A new bill allowing people to keep firearms locked and stored in vehicles parked on school property passed the Indiana state House on Monday, earning praise from pro-Second Amendment groups and the ire of opponents.
The legislation, Senate Bill 229, strikes language prohibiting people, including school employees, from keeping a firearm locked in a vehicle on school property. Passed by the Indiana House of Representatives with Republican support, the bill moves to a conference committee.
Senate Bill 229 passed the House 74-24 late Monday night as lawmakers battled a midnight deadline to act on Senate bills, The Indianapolis Star reported.
The National Rifle Association came out in support of the Hoosier State’s billl, as it “is needed to protect the constitutional rights of people who lawfully own guns.” Additionally, the pro-Second Amendment organization argued a ban on firearms stored in cars on school property put legal gun owners at risk of committing a felony “simply because the weapons are inadvertently in their cars when they drop their children off at school or attend school activities.”
The NRA did not return Red Alert Politics’ request for comment at the time of publication.
Opponents of the legislation like the Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action, however, called on Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) and the House Public Policy Committee to kill the bill, calling it “dangerous.”
“This bill is extremely dangerous because it means that firearms will be allowed near our children no matter where our children are,” Nikki McNally, president of the organization’s Indiana chapter, said in a statement. “Guns will be allowed in parking lots, at graduation and prom venues held off school property.”
The Indiana gun bill also strikes a “roaming school zone” measure from law. Current legislation defines a school zone as any place where a school function is taking place. Additionally, the legislation redefines the term “school property” to include buildings or structures owned or rented by the school. The bill’s definition does not include parking lots shared with other entities.
Students are prohibited from storing firearms in their cars, however, unless they have permission from the school’s principal.
Rep. Sean Eberhart (R) told The Indianapolis Star the changes made to the bill as it went through the House were designed to allow for “self-protection to and from schools.”
Indiana Democrats, though, argue allowing guns to be stored in cars could lead to more violence.
“How many young people and teachers do we have to lose before we say enough is enough?” Rep. Vernon Smith (D) told The Indianapolis Star.
Rep. Linda Lawson (D) argued states shouldn’t be setting policies relating to firearms and local schools in the first place. Schools still can ban guns from the property if they choose to, she said.
