It’s the second hearing this summer in committee about whether you should be able to carry a gun without a permit.
Guy Relford, gun rights attorney and host of The Gun Guy on WIBC, testified at the first hearing, last month.
“Constitutional carry would do away with a requirement to have a state-issued license to carry a handgun if you are otherwise legally able to possess a firearm,” he said, talking about the hearing. “Felons, for instance, are currently prohibited from possessing a gun. Felons will be prohibited from possesing a gun after Constitutional carry passes, if it does.”
Relford said the same applies to people who might be in a domestic situation where there is a protective order against them.
“Today (Aug. 22) was the first day committee members came together to discuss constitutional carry in a study session at the Indiana Statehouse. Due to abundant misinformation, the public may not be fully aware of the positive effects constitutional carry would bring to Indiana,” said state Rep. Jim Lucas.
“The only Hoosiers who would be affected by this potential change would be the law-abiding citizens who would no longer have to be fingerprinted, fill out lengthy forms and pay the state a fee in order to exercise a constitutional right. Under constitutional carry, individuals who are currently prohibited from carrying a handgun would still legally not be allowed to do so. I am looking forward to continuing conversations about this issue and focusing on the facts.”
Lucas said some of the people who opposed the bill last year were the state’s law enforcement associations.
“We basically had every police agency representative group in the state of Indiana come out against this. They had some safety concerns, which I am working on right now. I know we are coming up with such an incredible bill to address all these concerns,” said Lucas. Some police groups said they believe that people being able to carry without a license would make it less safe for police officers and harder to investigate gun crimes.
But, another issue was the money for training that local police departments were getting from the money people pay for gun licenses.
“We’ve already addressed those at the local level,” said Lucas. “The local training fund at the county level-Counties now are able to fund police officer safety training on a dedicated funding mechanism that is already in place.”
While Lucas is trying to head off all of the concerns that may have been responsible for killing the bill in the last legislative session, the bill is in a “summer study”, where people with concerns on both sides of the bill will be able to put their two cents in at the State House.
“Summer study is a mechanism to educate people on the actual facts of what we’re trying to do.”
Lucas believes that when the facts are presented, along with some recent Supreme Court rulings, that Constitutional carry for guns will be able to pass the Republican-controlled state legislature.
