JIGGERY-POKERY: NOPD Creates French Quarter Gun-Free Zone by Designating a Police Station a School. I doubt this will last long. I suspect that it may create a lot of knock-on problems for businesses in the French Quarter, though. At least there’s some adult supervision:

After New Orleans officials were unsuccessful in their attempts to get state lawmakers to designate vast swathes of their city’s popular tourist areas as gun-free zones before Louisiana’s new permitless carry law went live July 4, they came up with their own solution, which is probably unconstitutional, definitely whacky, and certain to be contested in court.

The New Orleans Police Department has designated their Eighth District police station – which is located in the middle of the French Quarter – as a vocational technical school. In other words, they turned a working police station into a vo-tech. That makes everything within a 1,000-foot radius of the “school” is a gun-free zone, including more than five blocks of Bourbon Street, an international tourist destination.

It’s a felony in Louisiana to violate a gun-free zone, which is punishable by up to five years — at hard labor — in a state prison.

Who will actually be attending classes at this new “school” isn’t known. . . .

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill balked at the city’s move, warning officials they could face civil rights lawsuits because of their “made-up designation.”

“I’m working hard to help keep New Orleans safe, but the City cannot avoid state law by unilaterally designating police stations ‘vo-tech locations.’ You cannot just ‘designate’ yourself a vo-tech school. Among other implications, if it was one (it’s not) the police department would be under the jurisdiction of a board of supervisors for higher education, and it would be subject to other oversight requirements. I have no specific plans yet, but would caution the NOPD that it will likely be subject to civil rights lawsuits under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act if it arrests people pursuant to its made-up designation, which is clearly not legal or effective. I certainly hope the NOPD isn’t violating people’s rights by making up their own rules, which is why the Department is under a federal consent decree,” Murrill said in a statement posted on social media.

“Schools have classrooms, not booking rooms,” Murrill said in another post.

Even in New Orleans.