Is a Pellet Gun a Firearm in Louisiana?
Full Question:
Answer:
Under LA statutes, the discharge of firearm statutes define a firearm as any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, submachine gun, excluding black powder weapons, or assault rifle which is designed to fire or is capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile is discharged by an explosive.
Please see the following LA statutes to determine applicability:
40:1781. Definitions
For the purpose of this Part, the following terms have the meanings
ascribed to them in this Section:
(1) "Dealer" means any person not a manufacturer or importer engaged in
this state in the business of selling any firearm. The term includes
wholesalers, pawnbrokers, and other persons dealing in used firearms.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.
(3) "Firearm" means a shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen
inches in length; a rifle having a barrel of less than sixteen inches in
length; any weapon made from either a rifle or a shotgun if said weapon
has been modified to have an overall length of less than twenty-six
inches; any other firearm, pistol, revolver, or shotgun from which the
serial number or mark of identification has been obliterated, from which
a shot is discharged by an explosive, if that weapon is capable of being
concealed on the person; or a machine gun, grenade launcher, flame
thrower, bazooka, rocket launcher, excluding black powder weapons, or gas
grenade; and includes a muffler or silencer for any firearm, whether or
not the firearm is included within this definition. Pistols and revolvers
and those rifles and shotguns which have not previously been defined in
this Paragraph as firearms from which serial numbers or marks of
identification have not been obliterated are specifically exempt from
this definition.
(4) "Importer" means any person who imports or brings into the
state any firearm.
40:1798. Firearms; disposal by law enforcement agencies
A. Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, the
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of the
state police, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and
each law enforcement agency of a political subdivision of the state shall
dispose of firearms which are lawfully seized by and forfeited to those
agencies in the manner provided for in this Section.
B. For the purpose of this Section, the following words shall have the
following meanings:
(1) "Contraband" means any firearm which cannot be lawfully owned or
possessed by any state or local law enforcement agency or by any private
citizen.
(2) "Firearm" means any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun,
submachine gun, or assault rifle, which is designed to fire or is capable
of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile
is discharged by an explosive.
(3) "Forfeited" means that the ownership of the firearm has been
transferred to a law enforcement agency by a court order and that the
firearm is not being held as evidence or for any other purpose related to
an investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
(4) "Law enforcement agency" means the Louisiana Department of Public
Safety and Corrections, office of state police, the Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries, the sheriff of any parish, or the police
department of any municipality.
(5) "Seized" means lawfully taken and held by a law enforcement agency
in connection with an investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
C. If the seized or forfeited firearm is contraband, the law
enforcement agency shall destroy the seized or forfeited firearm.
D. If the seized or forfeited firearm is not contraband, and if the law
enforcement agency knows the owner of the seized or forfeited firearm,
and if the owner did not commit any violation of any federal or state law
or local ordinance in which the seized or forfeited firearm was
involved, and if the owner may lawfully possess the seized or forfeited
firearm, the law enforcement agency shall return the seized or forfeited
firearm to the owner.
E. If the provisions of Subsections C and D do not apply, the law
enforcement agency shall dispose of the seized or forfeited firearm in
accordance with the following provisions:
(1) If the firearm is of a type which can lawfully be possessed
and used by a law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency
may dispose of the firearm in one of the following ways:
(a) The law enforcement agency may retain and use the firearm.
(b) The law enforcement agency may sell or donate the firearm to
another law enforcement agency or may use the firearm as consideration or
partial consideration in an exchange with another law enforcement agency.
(c) The law enforcement agency may sell the firearm to a firearms
dealer or a firearms manufacturer, or may use the firearm as
consideration or partial consideration in an exchange with a firearms
dealer or a firearms manufacturer, provided the firearms dealer or the
firearms manufacturer is licensed to buy, sell, or trade that type of
firearm.
(d) The law enforcement agency may destroy the firearm.
(2) If the firearm is of a type which can lawfully be possessed and
used by a private citizen, the law enforcement agency may dispose of the
firearm in one of the following ways:
(a) The law enforcement agency may retain and use the firearm.
(b) The law enforcement agency may sell or donate the firearm to
another law enforcement agency or may use the firearm as consideration or
partial consideration in an exchange with another law enforcement agency.
(c) The law enforcement agency may sell the firearm to a firearms
dealer or a firearms manufacturer, or may use the firearm as
consideration or partial consideration in an exchange with a firearms
dealer or a firearms manufacturer, provided the firearms dealer or the
firearms manufacturer is licensed to buy, sell, or trade that type of
firearm.
(d) The law enforcement agency may sell the firearm to a private
citizen. A sale of a firearm to a private citizen shall be at a public
auction in the same manner as a sale of surplus property. A sale of a
firearm to a private citizen shall comply with all federal laws, state
laws, and local ordinances which apply to that sale, and the law
enforcement agency shall perform the background checks on the purchaser
which are required by state and federal laws for sales of firearms by
licensed firearms dealers.
(e) The law enforcement agency may destroy the firearm.
