The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to overhaul a bill designed to eliminate Indiana’s gun licensing process, replacing it with a system creating a provisional license upon application. The move came more than eight hours into the meeting and unanimously passed with Republican reservations.
“This bill needs a lot of work,” Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, said. Glick said she voted yes to keep the bill moving.
The amendment removing permit-less carry, called constitutional carry by supporters, grants a provisional license to qualified applicants, cutting down on wait times for Hoosiers. The amendment narrowly passed in committee after three Republicans joined three Democrats for a 6-5 vote.
Guy Relford, a “Second Amendment” attorney and founder of The 2A Project, said on Facebook that the only good news following the change is that lawmakers can author amendments in the Senate Chamber and still restore the original bill language.
“This is certainly a disappointing and frustrating development but we’re still in the fight — and it’s far from over,” Relford said.
Relford’s view may not be universal, at least among Hoosiers responding to questionnaires distributed by their elected officials. A story from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette determined that across several General Assembly member surveys, 88% of responding Hoosiers supported keeping Indiana’s current permitting process and just 12% wanted to replace it.
Several Moms Demand Action activists, many with permits themselves, testified against the original bill, urging legislators to keep Indiana’s permitting process.
Jennifer Haan, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, highlighted the disproportionate number of shootings involving children — whether at school or at home — which she called a consequence of weak gun laws.
“It’s not a burdensome process; it’s a burden to lose a child to gun violence,” said Haan, who said she had her permit.
As with previous testimony on permit-less carry, law enforcement were split on the issue, with two sheriffs in support while the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and the Indiana State Police opposed the bill.
Law enforcement officers opposing permit-less carry said the database created by registering permit holders provided valuable information when investigating crimes and protected officers in the field.
“(The permit-less carry bill) will enable and embolden … those who would otherwise be prohibited (from carrying a firearm),” Doug Carter, the ISP superintendent said. “Please understand the magnitude of your decision. I am not saying now nor have I ever said that there’ll be blood in the streets … but there should at least be a reasonable acknowledgement of an additional layer of danger that will be placed on our front line.”
Carter said the idea for a provisional amendment came in response to reported wait times and permit delays. Hoosiers applying must swear they are “proper persons” who haven’t committed any disqualifying offenses under penalty of perjury to obtain the provisional license.
“There’s room for improvement; there’s no doubt about that,” Carter said. “But this provisional (permit) at the point of application is really solid middle ground.”
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