On March 21, 2022, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed Constitutional Carry into law. In doing so, Indiana became the 24th state where lawful citizens no longer have to beg the government for permission to exercise their right to bear arms.
After this bill was passed in the Indiana State House and State Senate, there was speculation that Holcomb would actually veto said legislation. After all, Holcomb never went fully public about passing Constitutional Carry before nor was he particularly enthusiastic about the concept.
Moreover, a report at NBC Chicago noted that “Indiana's top law enforcement official, county prosecutors and the state's police chiefs association” were in opposition to Constitutional Carry before this law was passed. In the case of state police, Indiana state police Superintendent Doug Carter teamed up with the county prosecutors association, the state Fraternal Order of Police, and police chiefs association to oppose Constitutional Carry. They claim that such legislation would put officers in danger by getting rid of a screening mechanism to quickly identify dangerous individuals who should not be in possession of a firearm.
After signing Constitutional Carry into law on March 21, Holcomb stated "the Second Amendment has been debated for years, yet time and again our U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed this important constitutional right that I fully support."
"...HEA 1296, which I've signed today, entrusts Hoosiers who can lawfully carry a handgun to responsibly do so within our State," Holcomb continued.
Under Indiana’s Constitutional Carry law, any individual 18 or older is allowed to legally carry a handgun in public except if they're a convicted felon or have a dangerous mental illness.
Following Carter’s statement to elected officials, where he stated “if you choose to support this bill, you will not be supporting us,” Holcomb responded, “I stand behind Superintendent Carter 110%.”
However, when Holcomb was questioned about the Constitutional Carry bill, the Indiana governor responded that he would give the bill “careful thought” once it was sent to his desk, “understanding what the superintendent articulated is real.”
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed in Indiana. The Republican Party has remained complacent on Second Amendment issues for too long. This complacency prompted grassroots Second Amendment activists to take matters into their own hands and start pushing Constitutional Carry.
In 2009, there were only two states with Constitutional Carry — Alaska and Vermont. Fast forward to 2022, there are now 24 states with Constitutional Carry.
Indiana is now the third state to pass Constitutional Carry after Ohio and Alabama passed similar bills in the past few weeks. There is a Second Amendment revolution brewing across the nation. The short-term goal should be to get all red states to pass Constitutional Carry. From there, nullification of federal gun control will be the next battle to tackle. Restoring our gun rights will not happen overnight, but we should never let up and should always be moving forward regardless of our victories or defeats.
All told, gun owners should be proud of their accomplishments thus far. During a time when the American Right has not been able to get on the scoreboard on a host of issues, these wins on the Constitutional Carry front should serve as an inspiration for other right-wingers.
Constitutional Carry’s successes should be studied and imitated by those on the Right who want to be successful in politics.
José Niño is a freelance writer and political analyst based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook or Twitter. Get his premium newsletter on political strategy here. Subscribe to his Substack here.
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