Wednesday, January 13, 2010

More Indiana Legislature Gun Bills

Representative Mike Murphy's Handgun Permit Privacy Bill has been posted: HB1219. Bans anyone except law enforcement from seeing any of the License To Carry Handgun database. Includes "Katrina" provisions as well, very much like HB1065 and HB1070.

SB0304, "Firearms Safety Courses" could be good (remember, Indiana funds most of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider's class costs from motorcycle license fees, cutting an over-$300 class down to the neighborhood of $75), could be bad (required classes to exercise a Constitutionally-protected right?). No way to know right now, as the text of the bill has not been posted at this writing, not even a summary.

Update: The text is up and it's a bad one (see Nathan's blog post) and idiotic. Before you can buy or even rent a gun, you must pass a "Firearms Safety Course:"
b) Firearms safety courses conducted by the state police department under section 1(a) of this chapter:
(1) must be offered to persons free of charge; (2) may not be more than two (2) hours in duration; (3) must be conducted or offered at least one (1) time each week in all geographic areas of Indiana; (4) must be conducted after regular business hours; (5) must require a person to attend only for the duration of
the course to complete the course successfully; and (6) may not require any skills or knowledge testing in the use of a firearm in order to complete the course successfully.
It's free, all you have to do is show up and it doesn't require any skill or knowledge testing? So, ummm, what's the point? Oh, yeah, to make it more of a PITA to exercise a Constitutionally-protected right, while requiring the State Police to devote their scare resources to the program, which won't make them any more fond of gun-owners. Got it.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

most rights are just prvleges now any way

Roberta X said...

"might as well just shut up and take our beating..."

Not on your tintype, sunshine!

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Firearms safety course bill:

Synopsis: Firearms safety courses. Prohibits a person from: (1) purchasing a firearm; (2) renting a firearm; or (3) obtaining a firearm by transfer; after December 31, 2010, unless the person has successfully completed a firearms safety course conducted by the state police department or a person authorized by the superintendent of the state police department to conduct a firearms safety course. Exempts certain persons from the firearms safety course requirement. Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to: (1) obtain a firearm; or (2) provide a firearm to another person; in violation of the firearms safety course requirement. Requires the state police department to adopt rules before December 1, 2010, to implement the firearms safety course requirement.

This needs to be run over by a truck and buried with a stake in its heart.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

BTW SB0304 was authored by Connie Sipes (D-46, New Albany). What a shock that a Dumb would author such a thing.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Whether or not they charge individuals for the course, it's still coming out of the taxpayers' pocket. And taking up time and resources the State Police could be using to actually perform its law enforcement duties.

Typical dumb Democrat feel-good bill.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

I do notice that those of us who already have permits are grandfathered in under Sec. 1.(c)(2).

It's still a bad bill.

rickn8or said...

Annd it gives the State Po-Po a list of all you borderline terrorists that are interested in guns.

Drang said...

I have been trying to explain to folks exactly why I think mandatory training, even a relatively benign course as is outlined in this bill, would be a bad idea. Ignoring the fact that they are requiring training and licensing to exercise a right guaranteed by the Constitution, it is good that they're requiring it to be free, short, and conducted frequently, bad that they are putting a burden on anyone to conduct the course. When that burden is put on the police, it is ultimately put on the citizens.