From: Cathy Caldie
Columbus
House Bill 1369 is proposing that Hoosiers need no permit to carry. It repeals the law to require a person to obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana.
This should concern police officers, teachers, social workers, parents and many others. The number of Americans dead due to guns was 39,707 in 2019, an average of 100 per day. Over 60% of suicides are caused by guns. The U.S. rate of murder and manslaughter by firearms is the highest in the developed world and we have the most guns per person in the world.
Indiana State Police oppose this bill as it makes their job more difficult to find perpetrators, and more dangerous. With more guns in the hands of citizens, we are not becoming a safer nation. Over the past 10 years, gun deaths have increased by more than 30%.
When will individual lives matter enough to have common sense gun laws? How many children and teens need to be lost before we change things?
The Second Amendment says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the rights of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Today, people seem to be taking this out of context — concentrating on only the last half when talking about gun rights.
Currently, a permit is required in Indiana to carry a handgun. It should stay in place. Otherwise, families can be out camping, on a picnic, at school or in a parking lot and be subject to gun violence. No permit to carry in a bar, for a person a history of domestic violence, with mental health issues, or at a sporting event seems like a very bad idea.
The NRA says the bill "ensures that citizens have their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays."
Where is my right to feel safe?
We have all heard cases where a child accidentally shot themselves or a relative, an angry teen or adult shot someone, an abused individual was shot, the list goes on. People often need that "delay" time so that in a fit of rage or depression someone cannot just buy a gun and take care of the problem.
The "red tape" will help law enforcement.
We need a license or permit to drive, own a car, to hunt or fish on public land…so a permit to carry a gun makes sense.
More Hoosiers will die with increased gun ownership if the bill passes. It is a statistical reality. Indiana is one of the top 20 states for gun deaths in the nation and HB 1369, which repeals the law that requires a person to obtain a license to carry a handgun, will move us up the list towards being a more dangerous place to live and play.
