WASHINGTON — Atop the minds of all six U.S. House members from Louisiana is a Monday status conference that is expected to chart a path out of the morass created when two federal judges invalidated new election maps that detail who gets to vote for which congressperson this fall. Louisiana’s five White Republican and one Black Democratic members now have no districts in which to run and hence no idea which voters to court. Two members of a three-judge panel appointed by the chief judge of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday forbade the use of...…WASHINGTON — Atop the minds of all six U.S. House members from Louisiana is a Monday status conference that is expected to chart a path out of the morass created when two federal judges invalidated new election maps that detail who gets to vote for which congressperson this fall. Louisiana’s five White Republican and one Black Democratic members now have no districts in which to run and hence no idea which voters to court. Two members of a three-judge panel appointed by the chief judge of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday forbade the use of...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.With veto-proof majorities, the Louisiana House Friday approved three gun rights bills – two would limit local governments from banning the concealed carrying of firearms and the sale of weapons during an emergency; the third would allow guns into churches regardless of what congregants decide.Thibodaux Republican Rep. Bryan Fontenot, a former a Thibodaux police officer and justice of the peace, said recent rash of church shootings – the latest taking place in Texas four days after Christmas 2019 – is reason enough...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.With veto-proof majorities, the Louisiana House Friday approved three gun rights bills – two would limit local governments from banning the concealed carrying of firearms and the sale of weapons during an emergency; the third would allow guns into churches regardless of what congregants decide.Thibodaux Republican Rep. Bryan Fontenot, a former a Thibodaux police officer and justice of the peace, said recent rash of church shootings – the latest taking place in Texas four days after Christmas 2019 – is reason enough...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Over the fierce objections of municipalities, Gov. John Bel Edwards late Monday night approved legislation that effectively invalidates local and parish ordinances restricting where a person can go with a firearm. Then on Tuesday afternoon Edwards signed a second bill that stops local officials from regulating gun sales during times of emergency. He signed a third measure Friday.New Orleans has ordinances prohibiting guns in public buildings used for youth recreational programs, including the facilities where...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Over the fierce objections of municipalities, Gov. John Bel Edwards late Monday night approved legislation that effectively invalidates local and parish ordinances restricting where a person can go with a firearm. Then on Tuesday afternoon Edwards signed a second bill that stops local officials from regulating gun sales during times of emergency. He signed a third measure Friday.New Orleans has ordinances prohibiting guns in public buildings used for youth recreational programs, including the facilities where...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Candidate qualifying for the November 2020 elections began at 8 a.m. WednesdayShreveport Mayor Adrian PerkinsSenator Bill Cassidy speaks during a press conference following a round table discussion with Vice President Mike Pence, Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.Candidate qualifying for the November 2020 elections began at 8 a.m. WednesdayShreveport Mayor Adrian PerkinsSenator Bill Cassidy speaks during a press conference following a round table discussion with Vice President Mike...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Candidate qualifying for the November 2020 elections began at 8 a.m. WednesdayShreveport Mayor Adrian PerkinsSenator Bill Cassidy speaks during a press conference following a round table discussion with Vice President Mike Pence, Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.Candidate qualifying for the November 2020 elections began at 8 a.m. WednesdayShreveport Mayor Adrian PerkinsSenator Bill Cassidy speaks during a press conference following a round table discussion with Vice President Mike...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.He looks like a regular guy. He’s unnamed as they usually are in any one of the dozens of commercials for personal injury lawyers that show up daily on Louisiana television, highway billboards, social media and elsewhere.These are the ads that were supposed to change on New Year’s Day – but won’t because officials won’t be enforcing the new law.In , chosen at random, our regular guy climbs behind the wheel of a new pickup. He talks about a nagging back pain received in a car wreck, yet the insurance company wouldn’t...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.He looks like a regular guy. He’s unnamed as they usually are in any one of the dozens of commercials for personal injury lawyers that show up daily on Louisiana television, highway billboards, social media and elsewhere.These are the ads that were supposed to change on New Year’s Day – but won’t because officials won’t be enforcing the new law.In , chosen at random, our regular guy climbs behind the wheel of a new pickup. He talks about a nagging back pain received in a car wreck, yet the insurance company wouldn’t...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Republican Attorneys General Association, chaired by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a legal challenge of a ruling by Pennsylvania’s high court that allowed the counting of presidential mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but not arriving until Nov. 6.Landry said Pennsylvania’s 253-member, Republican majority General Assembly has the authority to determine election procedures and legislators decided that mail ballots needed to be in hand at 8 p.m. Nov. 3....…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Republican Attorneys General Association, chaired by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a legal challenge of a ruling by Pennsylvania’s high court that allowed the counting of presidential mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but not arriving until Nov. 6.Landry said Pennsylvania’s 253-member, Republican majority General Assembly has the authority to determine election procedures and legislators decided that mail ballots needed to be in hand at 8 p.m. Nov. 3....WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Louisiana House approved Monday evening a bill that would penalize municipalities and parishes that defund law enforcement.The full House voted 61-26 to forward to the Senate for review, but not until its sponsor, state Rep. Lance Harris, agreed to change provisions for municipalities and parishes facing revenue shortfalls because of pandemic-related business suspensions.“This bill is needed because of the idea of defunding the police” has spread around the country, Harris said.The Alexandria Republican is...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Louisiana House approved Monday evening a bill that would penalize municipalities and parishes that defund law enforcement.The full House voted 61-26 to forward to the Senate for review, but not until its sponsor, state Rep. Lance Harris, agreed to change provisions for municipalities and parishes facing revenue shortfalls because of pandemic-related business suspensions.“This bill is needed because of the idea of defunding the police” has spread around the country, Harris said.The Alexandria Republican is...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Voting largely along party lines, the Louisiana Senate approved Thursday evening a bill sold as a way to streamline the bitterly partisan way of setting up elections in an emergency that opponents said would remove the governor’s power to veto the plan.“Your bill changes the balance of power,” state Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, told Republican Sen. Sharon Hewitt, of Slidell and sponsor of . The legislation takes away the power of the governor as well as House and Senate committees the ability to unilaterally reject...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Voting largely along party lines, the Louisiana Senate approved Thursday evening a bill sold as a way to streamline the bitterly partisan way of setting up elections in an emergency that opponents said would remove the governor’s power to veto the plan.“Your bill changes the balance of power,” state Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, told Republican Sen. Sharon Hewitt, of Slidell and sponsor of . The legislation takes away the power of the governor as well as House and Senate committees the ability to unilaterally reject...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Voting signage is posted outside of a polling place on Bunker Hill Drive, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La.Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Shelly Deckert Dick, of Baton Rouge. Voting signage is posted outside of a polling place on Bunker Hill Drive, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La.Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Shelly Deckert Dick, of Baton Rouge. Louisiana should allow more access...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Voting signage is posted outside of a polling place on Bunker Hill Drive, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La.Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Shelly Deckert Dick, of Baton Rouge. Voting signage is posted outside of a polling place on Bunker Hill Drive, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La.Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Shelly Deckert Dick, of Baton Rouge. Louisiana should allow more access...WW…

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.A federal judge was left with little choice Tuesday but to adjourn early for the day in hearing a lawsuit that will ultimately decide how widespread mail ballots will be used in the Nov. 3 presidential election in Louisiana.After U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, of Baton Rouge, decided several motions, the parties noted that most testimony is on paper so few witnesses would need to be questioned live, leading Dick to adjourn.Dick voiced frustration that the rest of Tuesday would be wasted after setting aside a full...…You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.A federal judge was left with little choice Tuesday but to adjourn early for the day in hearing a lawsuit that will ultimately decide how widespread mail ballots will be used in the Nov. 3 presidential election in Louisiana.After U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, of Baton Rouge, decided several motions, the parties noted that most testimony is on paper so few witnesses would need to be questioned live, leading Dick to adjourn.Dick voiced frustration that the rest of Tuesday would be wasted after setting aside a full...WW…