EVANSVILLE — If you want to buy, own or carry a gun in Indiana, it's pretty easy.
Here are four key things to know before you own a gun in Indiana.
Who can buy and own guns in Indiana?
Firearm rules in the Hoosier state are relatively relaxed compared to most of the country.
You don't need a permit to purchase/own/possess rifles, shotguns and handguns. And anyone who buys a firearm doesn't have to register it.
Indiana has no rules on how old you have to be in order to buy a firearm, but federal rules apply for purchases in the state, which means you have to be 18 and older, and you can't be a felon. As of 2016, there were 372,242 people in Indiana with a felony on their record — about 5 percent of the state's population.
There's a bit of disparity between federal and state law for felons. "Non-violent" convicted felons can possess and carry firearms in Indiana, but they can't "buy" them because federal law overrules that. "Violent felons" in Indiana include murder, voluntary manslaughter, battery, kidnapping, rape or robbery.
People convicted of domestic battery can't own guns in Indiana.
Minors can still possess and shoot guns, but only "when supervised and at his or her residence or on property owned by a parent or guardian, or, for purposes of hunting, target shooting or safety training."
Rules for buying and owning a gun are relaxed, but carrying handguns is a little different. Luckily ...
It's easy to get a handgun carry permit
To carry a handgun in Indiana, you need a license. One in six Indiana residents have a handgun license.
Indiana won't issue carry licenses to anyone under 18. Much of the rules that apply to buying a gun also apply to applying for a handgun license in Indiana.
The state legislature is debating now whether to get rid of the $125 fee for license applicants.
You don't need a license to carry a rifle or a shotgun. Even though you can carry a handgun with a license ...
You can't carry everywhere in public
Indiana law lays out a handful of exceptions to where a person can lug their firearm: on school property, on school buses, on aircraft, in airports, on state fairgrounds and, of course, shipping ports.
Cities, counties and towns can further restrict firearm carries in any building that has a courtroom.
Private businesses can restrict firearms, too. Indiana State Police also advise the sight of openly carried gun in public can cause alarm and seem threatening.
People with a license can open carry handguns. No permit is needed to open carry.
Having a carry license doesn't mean it works for all states
In fact, 19 states do not honor Indiana's handgun permits, including Indiana's neighbor Illinois, according to handgunlaw.us.
Those states are: Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C.
On the flip side, Indiana honors all other states carry licenses.