GOP resurrects 'constitutional carry' bill despite warning from state police superintendent

In the final two weeks of the legislative session, Republican lawmakers are resurrecting language from a bill that would nix the permit requirement to carry a handgun.

Republican senators offered proposed legislation Wednesday in what's called a conference committee report, stripping language out of an unrelated drug-scheduling bill and replaced it with the "constitutional carry" provision in a 12 minute-long meeting. Conference committee chair Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, provided little explanation, and declined to hear any testimony.

Democrats stayed after the committee adjourned to hear the testimony from concerned Hoosiers who showed up at the Statehouse, but none of that was aired on the General Assembly's website or heard by Republicans.

The committee report is just a draft, but if representatives from all four caucuses sign off on the report, it would become the final version of the bill. Both chambers would then vote on it.

Democratic conferees who refuse to sign off on bills in such situations are simply replaced by Republicans per legislature rules. Koch, Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon; Sen. Rodney Pol, Jr., D-Portage; and Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, are the four conferees on the bill currently.

'The problem with the supermajority': State police chief lays into Republicans over gun bill

House Bill 1077

House Bill 1077, the original vehicle for the language that nixed the requirement for a permit to carry a handgun, was gutted by lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary committee last week after a contentious eight-hour committee discussion and hearing.

What remained was a bill to enable qualified candidates who have applied for a permit to carry a handgun without a license until they receive their permit, a measure that didn't go far enough in the eyes of some of the more socially conservative members of the caucus.

Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray later said that specific bill wouldn't advance due to procedural rules.

But because the "constitutional carry" language already passed the House, it's allowed to be inserted into an unrelated bill during the conference committee process. The move allowed Senate leadership to more easily revert the bill back to its original form, and allows leadership to bypass any opportunity for amendments on the floor, which could have tanked or further weakened the bill.

Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, said he didn't think this move ignores the work of the Republican-led Senate Judiciary committee which gutted the bill.

"It's not unusual for language that passes one house to appear second half elsewhere or appear during conference and conference committee reports," he said.

While supporters of permitless carry say Hoosiers shouldn't have to ask permission in order to exercise a constitutional right, opponents worry about the safety implications of ditching a permitting system. If the proposal passes as is, those younger than 21 years old would never complete a background check before carrying a handgun.

More on GOP response: Indiana GOP legislative leaders 'very disappointed' by state police official's criticism

ISP superintendent opposes gun bill

During last week's hearing on House Bill 1077, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, a Gov. Eric Holcomb-appointee who is opposed to such legislation for safety reasons, offered a searing rebuke of the Republican supermajority at the Statehouse, a rarity from an administration head.

He, and other law enforcement from around the state, argued officers wouldn't be able to easily see who was legally allowed to carry a handgun if the permits were nixed, putting officers in danger.

“We’ve offered advice and suggestions and sometimes even complex counsel on these complex issues," Carter continued. "But I never remember a time when outside influence of national associations or political posturing became the driving force behind any legislation in our great state until now.”

Pol referenced Carter's remarks after Koch presented the draft conference committee report.

"This is a major, major shift, and I think some of the quotes from ISP in particular,.. I think they ring true," Pol said. "We have to make sure that we're allowing, at the very very least, hearing the thoughts and the concerns of the state police."

The House passed the permitless handgun carry bill by a 64-29 vote earlier in session, and Bray said that at least a majority of Republican senators, who hold a supermajority, were in favor of advancing such legislation.

Lawmakers must wrap up the session by March 14.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana gun bill revived by Republican lawmakers despite ISP warning