Indiana: Some observations

[seamusTX]

Indiana has a legal and practical respect for the RKBA that is rarely recognized, though the state does require a license to carry a concealed handgun. (Indiana has full reciprocity with Texas.)

Starting from this story:

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/Ma ... -continues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two groups of men had a discussion inside a mall that allegedly led to a knife being drawn, followed by gunshots that did no injury. No charges have been filed. Police are still investigating.

The alleged shooter was a 19-year-old man who had a license to carry a concealed handgun.

Money quotes from (I guess) random interviewees:

No, I would not expect anybody to have a gun inside of a mall. I don't expect that.

Impossible. Unimaginable.

Anytime after 6 o'clock, when it gets dark, I wouldn't be shopping, not unless I had my family with me.

Why? To use them as decoys?

Indiana has a licensing system that is not exactly shall-issue, though in practice it usually works that way. Anyone 18 years of age or older can apply for a license. The fee is $10, half of which is refunded if the application is not approved.

The law requires that the applicant

(1) has a proper reason for carrying a handgun;
(2) is of good character and reputation;
(3) is a proper person to be licensed;

Indiana grants non-resident licenses only to persons who have a business or employment within the state.

http://handgunlaw.us/states/indiana.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim
[Edited to clarify ambiguity]

[The Annoyed Man]

Those quotes speak volumes, don't they?

[seamusTX]

What is the context of that still?

- Jim

[mgood]

I used to do sound for a living, for concerts and stuff like that.
In the nineties, pre-CHL, I was doing a show in Indianapolis.
Backstage, in one of the arena's locker rooms which the crew had taken over as a lounge, I got into a gun discussion with an Indianapolis police officer who was working as security at the event. He told me that though the law did not specifically say so, unofficially most cops in Indiana recognized any carry permit from any state. When I told him that Texas had no carry permit of any kind, he seemed a little shocked.
One thing lead to another and I took my Smith & Wesson out of my backpack, unloaded it, and showed it to him. At one point while he was handling it, I said "I hope nobody comes in here." He said, "I'll just tell them it's my backup piece and I was showing it to you."
He seemed to think it prudent to be armed and wasn't about to hassle anyone over it.

[ELB]

When I checked a few years ago to make sure my Texas CHL would work in my birthstate, I found Indiana recognizes ALL other state's CHLs. Also they have (or did then) a life time CHL as well as a four or five year version. The lifetime one doesn't get you out of NICS checks when buying a firearm, but it cuts down on waiting time for your renewal...

[seamusTX]

Indiana still has lifetime CCWs, as explained at the handgunlaw.us link. Along with not getting you off the hook for NICS, the lifetime license also doesn't exempt you from the dreaded Gun Free School Zone federal law (which I think has a short life expectancy).

Given the state's streamlined process, I somehow doubt renewals of the four-year licenses are a problem.

Here is yet another example of a state where the lack of training requirements and nit-picking background checks has not resulted in the proverbial "blood in the streets" (though it seems the shooter in this case could use some training).

I've said this before: "the South," or attitudes that we generally associate with the South, begins about 100 miles south of the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Illinois and Indiana. Having grown up in Chicago, I was just amazed at the difference that a two-hour drive made.

- Jim

[LarryH]

What is the context of that still?

- Jim

If you mean the "Picard facepalm", (Jean-Luc?) Picard was the captain of the starship Enterprise on "Star Trek - The Next Generation".

[The Annoyed Man]

What is the context of that still?

- Jim

Sorry Jim. I thought I was being more obvious than that. What it means in this context is that some of the stuff those folks in the article were saying was pretty dumb. Particularly this one:

Anytime after 6 o'clock, when it gets dark, I wouldn't be shopping, not unless I had my family with me.

Sorry if I confused.

[seamusTX]

I'm sorry for not making my question more explicit.

I know that the fictional Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was the caption of the star ship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I probably have seen every episode. However, I don't remember where that particular gesture occurred.

Was it in response to something even more stupid than usual that Wesley Crusher did?

- Jim

[LarryH]

I'm sorry for not making my question more explicit.

I know that the fictional Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was the caption of the star ship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I probably have seen every episode. However, I don't remember where that particular gesture occurred.

Was it in response to something even more stupid than usual that Wesley Crusher did?

- Jim

Can't answer that question. Although I eventually watched all episodes of the original Star Trek (one of the UHF channels, might have been 39, played them all at 0600 Mon-Fri for a couple of years), I just couldn't bear to watch TNG. I did watch DS9 and some episodes of the series in which the starship got lost through a wormhole and was trying to find its way back to human space. Didn't watch the one with Scott Bakula, either.

[now, that's thread drift]

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The fee is only $10??

That sure beats $140!!

SIA

[seamusTX]

Yeah, $10 doesn't even cover the cost of the FBI background check. The cost of processing their CCWs is simply built into the county and state budgets.

I don't know the history of Indiana's handgun control laws, but this is typical of states that are generally pro-RKBA and have had handgun licensing for decades.

- Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

Was it in response to something even more stupid than usual that Wesley Crusher did?

- Jim

Must have been. Here's another photo:


It looks like it must have been vastly more stupid than usual to warrant a double facepalm!

[ELB]

Along with not getting you off the hook for NICS, the lifetime license also doesn't exempt you from the dreaded Gun Free School Zone federal law (which I think has a short life expectancy).

- Jim

Why not?

[seamusTX]

Along with not getting you off the hook for NICS, the lifetime license also doesn't exempt you from the dreaded Gun Free School Zone federal law ...

Why not?

I could be wrong.

The NICS exemption explicitly requires that the license have an expiration of less than five years.

The Gun Free School Zone law [18 USC § 922(q)(2)(b)(ii)] does not specify an expiration period.

- Jim