Free Republic

The Louisiana House voted 59-36 Wednesday (May 2) to allow visitors to carry guns at K-12 schools and on university campuses if they have concealed weapons permits. The legislation would allow people to have guns at schools and universities, regardless of whether the institutions are public or private. House Bill 602, sponsored by state Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, now moves to the Senate for consideration. Under current law, most people are not allowed to carry a gun into a school or university building unless they are in law enforcement or use a weapon for class. This proposal would allow visitors...

BATON ROUGE -- The House voted 76-13 Thursday to prohibit insurance companies from paying claims for "elective abortions" in Louisiana, sending the measure to the Senate for more debate. The bill would allow coverage only for abortions necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman, said Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe, the chief sponsor of House Bill 1247, a measure that has the backing of Gov. Bobby Jindal. Rep. Juan LaFonta, D-New Orleans, tried to change the bill to make it apply to some limited procedures such as allowing a doctor to remove a fetus that could not survive...

BATON ROUGE -- Having failed multiple times to get approval for his proposal to expand drug testing of public assistance recipients, Rep. John LaBruzzo retooled the bill Wednesday to focus on pregnant women. With that strategic shift, the House Health and Welfare Committee voted without dissent to require that the state test 20 percent of those who receive aid from the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Program. The priority would be on pregnant women, and no one who tests positive would lose benefits as long as they enter state-paid treatment programs....