Despite opposition from State Police, the Indiana House on Monday voted to eliminate the license to carry a handgun in Indiana.
House Bill 1369 passed the House by a 65-31 vote and now heads to the Senate, where its already picked up key endorsements. Under the legislation, sometimes called constitutional carry, certain offenders still could be prohibited from carrying handguns.
The bill would eliminate the license in March 2022. The licenses raise $5.3 million per year to train law enforcement officers, a tab that taxpayers would at least partially have to pick up.
Opponents worry the bill would make police officers and the general public less safe, but advocates say law abiding citizens should not have to pay for a right guaranteed to them by the Constitution.
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Already this year we’ve seen Utah and Montana adopt Constitutional Carry legislation, but the ranks of states that recognize the right of legal gun owners to carry without a license may grow even larger in the weeks to come. On Monday the Indiana House approved its own Constitutonal Carry bill, which now heads over to the state Senate.
Lawmakers are optimistic about the chances for the bill getting to Gov. Eric Holcomb for his approval, though the biggest opposition at the moment is coming from law enforcement in the state.
“This will cause less peace,” Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis said, on the House floor. “Our people will be less safe.”Gore is a captain with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.