Currently, if you want to concealed carry in Indiana you are first required to go through a rigorous process to obtain a permit. The process includes a thorough background check, pistol qualification course, and a waiting period before you can be considered for one. The controversial topic of whether or not to allow citizens to carry without a permit has been debated in the Indiana House and Senate in past years, but a bill being proposed in the new year may just make it happen.
State Rep. Jim Lucas is heading up a bill for the 2017 legislative year that could remove those barriers to law-abiding Indiana residents. The new bill would allow Indiana residents that possess a legally obtained firearm the right to carry it without a permit. Rep. Jim Lucas (R- Seymour) said, “I think that’s wrong that people should have to go through all those hoops, and pay the state a fee to exercise a constitutional right.”
In 2016, there was a similar bill proposed but it fizzled out. The new 2017 bill, Bill 1055, would allow not only allow anyone in legal possession of a firearm to carry without a permit, but would also allow concealed carriers to walk onto any state property with a concealed handgun. Rep. Lucas has battled bills such as this one throughout his political career and if this one passes, Indiana would be the next state to allow permitless constitutional carry.
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