Handgun carry bill passes, now sits on Governor Holcomb’s desk

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - A bill met with fierce opposition from state police and some politicians now sits on Governor Holcomb’s desk.

House Bill 1296 repeals the law that requires a person to obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana. Senators approved the bill by a vote of 30-20 late Tuesday after House members earlier voted to approve it, 68-30 largely along party lines. The Senate vote was among the final issues taken up as the Republican-dominated general assembly came to a close.

Second Amendment attorney Guy Relford supports the new bill.

“Many of us have been working for Indiana to join the now 21 other states that have passed what we call constitutional carry. This simply means, the constitutions of both the United States and of Indiana, both guarantee us to bear arms. We shouldn’t have to go beg permission from the government in order to exercise a right that we already have.”

The President of the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police asks, why turn on police now?

“The House and the Senate have really had law enforcement’s back for a number of years and there is no reason to walk away from us now. Let’s figure out a process to make this work to where we can get on board.”

State Senator Fady Qaddoura agrees with Owensby and gave his testimony Tuesday about how he says gun violence affected his family. Qaddoura lost his 26-year-old brother-in-law to gun violence when he says someone entered the family store and shot him.

“You can never heal from losing a loved one unjustly. Every time a piece of legislation like the one we debated last night is introduced it hurts. It hurts all of those survivors, it hurts families.”

The bill moves to Governor Holcomb’s desk. He says he wants to carefully read through the legislation before deciding whether he’ll sign it into law. If the bill becomes law, it would take effect July 1.

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