 1,000-foot buffers cover a lot of the map.

One exception. Anyone carrying under the permitless carry law, or holding a valid Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit or a permit from a reciprocal state, may carry concealed inside that 1,000-foot perimeter. The school grounds and buses themselves remain off-limits.⁶

Federal Buildings, Post Offices, and Parks

New Orleans holds a lot of federal property, and federal law overrides state carry rules there. Bringing a firearm into any federal facility where federal employees regularly work is a federal crime carrying up to one year in prison, or five years if you bring it intending to use it in a crime. Federal courthouses carry up to two years.⁷

Post offices are stricter still. Federal regulation prohibits any firearm on postal property, open or concealed, with no exception for state permits or permitless carry.⁸

National parks work differently. In areas administered by the National Park Service, you can possess a firearm if you can legally possess one and you follow the carry law of the state where the park sits. Louisiana’s permitless carry means you can carry in a place like Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. You still cannot bring a firearm into any NPS building, including visitor centers, ranger stations, and offices, because those are federal facilities. Discharge in a national park is also prohibited unless hunting is specifically authorized.⁹

Private Property and Signs

A property owner, business lessee, or anyone else lawfully in charge of a property can prohibit firearms on the premises. Louisiana’s concealed carry statute expressly preserves that right, and it applies equally to permit holders and permitless carriers.⁵ You also cannot carry a concealed handgun into someone else’s home without their consent.

Louisiana does not have a statute that gives “no firearms” signs on private businesses independent criminal force of law the way some states do. But ignoring a sign and refusing to leave when asked can lead to criminal trespass charges. Once you know firearms are not welcome, comply or leave.

Self-Defense Once You Are Carrying

Carrying comes with the responsibility to know when you can legally use the firearm. Louisiana is a stand-your-ground state: you have no duty to retreat before using force if you are somewhere you have a right to be and you are not engaged in unlawful activity.¹⁰

Deadly force is justified when you reasonably believe you are in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that killing is necessary to save yourself. It is also justified to stop a violent felony that threatens someone’s life, or against a person you reasonably believe is trying to commit burglary or robbery of your home, business, or occupied vehicle.¹⁰

Castle Doctrine

Louisiana’s castle doctrine reaches beyond the house. If you are lawfully inside a dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle when a conflict starts, and someone is unlawfully and forcibly entering or has already entered, the law presumes your belief that deadly force was necessary. The prosecution then has to prove you were unreasonable, rather than the other way around.¹⁰ The presumption is a strong shield, but it only fires when the entry is both unlawful and forcible. Someone you invited in through an unlocked door is a different legal situation.

If a court finds you acted in lawful self-defense, you also cannot be held civilly liable for the harm caused.

Penalties for Illegal Carry

The penalties for illegal carrying of a weapon rise sharply with each offense:¹¹

First offense (misdemeanor): up to a $500 fine, up to six months in jail, or both.
Second offense: up to five years of imprisonment.
Third and subsequent offenses (felony): up to ten years of imprisonment, served without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Carrying a firearm during a violent crime or while unlawfully possessing or distributing a controlled substance is a separate felony on top of the underlying charge. That add-on carries a fine of up to $10,000 and five to ten years without parole; a second conviction under the provision carries twenty to thirty years.¹¹

Carrying on school property or in a school zone is prosecuted separately and carries up to five years at hard labor. If the firearm is used in a violent crime on school property, the penalty is one to five years plus a fine of up to $2,000, running consecutively with any sentence for the violent offense itself.⁶

Why Get a Permit Anyway

With permitless carry now the rule, some people assume the Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit is pointless. It is not.

The main reason is reciprocity. Louisiana’s permit is honored in roughly 38 states, including most of the South and Midwest. Without a permit, your right to carry concealed stops at the state line. States that do not recognize the Louisiana permit include California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, Hawaii, Delaware, New Mexico, Oregon, and Rhode Island.¹²

There is a practical benefit at home too. A permit on your person during a traffic stop signals to the officer that you have passed a background check and completed a safety course, which can smooth the encounter. To qualify for the permit, you must be at least 21, a Louisiana resident, and complete a nine-hour firearm safety course from a state-approved instructor.⁵

Traveling In and Out With a Firearm

If you drive to or from New Orleans, federal law provides some protection when passing through states with stricter rules. Under the Firearm Owners Protection Act, you can transport a firearm through any state if you can legally possess it at both your origin and destination. During transport, the firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. If the vehicle has no trunk, it goes in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.¹³

This safe-passage rule only covers you while you are actually traveling through. Extended stops, a hotel stay, or any break that goes beyond necessary travel can drop you back under that state’s laws. Some restrictive states, particularly in the Northeast, have prosecuted travelers they considered to have lingered too long.

Flying out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International is its own process. TSA requires firearms to be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container, declared at the airline check-in counter, and checked as baggage. Ammunition must be in its original packaging or a container designed for it, and it can go in the same locked case as the firearm. Firearms are never allowed in carry-on bags.¹⁴

1
nola.gov. NOPD Chapter 1.25 – Enforcing Firearms Laws
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 40:1796 – Preemption of State Law
3
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:95.1 – Possession of Firearm or Carrying Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies
4
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136.3 – Prohibition on the Possession of Firearms by a Person Against Whom a Protective Order Is Issued
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 40:1379.3 – Statewide Permits for Concealed Handguns
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:95.2 – Carrying a Firearm or Dangerous Weapon on School Property, at School-Sponsored Functions, or in a Firearm-Free Zone
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
8
eCFR. 39 CFR 232.1 – Conduct on Postal Property
9
National Park Service. Firearms in National Parks
10
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:20 – Justifiable Homicide
11
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:95 – Illegal Carrying of Weapons
12
Louisiana State Police. Reciprocity
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
14
Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition