Whether you call it a “Concealed Weapons Permit,” a “Concealed Handgun License” (CHL), a “Concealed Handgun Permit” or any of a dozen or so other names, all describe basically the same thing.

In Louisiana, it is a permit issued by the Louisiana State Police Concealed Handgun Permit Unit that allows a private citizen to carry a personal sidearm (a handgun) concealed on his person in areas frequented by the general public (with some minor exceptions.)

Louisiana is a “Shall-Issue” state—which means if you meet the basic training requirements and pass a background check, the state “shall” issue you a permit.  Interestingly, Louisiana is also an “Open-Carry” state, meaning it is legal to carry openly in most places.

No longer are there arbitrary rules and stipulations limiting the number of people who can carry concealed, the way it was when the majority of permits were issued by local sheriffs.  These permits were almost always good only in the parish in which they had been issued.  The state permit today, of course, is good throughout the state

Louisiana has reciprocity with 38 states.  This means a person with a Louisiana concealed carry permit can carry concealed in all other states that have reciprocal agreements with the state.

For a list of these states, and an excellent map showing the states that honor Louisiana’s permit, go to www.lsp.org/handguns.html

Scroll down to see the map.  Click on “FORMS” and follow the prompts to download the application packet for a CHL.

This site is a gold mine of information, and contains the entire pamphlet with all the rules and regulations pertaining to carrying concealed in Louisiana.  It also holds a list of areas and state-certified concealed permit instructors, and their emails and phone numbers.

Of course, if you are reading this, you have already found the website of the senior instructor in the stateGordon Hutchinson has taught concealed carry, gun safety, advanced handgunning techniques, and personal self-defense to well over 6000 persons since he started GunSafe Firearms Instruction in 1992 while working as a law enforcement firearms instructor.

Gordon and his associate instructors teach popular, informative, and fun classes that not only bring students from complete novice to safe  handgun use, but attain Gordon’s directive on all his classes—that students finishing his courses are “confident” with their handguns—not just “competent.”

GunSafe Firearms Instruction courses are designed to encourage the rank amateur to practice and learn a new sport that is so much more than simply entertainment or a method of self-defense—it is a sport whose disciplines, when mastered, will enhance every facet of your life. 

Not only will students suddenly find themselves more confident and less afraid, they will learn to enjoy a sport (shooting) that will bring years of pleasure in its many variant forms.

The following article describes how to attain a concealed handgun permit in Louisiana.  But even if you do not wish to carry concealed, we urge you to take a class, and learn to shoot safely and confidently.

You will be amazed at how your life becomes enriched learning the attributes of a sport that offers entertainment, enjoyment, and a measure of personal self-defense that can be attained in no other manner we know. 

As Gordon likes to say about teaching ladies: 

“You want to talk about Woman Power? 

We empower ladies…

We give them Smith & Wesson.”

HOW TO GET A CONCEALED

CARRY PERMIT IN LOUISIANA

CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE/PERMIT TRAINING…

THE PROTOCOL TO OBTAIN A CHL:

1.Go to www.lsp.org/handguns.html.  Look at the map, and read over this excellent website by the Louisiana State Police.

2.Click on “FORMS” on the LSP website, then follow the prompts to the Application Packet.

3.Download the packet from the website.

4.Bring the packet with you to a scheduled GunSafe Firearms Instruction Course (see class schedule page.)  The packet will be filled out properly in the class.

5.Upon satisfactorily completing the course, you will be issued a certificate of completion by the instructors.  This is proof you have completed the course.

  1. 6.Take your now-completed application packet, your certificate, and a money order for $125.00 ($175.00 if you have lived in Louisiana less than 15 years) to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety building off Independence Blvd. in Baton Rouge, and turn it in to the LSP Concealed Handgun Permit Section.

   Note:  

     You may now file ONLINE—AFTER your class—both first-time and renewal students. Filing online is encouraged by the LSP and will speed the return of your permit.  This will be covered in detail in the class. DO NOT attempt to file online prior to your class!


7.The LSP will fingerprint you (this will only take a few minutes) and only the first time.  You will not need to be re-fingerprinted in five years when you renew. An additional money order for $10.00, made out to “LSP” is necessary for the fingerprinting fee.  It MUST be a separate money order or certified check made out to “LSP” in the amount of $10.00.  This is in addition to the permit fee, and is paid only at the time of the FIRST application, not renewals.

8. The LSP will conduct a background check.  Upon completion of a satisfactory background check, you will generally receive your permit in the mail in 30-45 days.  It is good for five years from the date of issuance.

9.  The Louisiana State Police no longer send reminders at the end of your permit period.  You have until 60 days AFTER your permit expires to renew, and it is counted as a renewal.  Go past the 60-day grace period, and you are considered a new applicant, and must go back down to the office and be fingerprinted again.

If you have any further questions, or would like to schedule a class, email Gordon at:  ghhutchinson@gmail.com

Louisiana

Concealed Carry

Handgun Permit

© 2010 Gordon Hutchinson

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State-Certified Concealed Carry Classes.

Upcoming dates and locations

are listed above.

All days are Saturdays unless

otherwise noted:


If you wish to attend a specific

date, please send me an email

request. I must have your name

as you want it to appear on your certificate, and a contact

cell/phone number for my roster.

Send email with proper

name and cell number to:

ghhutchinson@gmail.com

Governor Mike Foster is the father of concealed carry in Louisiana, pushing the statute allowing “Shall-Issue Concealed Carry” through the legislature within months of his inauguration in January, 1996. 

He is one of the people Gordon admires most, so we were particularly honored at the opportunity to travel to Franklin, La. and re-certify Governor Murphy "Mike" Foster and his son, Murphy Foster, III, a prominent Baton Rouge attorney-at-law.

They are shown here on the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office Range, where Gordon gave them shooting             re-certification and lectures to renew their personal concealed permits. 

Jessica, Gordon's daughter, has her own permit, and jumped at the chance to shoot with the Governor and his son.

Governor Foster and "Murph" are shown here with Gordon and Jessica, holding their GunSafe Concealed Handgun Permit Certificates.

Tom Gresham is the son of famed Nachitoches, La. outdoor writer Grits Gresham. 

Tom is host of "Gun Talk" radio, Sunday afternoons from 2-5 PM Eastern time, and is carried on 110 radio stations across the country.  Immensely popular, the show was downloaded from its podcasts 1.7 million times last year. 

Tom is a serious voice in the gun world, and is known as the "Rush Limbaugh of guns."  He also hosts two gun shows on outdoor and self-defense TV.  He lives in Mandeville, and when he was ready to take his renewal for his Louisiana concealed carry permit, he called Gordon for recertification. 

Tom is shown here on the range at Bass Pro in Denham Springs where Gordon is the store instructor.

Left to right:

Governor Mike Foster, Gordon Hutchinson and

Murphy Foster III

Left to right:

Governor Mike Foster, Jessica Hutchinson and

Murphy Foster III

Mr. Gordon,


  I just took your class today in Baker...

  I teach industrial classes as a safety engineer for a living.  

So the last thing I want to do on my days off is more "adult education"...

You and David are wonderful instructors.  The class was very well done, moved along well and kept light and funny.

  I truly enjoyed myself.. This would have been a bargain at twice the cost.

  All the best to you and David..  I will see you soon with my wife in tow....

 

Robert Hasselbeck....

Letter from a students.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Concealed Weapons Permit,” “Concealed Handgun License” (CHL), a “Concealed Handgun Permit

Dear Gordon and David,


  Thanks again for your class yesterday.  You guys were both great and I left Bass Pro feeling like I had learned so much in the hours we spent together.  Having taught for the past 33 years, I can't remember going through any inservice that was as informative as yours.  There was not one minute of the day that I felt was waste of time.  As a newcomer to guns, David, I do appreciate your patience with me while shooting.  