F. Before a law enforcement agency destroys a seized or forfeited
firearm under the provisions of Subsections D and E, the law enforcement
agency shall ensure that any security interest attached to the firearm to
be destroyed is satisfied in favor of the party holding the security
interest in the firearm.
G. A law enforcement agency may dispose of its own surplus firearms in
accordance with the applicable provisions of this Section.
(5) "Machine gun" means any weapon, including a submachine gun, which
shoots or is designed to shoot automatically more than one shot without
manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
(6) "Manufacturer" means any person who is engaged in this state in the
manufacture, assembling, alteration, or repair of any firearm.
(7) "Muffler" or "silencer" includes any device for silencing or
diminishing the report of any portable weapon such as a rifle, carbine,
pistol, revolver, machine gun, submachine gun, shotgun, fowling piece, or
other device from which a shot, bullet, or projectile may be discharged
by an explosive and is not limited to mufflers and silencers for firearms
as defined in this Section.
(8) "Transfer" includes the sale, assignment, pledge, lease, loan,
gift, or other disposition of any firearm.
14:94. Illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities
A. Illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities is the
intentional or criminally negligent discharging of any firearm, or the
throwing, placing, or other use of any article, liquid, or substance,
where it is foreseeable that it may result in death or great bodily harm
to a human being.
B. Except as provided in Subsection E, whoever commits the crime of
illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities shall be fined not
more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor
for not more than two years, or both.
C. Except as provided in Subsection E, on a second or subsequent
conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less
than five years nor more than seven years, without benefit of probation
or suspension of sentence.
D. The enhanced penalty upon second and subsequent convictions provided
for in Subsection C of this Section shall not be applicable in cases
where more than five years have elapsed since the expiration of the
maximum sentence, or sentences, of the previous conviction or
convictions, and the time of the commission of the last offense for which
he has been convicted. The sentence to be imposed in such event shall be
the same as may be imposed upon a first conviction.
E. Whoever commits the crime of illegal use of weapons or dangerous
instrumentalities by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle located
upon a public street or highway, where the intent is to injure, harm, or
frighten another human being, shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not
less than five nor more than ten years without benefit of probation or
suspension of sentence.
F. Whoever commits the crime of illegal use of weapons or dangerous
instrumentalities by discharging a firearm while committing, attempting
to commit, conspiring to commit, or soliciting, coercing, or intimidating
another person to commit a crime of violence or violation of the Uniform
Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, shall be imprisoned at hard labor
for not less then ten years nor more than twenty years, without benefit
of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. If the firearm used in
violation of this Subsection is a machine gun or is equipped with a
firearm silencer or muffler, as defined by R.S. 40:1751 and R.S. 40:1781,
respectively, the offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not
less than twenty years nor more than thirty years, without benefit of
parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Upon a second or subsequent
conviction, under this Subsection, such offender shall be sentenced to
imprisonment for not less than twenty years. If the violation of this
Subsection, upon second or subsequent conviction, involves the use of a
machine gun or a firearm equipped with a firearm silencer or muffler,
such offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life without benefit
of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
14:95.2.2. Reckless discharge of a firearm at a parade or demonstration
A. Reckless discharge of a firearm at a parade or demonstration is the
reckless or criminally negligent discharge of a firearm within one
thousand feet of any parade, demonstration, or gathering for which a
permit is issued by a governmental entity.
B. For the purposes of this Section:
(1) "Firearm" means any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun,
submachine gun, excluding black powder weapons, or assault rifle which is
designed to fire or is capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or
from which a shot or projectile is discharged by an explosive.
(2) "Parade" for the purposes of this Section shall be defined as any
celebration of Mardi Gras or directly related pre-Lenten or
carnival-related festivities, school parades, parish parades, state
parades, or municipal parades, or any demonstration or gathering for which
a permit is issued by a governmental entity.
(3) "Reckless or criminally negligent" means that although neither
specific nor general criminal intent is present, there is such disregard
of the interest of others that the offender's conduct amounts to a gross
deviation below the standard of care expected to be maintained by a
reasonably careful man under like circumstances.
C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to:
(1) A federal, state, or local law enforcement officer in the
performance of his official duties.
(2) The possession of a firearm occurring within one thousand feet of a
public gathering entirely within a private residence or in accordance with
a concealed handgun permit issued pursuant to R.S. 40:1379.1.
(3) The possession or discharge of a firearm by a person who holds a
valid certificate as a living historian in the use, storage, and handling
of black powder issued by the Louisiana office of state parks for the
purpose of historic reenactments if the firearm is a black powder weapon
which is an antique firearm as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16), or an
antique device exempted from the term "destructive device" in
18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4).
(4) The discharge of a firearm by a person engaged in any lawful
hunting or sport shooting activity on public or private property.
D. Whoever commits the crime of reckless or negligent discharge of a
firearm at a parade or demonstration shall be sentenced to imprisonment
at hard labor for not less than five nor more than ten years, at least
three years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of
parole, probation, or suspension of sentence and shall be fined not more
than five thousand dollars.
E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the discharge of
any firearm which has been authorized as part of the parade itself.
