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Sunday, February 26, 2006

Ind. Law - "Proposals advance to widen gun rights"

"Proposals advance to widen gun rights: Legislature considering lifetime permits, deadly force" is the headline to a comprehensive story today by Niki Kelly in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:

Hoosiers could obtain lifetime gun permits and new protections when using deadly force under legislation being considered by the General Assembly.

A third, and more controversial, firearms measure prohibiting employers from banning guns from their parking lots was taken out of a bill last week and appears dead.

Several of the proposals are being pushed by the National Rifle Association in other states as well, including Kentucky, Michigan and Florida. The language is contained in a number of bills that could receive key votes this week in the legislature.

The first is House Bill 1028, which was stripped of the employer-employee gun section that has resulted in several legal fights around the nation. * * *

Senator Nugent is still supportive of the remaining part of the bill – what he calls the right of Hoosiers to “stand your ground.” Essentially the language says that people being robbed in their homes or carjacked do not have a responsibility to retreat.

“Shoot first and ask questions later,” one Detroit Free Press story said about a similar bill being heard in the Michigan Senate.

Nugent said that sometimes attorneys in court make it seem that victims should have run away or called police, rather than defended themselves from harm with a gun. This law will clear up that inference in cases of justifiable homicide, he said.

“This says you can use deadly force if you deem it appropriate,” Nugent said. “It puts in statute what courts have been doing already.”

The Kentucky House is also preparing to vote on this measure, according to a Louisville Courier-Journal report last week. The NRA is lobbying lawmakers in 13 states on the no-retreat issue.

This language is also contained in Senate Bill 54, in which a third homegrown idea appears – allowing Hoosiers to have lifetime gun permits instead of reapplying every four years.

Currently a person applies at a local police department or sheriff’s office, paying a $25 fee, $15 of which goes to the Indiana State Police and $10 stays with local authorities.

A local investigation is completed, which includes fingerprints, and the officer sends the information along with a recommendation to the state police. A second background check is done at that level and then the state police issue a four-year permit or license.

But under Senate Bill 54 – as well as House Bill 1176 – that would all change. * * *

During debate in the House on House Bill 1176, which passed 78-21, there was some concern that without a thorough vetting every four years people who should not own a gun because of criminal activity or other factors will slip through the cracks.

Steve Hillman, spokesman for the state police, said the agency continually runs new convictions against the gun licensing database to make sure permits are revoked when necessary.

But he does concede that some “character information” that is more readily available on a local level might be jeopardized. This could include arrests – but not convictions – as well as local court orders in divorce proceedings that prohibit someone from possessing a gun. * * *

Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday he is “fine” with the bill and would sign it into law.

The ILB had stories on the "no retreat" provisions of SB 54 and HB 1028 yesterday (Feb. 25th) and Friday (Feb. 24th). Yesterday's ILB entry remarked: "Both bills appear to be flying below the radar, as the ILB has seen no stories in Indiana papers."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 26, 2006 08:48 AM
Posted to Indiana Law