Indiana lawmakers in final debates over handgun permits
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana House approved a Republican-backed bill Tuesday that would repeal Indiana's permit requirement to carry a handgun in public, setting up a debate in the Senate where some Republicans have opposed the proposal.
The bill would further loosen the state's firearms laws and has drawn public opposition from the state police superintendent and some major law enforcement organizations.
House members voted 68-30 largely along party lines in favor of the bill that Republican lawmakers revived last week after conflict among GOP senators had temporarily sidelined the issue. The permit repeal bill was expected to be among the final votes as the Republican-dominated Legislature aimed to adjourn this year's session on Tuesday.
The bill's provisions would allow anyone age 18 or older to carry a handgun in public except for reasons such as having a felony conviction, facing a restraining order from a court or having a dangerous mental illness. Supporters argue the permit requirement undermines Second Amendment protections by forcing law-abiding citizens to undergo police background checks that can take weeks.
Bill sponsor Rep. Ben Smaltz, a Republican from Auburn, said it was meant for the 'œlawful Hoosier'ť who hasn't done anything wrong and don't want to be fingerprinted to obtain a handgun permit.
The repeal proposal easily passed the House in January but faced more skepticism in the Senate, where it stalled last month.
State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, joined by the state's Fraternal Order of Police, police chiefs association and county prosecutors association, strongly objected the proposal. They maintained the permit repeal would strip officers of a screening tool for quickly identifying dangerous people they encounter who shouldn't have guns.
Carter, an appointee of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, sharply criticized GOP lawmakers during a state Senate hearing on the bill, blaming 'œpolitical posturing'ť for their pushing of the repeal, saying that if lawmakers 'œsupport this bill, you will not be supporting us.'ť
Indiana currently requires people to obtain a license to carry a loaded handgun outside their own homes, businesses and cars, although people can generally carry rifles and shotguns without a permit. Twenty-one other states allow residents to carry handguns without permits, which gun rights advocates call 'œconstitutional carry,'ť in reference to the Second Amendment.
Democratic House Leader Phil GiaQuinta of Fort Wayne argued that legislators should keep the handgun permit requirement in place as a sign of supporting law enforcement 'œto make their job safer, to make us safer.'ť
Holcomb hasn't said whether he supports the concept of not requiring handgun permits or agrees with Carter's objections, saying last week he would give the bill 'œcareful thought'ť if it reaches his desk.
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Casey Smith is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Smith on Twitter.