4/19/21, IIRCPardon my ignorance but how much time do we have left?
Thanks Kelly, this made me go join The 2a project.Cross posted from The Gun Guy thread. Needless to say, this is not the time to take our foot off the gas. Emails and calls daily until it gets a hearing, or it's over.
Guy Relford, CEO of The2AProject, just sent the following email to Sen. Liz Brown (chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the senate) and Sen. Rodric Bray (president pro tem of the Indiana senate), with a copy to every Indiana state senator:
--------------
Re: The Second Amendment and HB 1369
HB 1369 (Lawful Carry) passed by the overwhelming majority of 65-31 in the Indiana House of Representatives. Such strong bipartisan support was generated after a hearing in the Public Policy Committee in the House that established several indisputable facts:
* HB 1369 does not change who can purchase a firearm, who can carry a handgun or where guns may be carried. Those persons who are prohibited from buying a gun or receiving a handgun license today will be "prohibited persons" who may not legally purchase or possess a handgun under HB 1369. HB 1369 has no effect on any "gun free zones" that exist today.
* Constitutional Carry has now been adopted in 18 states and there is NO DATA to suggest it increases violent crime or danger to police officers on any way.
* Criminals carry handguns without any concern for licensing requirements - those requirements only create an obstacle for law-abiding citizens that is simply ignored by criminals.
* Most importantly: The right to bear arms is guaranteed to Hoosiers through the Second Amendment and Article I, Section 32 of the Indiana Constitution. Law-abiding citizens should not have to beg permission from the government in order to exercise a Constitutional right already guaranteed to them by our founding fathers.
Now, with only one possible date available for a hearing on HB 1369 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the bill has still not been scheduled for a hearing. Those of us who have worked for years to obtain full and fair consideration of "Constitutional Carry" in the Indiana General Assembly - and were thrilled with the overwhelming and bipartisan victory in the House - find this inexplicable and unjustifiable.
When we formed The 2A Project over a year ago, our primary goal was to become the preeminent state-level grass roots gun rights organization in Indiana. Since that time, we have developed a strong, motivated and active membership among Indiana voters. In addition, we have developed several key alliances with other gun rights organizations, including the National Rifle Associaton and the Indiana Rifle & Pistol Association. Together, we have identified HB 1369 as our top legislative priority in 2021.
Another priority of The 2A Project is to hold Indiana legislators accountable when they fail to support pro-Second-Amendment legislation. In our system of evaluation, failure to advance a bill WITHOUT A HEARING OR A VOTE is substantially worse than a single vote against a bill on the floor of either chamber. In our view, the days of killing pro-2A bills behind closed doors in order to avoid a public vote (and public accountability) are over in Indiana. If HB 1369 dies in the Senate without a hearing, we will consider those responsible to be our opposition and we will react accordingly as we identify and support pro-2A candidates in future elections - emphasizing Republican primaries - and oppose those candidates (including incumbents) who have not demonstrated their support of the Second Amendment through their actions in the General Assembly. Giving lip service to support of the 2A while undermining pro-2A legislation will now be called out and communicated to voter bases at every opportunity - through every means of communication available.
You are a Republican Senator and a leader in the Indiana General Assembly. We have unlimited respect for you and your offiice and The 2A Project would love to be your greatest ally and supporter. Whether we have that relationship or something different is entirely up to you. In this context, please give HB 1369 a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If you personally oppose it - vote against it (in committee or on the floor), but let it be heard. 65 Indiana Representatives think that should happen - and so do members of The 2A Project.
I am always available to discuss these issues with you and I thank you for your consideration.
Guy
----------------
Guy A. Relford
CEO, The 2A Project, Inc.
1 S. Rangeline Road, Suite 110
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 844-4297
guy@The2AProject.com
www.The2AProject.com
The 2A Project
www.twitter.com/The2AProject
Guy A. Relford
Guy A. Relford is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Guy A. Relford and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.www.facebook.com
I even bought the shirt and promised that if they get 501c certification I will join for life.Thanks Kelly, this made me go join The 2a project
I had a 5 minute wait. Keep it up!!
I hit this one a day or two ago. My state senator will be getting cranky. I think I have contacted him 3 times now since it went to the Senate.
Haha, I do it 2-3 times a week. Mine is Bohacek, not sure who yours is, he doesn't even take the call now. I will leave a message for him is all I get, and I hit that link the same amount. I told her that if he would just let me know if he is in support or not I would stop talking about it. Nope nada.I hit this one a day or two ago. My state senator will be getting cranky. I think I have contacted him 3 times now since it went to the Senate.
Bumping the SB 199 draft. It's up in the House Courts and Criminal Code committee Wednesday morning.Draft for SB 199 and a link to the committee.
Representative,
I am writing to encourage your support of SB 199, Self Defense. This bill was authored by Senator Michael Young and Chris Garten, and co-authored by Senators Baldwin, Busch, Crane, Koch, Kruse, Leising, and Tomes. SB 199 is sponsored in the House by Representative Chris Jeter, and corrects a longstanding problem that resulted from an Indiana Appeals Court decision.
SB 199 does not change when reasonable use of force includes deadly force. Likewise, SB 199 does not make it legal to point a firearm at someone without the imminent threat of unlawful force. What SB 199 does do is accurately define deadly force.
Over 20 years ago, the Indiana Appeals Court ruled in Nantz v State that the act of pointing a loaded firearm was deadly force. Inference and possibility are not the same as deadly force by any stretch of the imagination. SB 199 simply specifies that pointing a firearm is reasonable force in a self-defense or arrest situation, correcting over 20 years of judicial overreach.
SB 199 is a very short bill, changing very little in current Indiana Code. Better defining reasonable force will be of great help to Hoosiers in self-defense situations, and afterwards. I’m sure I can count on your support with this important legislation.
Thank you,
Name
Address
Phone Number