Indiana Passes Constitutional Carry of Handguns: 24 States Now ConC

[KellyinAvon]

To quote the Nature Boy Ric Flair, "WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Today, Governor Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1296, constitutional carry, into law. The General Assembly previously passed HB 1296 on March 8th. This makes Indiana the 24th constitutional carry state, and the third to join that group in 2022, following Ohio and Alabama. Indiana already offers free lifetime carry permits, so constitutional carry ensures that law-abiding citizens who are already eligible to obtain a carry permit can access their right-to-carry without government red tape and delays. Constitutional carry will go into effect on July 1st, 2022.

NRA thanks Gov. Holcomb for signing constitutional carry into law. NRA also thanks Representatives Ben Smaltz, Jim Lucas, and Matt Lehman, along with Senators Eric Koch, Michael Young, Aaron Freeman, and Jim Tomes for their dedication to protecting and advancing Second Amendment rights which made this victory possible.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20220321/indiana-gov-holcomb-signs-constitutional-carry

[Le Français]

Bravo. I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read about the ISP superintendent's opposition to this bill, which he framed as if he spoke for all members of law enforcement. All I heard was "I want to be able to arrest you if you don't line up, hat in hand, to ask for permission to exercise your rights", and frankly I don't have a polite response to that.

[KellyinAvon]

Bravo. I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read about the ISP superintendent's opposition to this bill, which he framed as if he spoke for all members of law enforcement. All I heard was "I want to be able to arrest you if you don't line up, hat in hand, to ask for permission to exercise your rights", and frankly I don't have a polite response to that.

He pulled the same shit in 2021 when HB 1369 was up for committee hearing in the House. My testimony this year (mostly analysis of FBI-UCR data) was to refute what I knew this DB would bring. I guess he didn't realize that making the argument that West Virginia and Kentucky are obviously smarter since they figured out how to make Constitutional Carry work and we can't... well that is really embarrassing to those of us who call Indiana home.

A whole bunch of Pro-2A folks stepped up here in the Great State of Indiana this year. The phone lines, inboxes, mailboxes, FAX hoppers, all got lit up. Hell, on the night of a 9 hour long hearing the NRA-ILA held a meeting in the hometown of the Senate President Pro-Tempore. I think that's what swayed him to our side of the issue.

This was a long fight. I've been involved for five years, this year was a level of crazy like I've never seen. But much like how the CMP selling 75+ year old 1911s didn't cause blood to run in the streets, I haven't seen blood in the streets. Then again, I don't live in Indianapolis ;)

I got quoted (same handle, different forum) by Dean Weingarten in an Ammoland article. I always mentioned "be polite, be professional, be nice" when calling to leave a message for our elected officials.

I still can't believe Ohio (the State that elected Howard Metzenbaum to office for like 50 years) beat us to ConC.

[Sig_Fiend]

Here's where we're at currently.

86501

[Bergeron]

Congratulations to Indiana!

We're just getting our next legislative session started. The Governor vetoed the last CC bill, and we failed in producing enough override votes. Hopefully this year will be different.

[CleverNickname]

Here's where we're at currently.

86501

So, what additional states have a realistic possibility of passing constitutional carry? I think we can eliminate all may-issue states right off the bat, which leaves WA, OR, NV, CO, NM, NE, MN,WI, IL, MI, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, and LA. Of those, remove the ones which have Dem governors and both houses controlled by Dems, which leaves:

NE - has a bill currently which is apparently close to passing, and the governor said he will sign it. (https://www.ammoland.com/2022/03/inside-dope-on-nebraskas-constitutional-carry-bill-lb773/)
MN - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
WI - had a bill this session which didn't go anywhere. (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb619)
MI - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
PA - passed the legislature in 2021, but the governor vetoed it.
VA - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
NC - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
SC - passed the House but rejected by the Senate in 2021.
GA - has a bill which has passed the House, and sent to the Senate. The governor said he will sign it. (https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62114)
FL - A bill died in the Senate earlier this month. The governor said he would have signed it. (https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/103)
LA - passed the legislature in 2021, but the governor vetoed it.

I think NE and GA are probably the only two states which have a chance of passing it this year.

[Lex Luthier]

So, what additional states have a realistic possibility of passing constitutional carry? I think we can eliminate all may-issue states right off the bat, which leaves WA, OR, NV, CO, NM, NE, MN,WI, IL, MI, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, and LA. Of those, remove the ones which have Dem governors and both houses controlled by Dems, which leaves:

NE - has a bill currently which is apparently close to passing, and the governor said he will sign it. (https://www.ammoland.com/2022/03/inside-dope-on-nebraskas-constitutional-carry-bill-lb773/)
MN - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
WI - had a bill this session which didn't go anywhere. (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb619)
MI - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
PA - passed the legislature in 2021, but the governor vetoed it.
VA - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
NC - has had constitutional carry bills in the past, but I couldn't find anything current.
SC - passed the House but rejected by the Senate in 2021.
GA - has a bill which has passed the House, and sent to the Senate. The governor said he will sign it. (https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/62114)
FL - A bill died in the Senate earlier this month. The governor said he would have signed it. (https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/103)
LA - passed the legislature in 2021, but the governor vetoed it.

I think NE and GA are probably the only two states which have a chance of passing it this year.

In MN, we couldn't get it introduced on the floor this session. It's been up in the past and was vetoed by the former gov.

[Gun Mutt]

Bravo. I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read about the ISP superintendent's opposition to this bill, which he framed as if he spoke for all members of law enforcement. All I heard was "I want to be able to arrest you if you don't line up, hat in hand, to ask for permission to exercise your rights", and frankly I don't have a polite response to that.

He's just bent about the permit fees he's losing along with a chunk of Farva hall monitor power...fuck him.

I'm frankly surprised that Holcomb,the RINO that never met a tax he didn't like, actually signed it, I for sure thought he'd just let it pass without him. Fuck him even more, fwiw.

KellyinAvon...sincere thanks for all your efforts. We should do a Hoosier range day sometime & I'll buy the first couple rounds afterward. Too bad jetfire fled for warmer climes, we mighta let him join us.

[CleverNickname]

I think NE and GA are probably the only two states which have a chance of passing it this year.
Hopefully I was wrong, DeSantis just called a special session in Florida for constitutional carry. (https://thereload.com/florida-governor-desantis-calls-for-special-session-with-permitless-gun-carry/) Whether he wants constitutional carry on the merits or not I don't know, but I think at least he's keeping his options open about running in 2024 and wants this to pass to help him in the primaries if he runs.