re: LA Constitutional Carry Bill is Back (HB68)

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I'm not the best person to answer this for you.
But I will suggest that just about anyone who is active (e.g. an officer or director) in the Louisiana Sheriff's Association can explain it.

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Doubtful. They wouldn't know even the history of current laws.

Concealed carry weapons laws date back to the mid-1800's. Then it was considered dishonest to conceal a firearm or large knife and laws were passed against such "disreputable behavior". The NRA was instrumental in getting these laws passed in the late 19th Century, they represented more of the well-to-do sporting shooters than the lower class folks back then anyway. If you were a proper gentlemen you carried your firearm in plain sight, only criminals/gangsters and those who could be up to no good in general (read: poors and minorities) would carry a concealed weapon. This was the prevailing attitude through the 1920's and 1930's when most CCW laws were passed at the state and local levels. Wasn't until the Post-WW2 period when urbanization made it passe to carry a firearm period, so while open carry was still legal it became increasingly unpopular. Mid- to late-1960's civil unrest and 1970's drug epidemics made it politically popular to pass further restrictions on firearms, particularly handguns. Since the 2nd Amendment was still considered an individual right (the collective right theory was gaining popularity amongst legal scholars during this period though) most legislation was aimed at curtailing the carrying of firearms just short of outright banning them. Employing a special permitting system for those wishing to carry a concealed firearm legally was also method to make sure only the "right" people carried (read: non-poors). Not coincidentally the NRA "radicallized" during this period because they started seeing the writing on the wall as powerful anti-gun lobbying groups clamored for more laws with the eventual goal to completely ban civilian possession of most firearms except those deemed proper for sporting purposes and even then with strict fees and regulations attached. Hunter's "safety" classes are nothing more than an offshoot of CCW legislation, nothing really to do with safety as much as add extra hurdles and make the states a little easy money .