Moms Demand Action Volunteers Stood With Law Enforcement Officers in Opposition of Permitless Carry During Conference Committee Hearing Today
During a conference committee hearing in the Indiana legislature today, Indiana lawmakers stripped language from an unrelated bill, SB209, and replaced it with dangerous language to eliminate Indiana’s permit requirement for carrying a handgun in public. Despite the fact that law enforcement and Moms Demand Action volunteers were present and prepared to testify in opposition, some lawmakers walked out of the conference committee without hearing any testimony from law enforcement officers.
“It is outrageous that lawmakers pushed through permitless carry without hearing from the law enforcement officers who were present to express their serious concerns about the bill,” said Rachel Guglielmo, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action in Indiana. “There is no reason to advance permitless carry, especially after the Senate Judiciary Committee actually listened to law enforcement and made changes that took their clear concerns into account. We will keep fighting against permitless carry and push our lawmakers to stop ignoring and overruling the wishes of law enforcement.”
Last week, the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee amended House Bill 1077, the former permitless carry bill, to no longer dismantle Indiana’s permitting system after hearing significant opposition from law enforcement. The Indiana State Police, officers and representatives from the Fort Wayne Police Department, Evansville Police Department, the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police all spoke out against permitless carry. Permitless carry has been shown to increase gun violence in other states and is broadly opposed by law enforcement, including law enforcement in Indiana.
More information about permitless carry is available here.
