Last month, the Indiana General Assembly adjourned after passing two bills of importance to gun owners and sportsmen. The following bills were recently signed into law by Governor Mike Pence (R):
- Senate Bill 1, now Public Law 172, specifies how a School Resource Officer (SRO) program may be established in schools and sets forth their duties and responsibilities. This law has already taken effect and provides schools an effective asset in protecting our children and increasing school security.
- House Bill 1563, now Public Law 289, repeals Indiana’s current prohibition on the use of a suppressor while hunting and also strengthens Indiana’s shooting range protection law. Effective on July 1, this law now provides hunters in Indiana the same opportunities available to sportsmen in more than half of the country. For more information on hunting with suppressors, please click here.
Unfortunately, a critical pro-gun reform, House Bill 1473, was not taken up by the state legislature this session. Sponsored by state Representative Jim Lucas (R-69), HB 1473 would have allowed a person who legally possesses a firearm to keep that firearm stored in a locked trunk of their vehicle, a glove box or stored out of plain sight in the vehicle while on school property. This would allow parents to park on school property for a meeting with a teacher or principal to do so without the fear of breaking the law. The NRA is committed to passing this measure next legislative session.
The NRA thanks state lawmakers who voted for these important reforms, the bill sponsors for fostering their passage, Governor Pence for signing the bills into law and all NRA members who contacted their legislators in support of these bills.