Indiana state representative Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) is sponsoring legislation that will remove the requirement for a concealed carry permit in order to carry a gun for self-defense.
The legislation would make Indiana the 13th permitless carry state.
According to CBS 4, Lucas contends it is “immoral” to require law-abiding citizens to get a concealed carry permit before being allowed to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Moreover, he equates a permit requirement with criminality on the part of the state because it “[forces] an innocent person to jump through hoops and pay money to the state to prove their innocence and exercise a constitutional right.”
Permitless carry already exists in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. There are certain parts of Arkansas and Montana where a permit is required, but the vast portion of both states–99.4 percent, according to Gun Owners of America–is permitless.
And there is a great deal of momentum for permitless carry right now. Four states did away with a permit requirement in 2016 alone. Those four are Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia.
Indiana will vie to be the 13th state to eliminate a permit requirement. As they do, South Dakota will be considering eliminating their permit requirement as well. On November 23, Breitbart News reported that South Dakota state representative Lynne DiSanto (R-35th) is sponsoring legislation to eliminate any permit requirement for residents of her state.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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