BATON ROUGE - On July 4, Louisiana will become the 29th state to allow residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. The new regulations, which were proposed by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, during the second special session, let anyone over the age of 18 carry a gun without a permit unless they are not allowed to have any weapons due to previous felonies. Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi warns residents to learn as much as they can when deciding to carry a weapon as it can be the difference between life and death. "My wish is that each and every person that if their desire is to purchase a firearm they at least get some basic training on the safety features of these guns. Some of these guns have no safety feature on them and if they  are put in the wrong hands it can be catastrophic," Stassi said. The sheriff urged new gun owners to still take a concealed carry class. Jim's Firearms is offering training throughout the year, and owner Jim McClain says the new law has its negatives and positives. "It has good and bad ends of it. The good end - it does give our citizens right to carry," McClain said. "One thing would like to stress is to go ahead and get your training. Whether you get your concealed license or not - train, practice, educate yourself, learn. It never hurts to learn more." Sheriff Stassi says if any Iberville Parish are looking for basic gun instruction, deputies are ready to help."If anybody was to call the sheriff's office and would like to receive some instruction, I will make my people available. It's not nothing you need to have this permit, but this is something I think the least we can do."Carrying a gun will still be prohibited in certain places, including bars, schools, churches, police stations, courthouses and the state capitol.Permalink| Comments