(I only wish St. Bernard Parish had a shooting range where I could go practice.  I think the nearest is in Jefferson or St. Tammany parishes.)  

  I went this morning and got fingerprinted and turned in my application.  You are right -- they were very efficient and organized at the LSP office.  I look forward to seeing you both again in five years. I will drive to wherever you are teaching!

 Thanks again for making a difference,

Rhonda Jones

 

P.S.  The snacks were great!    

Watch on YouTube

TACTICAL TRAINING On FIRST PERSON DEFENDER

Comments Column:

Share your thoughts - we're here to help in any way we can. Questions? Comments? Concerns? We'll quickly get back to you with the information you need.

If you have any further questions, or would like to schedule a class, email Gordon at:  ghhutchinson@gmail.com

We frequently have drops in each class.  

Schedule (Book) a class that is not full, 

but email Gordon on the Wednesday 

before the class you prefer.

We can often get you in an earlier class.

In 2006 someone tried to break into my home.  They cut the lock on my gate and tried to jimmy the lock on my back door with a screw driver.  In the morning when we realized what happened we called the cops.  After investigating, the responding officer asked me if we had a gun in the house.  I told he we did, and then he asked me if I had a concealed carry permit.  I told him I didn't, but that I never carried my gun.  He told me that I should take the class.  "It will keep you out of prison", he said. 

     That was a fairly strange comment to make, and I thought he meant that eventually I would decide to carry the gun, and if so, I could go to prison without a license.  Regardless I asked him for a recommendation as to where I should take the class, and he told me to take it from Gordon Hutchinson.  Dutifully, and being shaken from the attempted break in, I signed myself and my family up for the class.

     Once I got into the class, I suddenly realized what the officer was talking about.  Using lethal force to defend yourself is a serious issue, and should be taken seriously.  There are many subtle legal distinctions between a clean self defense shooting and a murder charge.  Gordon lays these out for you in a very clear and easily understandable fashion.  If someone breaks into your home, do you have the right to shoot them?  What if they are trying to break into your home?  Can you shoot through a door or window?  Can you open that door or window first?  Can you use lethal force to protect your property?  What about to protect someone else? If you have a gun in your car, are you required to notify a police officer during a traffic stop? 

     I'm not going to answer these questions for you, but some of the answers surprised me.  If you intend to carry a firearm, you should find these answers for yourself, and you should get them from an expert like Mr. Hutchinson.  Needless to say, this isn't the movies or the wild west.  The only way to protect yourself from the legal storm that happens after a self defense shooting is to arm yourself with the right knowledge before hand. 

     Unfortunately not all classes or instructors operate on the same level of knowledge or professionalism as Mr. Hutchinson.  I encouraged a number of my friends to take the class and get their license after I got mine. Excitedly I discussed these classes with them, and quickly learned that they were given incorrect information or critical information was skipped over entirely.  Gordon's law enforcement background is what makes his class so effective. 

     One of my friends, I was so upset at the instruction he had received, I paid for him to take Gordon's class.  I have now taken his class three times myself, as I needed to renew my permit.  He keeps the class fresh and exciting.  I have also had most of my family and friends take their classes from him. 

     I guess here is the biggest question I have for you:  do you really want to trust your life and your freedom to a third tier class offered by a shoddy instructor that is only interested in getting your money, or do you want to survive your encounter? Do you want your freedom after?  If the answer to both of these is yes, take his course!

 

Christopher R. Woosley

Baton Rouge

 

Class reviews

No further monthly classes scheduled.

Call or email to schedule Corporate, Group,

or Security Team Training for Churches, etc.

Gordon can be reached concerning classes at his cell

(225) 335-1571, or through e-mail:  ghhutchinson@gmail.com