2017 is Best Chance for Permitless "Constitutional" Carry in Indiana

Gun Watch ^ | 6 December, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Permitless, or "Constitutional" carry has become an expanding trend in 2016. The number of states that do not require a government permission slip to carry a weapon for self defense, open or concealed, has jumped from seven to eleven. The four states added in 2016 were Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, and West Virginia.

Indiana has always been a good candidate for permitless carry. It was one of the first states to have a shall issue permit. That was because of a judicial ruling on the Indiana Constitution, not legislative action.  From justia.com:

In Schubert v. DeBard (1980) Ind. App., 398 N.E.2d 1339, the question of what is a proper reason for carrying a handgun was decided by this Court. Schubert held that under Art. 1, § 32 of the Indiana Constitution[2] self-defense was a proper reason within IC 1971, 35-23-4.1-5(a). Furthermore, Schubert determined that absent some evidence to refute self-defense as a reason, the superintendent could not deny an applicant a license on the basis of the superintendent's subjective evaluation of the asserted reason.

If the right is individual, as the Indiana Court found in 1980, how can the requirements for a permit be constitutional?  It is a tough sell. Representative Jim Lucas has been working at correcting this situation for several years. Lucas thinks that 2017 may be the best chance yet to remove the requirement to have a permit to carry a self defense weapon. From fox59.com:

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- An Indiana lawmaker wants Hoosiers to be able to carry a handgun without a license, and he thinks his proposal could finally have a shot.

Around one in 10 people in Indiana have a license to carry, and that number has gone up by more than 50 percent since 2012.

State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, says that rising demand is part of the reason he wants to free people from applying for that license in the first place.

"To me it’s immoral and even it is criminal ... to force an innocent person to jump through hoops and pay money to the state to prove their innocence and exercise a constitutional right," Lucas said.

Indiana become more Second Amendment friendly during the 2016 presidential election.  Representative Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, has been promoted to chairman on Corrections and Criminal Law. Smaltz is an ardent Second Amendment supporter.

Several other states are also considering "constitutional carry" bills. They include Texas, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Utah, and Tennessee.

According to my sources, Wisconsin is conceivably in play. Wisconsin's constitution is very clear, but there has not been a clear Wisconsin Supreme Court decision to enforce it. Yet. Wisconsin now has a clear 7-2 majority of originalist judges on the Supreme Court, and an originalist Chief Justice. This is a situation than has not existed in Wisconsin for decades.

It is almost certain that more states will be jump on the permitless or "Constitutional" carry bandwagon in 2017.


©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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[marktwain]

Indiana may go "permitless". Other reforms may happen. I think New Hampshire is most likely for the next "Constitutional" carry state.

[Wasichu]

Indiana was the first state to issue a lifetime carry permit. It may still be the only one to do so.

[umgud]

It baffles me that we have 39 states with people who can’t be trusted to carry constitutionally. I can leave CA and drive into AZ and all the sudden, I’m no longer untrustworthy.

[SauronOfMordor]

In 2017, I’d like to see New Jersey go “shall issue”.