INDIANAPOLIS — House Bill 1077, known as the ‘Constitutional Carry’ bill, has been effectively revived in the Indiana Senate after GOP lawmakers moved language from the now-dead bill into the unrelated Senate Bill 209.
SB 209 was originally a bill that addressed drug scheduling, but all that language was removed, and replaced with the original HB 1077 language.
HB 1077 would have removed the permit requirement to conceal carry a handgun in the state of Indiana. The bill was gutted in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 23 after citizens and law enforcement spoke against it in a hearing that lasted nearly nine hours.
On Wednesday, a conference committee chaired by Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) revived the bill’s language and did not allow public comment on the change.
“Well, we're not going to have testimony today on the conference committee report,” he said.
Moms Demand Action staged a protest at the Statehouse on Tuesday in anticipation of Koch’s action. They displayed shoes painted red to symbolize lives the group believes will be lost if the bill passes.
“If there's no stopgap to stop people from getting a gun, then ... chaos," said Cathy Weinmann, lead of the Indianapolis chapter.
A conference committee is a committee that is formed to reconcile two different versions of the same bill passed in the two different chambers. It is legal for Koch to replace the entirety of the bill, but Weinmann questions the move.
“It's legal to do this, but is it ethical?” She said. “There's no public notification that this is happening, and most people throughout the state, you have to be a political junkie to know about conference committees.
SB 209 will still have to pass both chambers of the legislature and be signed by the governor before it can become a law.
Sen. Koch declined an interview for this story.
-
Walk it Out America transforms health through movement and nutrition
Walk It Out America may sound like an average fitness group, but the Indianapolis-based wellness program goes far beyond walking laps around a track.
Local nonprofit helps bring holiday joy to grieving kids
Brooke’s Place supports children, teens, and young adults in central Indiana as they navigate the loss of a loved one — a journey that can be especially difficult during the holidays.
Hundreds in Hendricks County left without power during freezing temperatures
Downed power lines near U.S. 36 knocked out electricity in Avon neighborhoods, forcing some families to leave their homes to stay warm.
Seahawks outlast Philip Rivers, Colts 18-16 on Jason Myers' 56-yard field goal
Jason Myers kicked a franchise-record six field goals, including a 56-yarder with 29 seconds left, and the Seahawks outlasted 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers and the Colts 18-16 on Sunday.
