INDIANAPOLIS – Following a speech by Vice President Mike Pence in Indianapolis today about the need to prevent gun violence, the Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, urged Indiana legislators to strongly oppose a dangerous proposal that would make it legal to carry loaded handguns in public without a permit. A study committee will meet in Indianapolis on Aug. 22 to discuss the proposal, which would eliminate Indiana’s permit requirement to carry a loaded handgun in public.
Like the vast majority of states, Indiana requires a permit in order to carry a concealed handgun in public. Legislation introduced earlier this year in the Indiana Legislature would dismantle this common-sense requirement and allow people to carry loaded handguns in public without a permit. A summer study committee will hold the first of three hearings in Indianapolis Aug. 22 as it develops a recommendation for the rest of the legislature on whether to move forward with the bill.
According to a poll of 1,150 Indiana residents conducted earlier this year, nine in ten Indiana adults – including 84 percent of gun owners – support the state’s requirement of a permit in order to carry a loaded handgun in public.
Of the 28 states that have considered permitless carry bills this year, only two have enacted this dangerous legislation, 20 have rejected it and bills in six states are still pending. Law enforcement officials and groups have expressed grave concerns about permitless carry in Indiana and in many other states, including North Dakota, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
STATEMENT FROM BETH SPRUNGER, VOLUNTEER LEADER WITH THE INDIANA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“As our community leaders and public officials work to reduce gun violence, the last thing our lawmakers should be doing is making that work harder by repealing common-sense public safety laws that help law enforcement officers protect our communities. And yet that’s exactly what permitless carry would do: let people carry loaded handguns in public without a permit. We’re committed to doing all we can to reduce gun violence in our Hoosier communities, and right now that means urging our elected officials to reject this truly dangerous proposal.”