IndianaNews

Concerns raised over Indiana’s new permitless handgun-carry law

(Photo supplied/ABC 57)
Indiana’s new law allowing people to carry a handgun without a permit is raising concerns from the state’s gun-safety advocates.
Under the law signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb last month, it’ll still be illegal for folks who were barred from carrying a handgun before the measure passed to do so come July, when the law takes effect. But without the permitting process, said Jerald King, president of the Indianapolis-based group Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence, that’s a safeguard without any enforcement mechanism.
“It seems to us,” he said, “that large numbers of people who would not have passed background checks will now go to gun shops and buy guns.”
Several law-enforcement agencies also have raised concerns that the measure would streamline the process to acquire a gun, potentially flooding the state with deadly weapons. With the passage of Indiana’s law, nearly half of all U.S. states now allow permitless carry in some form.
King said a previous version of the bill contained compromises to make it more agreeable to critics. However, he added, the compromise version approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee was referred to the Senate Rules Committee, where it stagnated and died. The Indianapolis Star reported that the bill’s original language then was inserted into a separate bill on the final day of the legislative session, and passed.
“Not only was it a horrible policy, but it came about through connivance and disingenuous arguments,” King said. “So, it was a pretty bad experience all around.”
Jen Haan, a volunteer leader for the Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action, said the new measure will have serious consequences for Indiana’s kids and teens. According to a January report from the gun-control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, an average of 110 Hoosier children and teens die each year from gun violence, and one-third of those deaths are suicides.
“We are in a gun-violence crisis here in the state of Indiana,” she said. “The leading cause of death for children and teens in Indiana is gun violence, and the majority of those are gun homicides.”
The report said overall gun deaths in Indiana hit a ten-year high in 2020. The gun-death rate during that period also increased by nearly 80% in Indiana, compared with 33% nationally.
Haan said Moms Demand Action offers online gun-safety resources through its “Be Smart for Kids” initiative. For Indianapolis residents, she said, the Marion County Sheriff’s office offers free gun locks.

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10 comments

H April 4, 2022 at 5:37 am

So now that 95.3 has published a lefty opinion piece will they publish a conservative voice in support of it?

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Jim woods April 4, 2022 at 6:21 am

Probably not.

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Charles U Farley April 4, 2022 at 8:55 am

“It seems to us,” he said, “that large numbers of people who would not have passed background checks will now go to gun shops and buy guns.”

It seems to me that these people are morons who cannot tell the difference between a background check for a permit and a background check for a gun purchase. They are NOT the same, and to pretend they are is pure foolishness.

There are now 25 states with Constitutional Carry, and there have been problems in exactly ZERO of them. The “gun safety advocates” are liars and should just call themselves “gun ban proponents”. They spew propaganda, fear, and ignorance to normies who just don’t know any better.

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Thor April 4, 2022 at 10:46 am

+1

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C April 4, 2022 at 9:08 am

Do you think “criminals” have permits? They might think twice if they have “no” idea who is carrying!

Those who do carry will need to take precautions, but still have to go through checks to purchase.

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Dave Puckett April 4, 2022 at 9:32 am

The handgun permits never prevented the acquisition of guns in the past. It only prevented law-abiding citizens from obtaining life-saving guns for their protection. It’s only fantasy to believe the gun permits prevented criminals from getting guns; The law instituted permits for law-abiding citizens. Criminals always easily acquire handguns for their crimes, irrespective of the law. This law had to change, considering the police have diminished ability to protect citizens due to masses being fired from their jobs for not complying with Covid vaccine mandates and efforts to defund police. However unsuccessful — defunding efforts have negatively impacted the number of police officers.

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Sharon s April 4, 2022 at 2:10 pm

So now there are concerns?? The headline should read making police jobs even more deathly!! There were a lot of policeman who are against this idiotic permit less to carry bs!
If ya do not have anything to hide…. Consent to the back ground check, period!
Making Indiana great again…. 1 senseless death after another!!!

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Jo April 4, 2022 at 2:17 pm

I am very pleased that our politicians have granted honest citizens equal protection with criminals. Police show up after the crime, innocent citizens have to live through the crime.

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Claudia Garcia April 4, 2022 at 3:52 pm

It’s really bothering me because I myself carry a gun but I do have a lifetime gun permit because think of all those people because I live in kind of it’s not too bad yet but I’m scared it’s going to get bad because nightly we hear gunshots in our neighborhood and then when this love takes effect we’re all screwed because these people that can’t get guns will be able to get guns and carry guns and I’m afraid that that’s how they will solve their differences with guns so it’s really scaring me and I have a young child I have to think about so I just hope and pray that it doesn’t cause more record numbers of homicides and going to buy this to go through the roof

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Slacker06 April 4, 2022 at 4:44 pm

Correct!! The gun safety experts are all morons. The gun safety experts have only one idea. Confiscate guns. In other country’s where guns are very restricted murder rates still go up because the enterprising criminal use other implements to commit mayhem, rape, or kill. Mexico has exactly ONE legal and licensed gun shop. It is located in Mexico City. It is operated by the government of Mexico. How is all that violence we hear about possible then??? Otherwise they are purposefully ignorant about guns and honest law-abiding Hoosiers that own and use guns. NO ONE will go to a gun store and walk away with a gun without a background check. The vast majority of guns used in crimes are not obtained that way. A recent story said that over 70% of those stopped by the NYC gun squad were convicted felons who are not allowed by state or federal law to even touch a round of ammunition let alone a gun. NY and NYC have the most restrictive gun laws in the country. So how does that happen?? Kalifornia is next in line yet a mass shooting took place in Sacramento. The Hoosier gun safety experts have no clue or answer. Focus on the criminals that use guns rather than the implement. Not once in my lifetime have I seen a trial where the gun was being prosecuted for murder or some other crime. The user is on trial not the gun or other implement used. If you drive drunk and kill someone your car or even the alcohol you consumed is not on trial. YOU are on trial. When someone is bludgeoned to death with a hammer which are available at every corner hardware store without any background check, no one calls for hammer control. Nearly half the states have some form of permitless/constitutional carry. All the horrors claimed by the experts have not happened. By the by, criminals are already carrying guns without any permit, background check, or permission from anyone. Work on that before you try to stop the law abiding from having an equal chance out int he cruel world. The law did not change who a prohibited person is. It did not give a prohibited person permission to carry. Operate on logic rather than your flawed emotion. Working on emotion gets people killed.

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