Indiana on track to eliminate permits required for hand gun owners

‘I don’t think lawmakers understand the magnitude of this,’ says police superintendent

Police associations have warned against the bill (Getty Images)

Republicans and gun lobbyists came one step closer to repealing hand gun permits in Indiana after the state’s legislature backed a bill that would loosen gun-carrying laws.

Indiana’s House and Senate both approved a bill to repeal laws on gun carrying permits on Tuesday, with lawmakers voting along party lines in the Republican-controlled state.

State governor Eric Holcomb, who said last week he would consider the bill, now has seven days to sign or veto the bill before it would become without his signature. 

That comes amid fierce opposition from Democrats, nine Republican senators and importantly, the state’s police superintendent Doug Carter – who was appointed to the post by Mr Holcomb.

“I don’t think (lawmakers) understand the magnitude of this,” said Mr Carter of the bill. “I tried to explain it ... this adds a layer of danger to every police officer.” 

The bill would allow anyone age 18 or older who could legally carry a handgun to now go without background checks and a license, which Republicans and lobbyists said undermined the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Indiana’s legislature had already made the cost of the permits free last year, as The Indianapolis Star reported on Tuesday, in spite of Everytown for Gun Safety research showing how states with some restrictions on firearms see less gun crime.

“It hurts to see us advancing a piece of legislation that supports spreading and allowing more guns to be on our streets when violent crime is going up in our nation,” said Democrat senator Fady Qaddoura after the bill was passed.  

Her sentiment was similar to that of the Fraternal Order of Policing as well as the Police Chiefs Association and County Prosecutors Association, who raised concerns about the risk of increased gun crime.

The National Rifle Association’s Indiana director John Weber, meanwhile, said in a statement on Tuesday: “Hoosiers value their Second Amendment rights, yet under the current regime they are forced to ask the government for extra permission in order to exercise the fundamental right of carrying a firearm for self-defense”.

“This bill simply codifies the fundamental right of all people to defend themselves wherever a self-defense situation may arise.”

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.