The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1424 sponsored by Sens. Bray, Holdman and Ford on handgun licenses. The bill increases the duration of a four-year handgun license to five years, provides that an individual may simultaneously hold both a five-year license and a lifetime license, and requires a law enforcement officer to whom an application for a handgun license is made to perform a national, fingerprint based criminal history check and consult available local, state, and federal criminal history data banks, including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), when determining whether possession of a firearm by an applicant would be a violation of state or federal law. The bill also removes the fees for lifetime licenses beginning July 1, 2019.
Representatives from the National Rifle Association of America, Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, Rep. Wesco, and the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association testified in support of the bill. Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence testified in support of the bill but expressed concerns with parts of the bill. The Indiana State Police answered questions from Committee members. The bill passed 7-3.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/house/1424