Firearms Bill Heads To House Floor For Hearing
By Carolina Puga MendozaÂ
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
INDIANAPOLIS—A bill to repeal Indiana’s licensing requirement to carry a handgun cleared a House committee Monday.
House Bill 1369, authored by Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, passed the House Public Policy Committee in a 9-3 vote after being amended.
The bill would allow only those without criminal records to carry a handgun.
Those who testified on HB 1369 last week expressed their worry about law enforcement being unable to identify individuals who aren’t legally allowed to carry a gun. Smaltz said work is underway on creating a system to screen applicants.
A database would help law enforcement officials identify those carrying a handgun unlawfully in traffic stops or similar circumstances. Smaltz is working with the Indiana State Police, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and local law enforcement agencies to make the information accessible for officers in the field.
Smaltz also continues to work with law enforcement to define what a “prohibited†person describes.
“We met with law enforcement for years, intensely for weeks and months, and at our hearing, you heard over and over, time and time again, we want a database that tells us who the prohibited person is,†Smaltz said.
If passed as a law, the effective date would be March 30, 2022.
Rep. Terri Jo Austin, D-Anderson, voted against the bill in committee. She had urged pushing back the effective date for lawful carry without a license to July 1, 2022, to have more time to work through any issues. Smaltz said the extra time wouldn’t be feasible.
“I understand what the author is trying to do by creating this database, but this is a huge undertaking; quite honestly, I don’t think it’s possible that it gets done,†Austin said.
The bill has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee at noon Wednesday.
FOOTNOTE: Carolina Puga Mendoza is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
We have a current system (database) that tracks people who can legally carry guns. Those who aren’t allowed to carry a gun cannot get a gun permit.
The Bill wants to do away with this and create a new database that does the same thing. I’m not saying that this current Gun Permit system doesn’t have flaws but why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Maybe we work together using the platforms that we already have in place and see how we can make improvements?
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