In another measure that could run afoul of the First Amendment, the Louisiana Legislature approved a bill Wednesday to outlaw protests, demonstrations or any other gatherings within 50 feet of anyone’s home — even on a public street — if it threatens to disrupt a person’s use of their home. 

House Bill 737, sponsored by Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, received final passage in a 72-14 House concurrence vote on a Senate amendment that narrowed the proposal.

The measure prohibits anyone from petitioning, picketing or assembling with others within 50 feet of a home in a manner that interferes with or “threatens to disrupt” a person’s right to control or use their home. This could apply to gatherings as small as two people. 

The bill is silent on whether the person living in the residence would need to file a complaint or if police could simply enforce the law based on their own belief that a gathering threatens to disrupt a nearby residence.

Anyone who violates the provision would face a fine of up to $500 per day. 

Lawmakers held Wednesday’s vote with no discussion of the measure. Most of the debate occurred during a previous floor vote in April during which Dickerson, a freshman lawmaker and former TV news anchor, struggled to see any issues with what was then a much broader bill. 

Louisiana could outlaw protests near residences, despite First Amendment concerns

At that time, Dickerson told her colleagues the law would apply only to protests directed at an individual in a way that makes the person feel unsafe or uncomfortable, but the wording in her bill included none of those limitations. Instead the wording would have prohibited any gatherings that interfere with an individual’s right to “enjoy his residence,” leaving that phrase open to interpretation. 

The original version of the legislation also had no proximity limitations and would have applied to any gatherings “near” someone’s home. The Senate amended it to apply only to protests within 50 feet of a residence.  

Dickerson’s bill is the latest among several the Legislature has passed this year involving First Amendment rights. On Wednesday, lawmakers passed House Bill 383 to make motorists immune from lawsuits if they run over or kill protestors because they feel threatened. 

That same day, Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 173 into law, making it a crime to come within 25 feet of a police officer upon command. On Tuesday, lawmakers approved House Bill 127 to establish harsher punishment for anyone who organizes a protest that ends up disrupting traffic. 

Dickerson’s bill will head to the governor for executive approval. Landry has signed similar legislation and has long criticized political demonstrations, even peaceful ones. He has also called for harsh punishments against protestors with the exception of those involved in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles, Louisiana has been rather busy the past several days. While the forecast for cities such as Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Eunice, and New Iberia has only included a small chance of rain, Mother Nature has over-delivered. That’s a long way of saying we certainly got a lot of rain and storms for only a 20% chance of showers.

Although we must give kudos to KATC Morning Meteorologist Daniel Phillips, Daniel’s computer models over the past couple of days have predicted the strong storms and been very accurate in estimating their time of arrival and intensity. It looks as if Daniel and his GRAF Model and Power Doppler 3 will be busy again today too.

The major area of concern that you can probably pick out on the map above is that area shaded in red over southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. That’s where forecasters are predicting the heaviest rainfall over the next few days.

That unfortunately won’t bode well for NCAA Baseball fans traveling to Bryan/College Station Texas for NCAA Regional Tournament action involving Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns, Texas A&M, the University of Texas, and Grambling State University.

Play in that tournament doesn’t begin until Friday afternoon but rain chances on Friday will be just as large as they are today and the threat of severe storms ramps up as well. Below is the Storm Prediction Center severe storm forecast for Friday.

Much of the same area is under the gun today but the threat across Louisiana is “marginal” for severe storms on Thursday and that bumps up to “slight” for Friday. And if you don’t know what “marginal” and “slight” are referring to, here’s a synopsis from the National Weather Service.

Rainfall amounts over the next four to five days will range from just a little to several inches. It all depends on if you get caught under a heavy thunderstorm and how fast that storm is moving. Since the catalyst for the storms is a stationary front, don’t expect these storms to be “hauling the mail” if you know what I mean.

The National Weather Service Forecast for southern Louisiana includes a healthy chance of rain today, tomorrow, and Saturday. The rain chances dip just a bit on Sunday. The silver lining in these dark clouds is that daytime temperatures will struggle to get out of the 80s, so that’s a good thing.

And, a little bird tells us to tell you that next week we can expect slightly cooler but more importantly less humid air across Louisiana. That will be a welcome relief from the afternoon storms and oppressive humidity but don’t get used to it, we haven’t even officially gotten to summer yet.

Updated: 1 hour ago Published: 1 hour ago

BATON ROUGE, La. — Critics of a new Louisiana law, which makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet (7.6 meters) of a police officer under certain circumstances, fear that the measure could hinder the public’s ability to film officers — a tool that has increasingly been used to hold police accountable.

Under the law, anyone who is convicted of “knowingly or intentionally” approaching an officer, who is “lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties,” and after being ordered to “stop approaching or retreat” faces up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in jail or both. The law was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, Tuesday and goes into effect Aug. 1.

While the legislation’s language does not specifically mention filming, critics say that by default it would limit how close a person can be to observe police. Opponents have also gone further to question the law’s constitutionality, saying it could impede on a person’s First Amendment rights.

Proponents argue the new law will create a buffer-zone to help ensure the safety of officers and that bystanders would still be close enough to film police interactions.

Bystander cellphone videos are largely credited with revealing police misconduct — such as with the 2020 killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers — and reshaping the conversation around police transparency.

An attempt to establish a specific range at which onlookers can record officers actively engaged in law enforcement duties has occurred elsewhere.

In 2022, lawmakers in Arizona passed a law that would have made it illegal to knowingly film police officers 8 feet (2.5 meters) or closer if the officer tells the person to stop. A coalition of media groups and the American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued to block Arizona’s law, with a federal judge ruling it unconstitutional, citing infringement against a clearly established right to film police doing their jobs.

In similar cases, half of the U.S. appeals courts across the nation have ruled on the side of allowing people to record police without restriction.

The Louisiana measure’s author, state Rep. Bryan Fontenot, said the legislation was drafted to provide officers “peace of mind and safe distance to do their job.”

“At 25 feet, that person can’t spit in my face when I’m making an arrest,” Fontenot said while presenting his bill in a committee earlier this year. “The chances of him hitting me in the back of the head with a beer bottle at 25 feet — it sure is a lot more difficult than if he’s sitting right here.”

A nearly identical bill was vetoed last year by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat. Edwards called the measure “unnecessary” and said it could be used “to chill exercise of First Amendment rights.”

“Each of us has a constitutional right to freely observe public servants as they function in public and within the course and scope of their official duties,” Edwards, who served in the U.S. Army and was the son of a sheriff, said in last year’s veto message. “Observations of law enforcement, whether by witnesses to an incident with officers, individuals interacting with officers, or members of the press, are invaluable in promoting transparency.”

However, with a new conservative governor in office and the GOP continuing to hold a supermajority in the Louisiana Legislature, the bill had a clear path forward.

Language in the measure appears to put in some safety nets, stating that an acceptable “defense to this crime” includes establishing that the “lawful order or command was neither received nor understood by the defendant.”