Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1204
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 35-47.
Synopsis: Handguns. Requires a person to complete a handgun safety
course before receiving a handgun license. Amends the definition of
"dealer" as it relates to the sale of handguns. Requires a handgun dealer
to wait seven business days after obtaining background information
from a prospective purchaser before selling, renting, trading, or
transferring a handgun to the purchaser. Prohibits a person from
obtaining more than two handguns during a calendar month.
Effective: July 1, 2005.
Smith V
January 6, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on Public Safety and Homeland
Security.
Introduced
First Regular Session 114th General Assembly (2005)
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HOUSE BILL No. 1204
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2-3; (05)IN1204.1.1. -->
SECTION 1. IC 35-47-2-3 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]: Sec. 3. (a) A person desiring
a license to carry a handgun
shall must:
(1) apply:
(1) (A) to the chief of police or corresponding law
enforcement officer of the municipality in which the applicant
resides;
(2) (B) if that municipality has no such officer, or if the
applicant does not reside in a municipality, to the sheriff of the
county in which the applicant resides after the applicant has
obtained an application form prescribed by the superintendent;
or
(3) (C) if the applicant is a resident of another state and has a
regular place of business or employment in Indiana, to the
sheriff of the county in which the applicant has a regular place
of business or employment;
and
(2) provide evidence that the person has successfully
completed a handgun safety training course conducted under
standards established by the superintendent.
(b) The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for a
handgun license shall collect a ten dollar ($10) application fee, five
dollars ($5) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (h), the fee shall be:
(1) deposited into the law enforcement agency's firearms training
fund or other appropriate training activities fund; and
(2) used by the agency for the purpose of:
(A) training law enforcement officers in the proper use of
firearms or other law enforcement duties; or
(B) purchasing for the law enforcement officers employed by
the law enforcement agency firearms, or firearm related
equipment, or both.
The state board of accounts shall establish rules for the proper
accounting and expenditure of funds collected under this subsection.
(c) The officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the
applicant's name, full address, length of residence in the community,
whether the applicant's residence is located within the limits of any city
or town, the applicant's occupation, place of business or employment,
criminal record, if any, and convictions (minor traffic offenses
excepted), age, race, sex, nationality, date of birth, citizenship, height,
weight, build, color of hair, color of eyes, scars and marks, whether the
applicant has previously held an Indiana license to carry a handgun
and, if so, the serial number of the license and year issued, whether the
applicant's license has ever been suspended or revoked, and if so, the
year and reason for the suspension or revocation, and the applicant's
reason for desiring a license. The officer to whom the application is
made shall conduct an investigation into the applicant's official records
and verify thereby the applicant's character and reputation, and shall in
addition verify for accuracy the information contained in the
application, and shall forward this information together with his the
officer's recommendation for approval or disapproval and one (1) set
of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant to the
superintendent.
(d) The superintendent may make whatever further investigation the
superintendent deems necessary. Whenever disapproval is
recommended, the officer to whom the application is made shall
provide the superintendent and the applicant with the officer's complete
and specific reasons, in writing, for the recommendation of
disapproval.
(e) If it appears to the superintendent that the applicant has a proper
reason for carrying a handgun and is of good character and reputation
and a proper person to be so licensed, the superintendent shall issue to
the applicant a qualified or an unlimited license to carry any handgun
lawfully possessed by the applicant. The original license shall be
delivered to the licensee. A copy shall be delivered to the officer to
whom the application for license was made. A copy shall be retained
by the superintendent for at least four (4) years. This license shall be
valid for a period of four (4) years from the date of issue. The license
of police officers, sheriffs or their deputies, and law enforcement
officers of the United States government who have been honorably
retired by a lawfully created pension board or its equivalent after
twenty (20) or more years of service, shall be valid for the life of such
individuals. However, such lifetime licenses are automatically revoked
if the license holder does not remain a proper person.
(f) At the time a license is issued and delivered to a licensee under
subsection (e), the superintendent shall include with the license
information concerning handgun safety rules that:
(1) neither opposes nor supports an individual's right to bear
arms; and
(2) is:
(A) recommended by a nonprofit educational organization that
is dedicated to providing education on safe handling and use
of firearms;
(B) prepared by the state police department; and
(C) approved by the superintendent.
The superintendent may not deny a license under this section because
the information required under this subsection is unavailable at the
time the superintendent would otherwise issue a license. The state
police department may accept private donations or grants to defray the
cost of printing and mailing the information required under this
subsection.
(g) A license to carry a handgun shall not be issued to any person
who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony;
(2) is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(3) is under twenty-three (23) years of age, if the person has been
adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a felony if
committed by an adult; or
(4) has been arrested for a Class A or Class B felony, or any other
felony that was committed while armed with a deadly weapon or
that involved the use of violence, if a court has found probable
cause to believe that the person committed the offense charged.
In the case of an arrest under subdivision (4), a license to carry a
handgun may be issued to a person who has been acquitted of the
specific offense charged or if the charges for the specific offense are
dismissed. The superintendent shall prescribe all forms to be used in
connection with the administration of this chapter.
(h) If the law enforcement agency that charges a fee under
subsection (b) is a city or town law enforcement agency, the fee shall
be deposited in the law enforcement continuing education fund
established under IC 5-2-8-2.
(i) If a person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun issued
under this chapter:
(1) changes the person's name; or
(2) changes the person's address;
the person shall, not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the
change, notify the superintendent, in writing, of the person's new name
or new address.
(j) The state police shall indicate on the form for a license to carry
a handgun the notification requirements of subsection (i).
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2.5-1; (05)IN1204.1.2. -->
SECTION 2. IC 35-47-2.5-1 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]: Sec. 1. This chapter does not
apply to the following:
(1) Transactions between persons who are licensed as firearms
importers or collectors or firearms manufacturers or dealers under
18 U.S.C. 923.
(2) Purchases by or sales to a law enforcement officer or agent of
the United States, the state, or a county or local government.
(3) Indiana residents licensed to carry handguns under
IC 35-47-2-3, except as provided in section 11.3 of this chapter.
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2.5-2; (05)IN1204.1.3. -->
SECTION 3. IC 35-47-2.5-2 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]: Sec. 2. As used in this
chapter, "dealer" includes any person:
(1) licensed under 18 U.S.C. 923; or
(2) who sells, rents, trades, or transfers a handgun to another
person at a gun show.
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2.5-4; (05)IN1204.1.4. -->
SECTION 4. IC 35-47-2.5-4 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]: Sec. 4. A dealer may not
sell, rent, trade, or transfer from the dealer's inventory a handgun to a
person until the dealer has done all of the following:
(1) Obtained from the prospective purchaser written consent to a
criminal history check, as specified in section 3 of this chapter.
(2) Provided the state police department with the prospective
purchaser's name, birth date, gender, race, Social Security
number, and any other identification required of the prospective
purchaser.
(3) Requested and received criminal history information from the
state police department by means of:
(A) a telephone call; or
(B) other electronic means.
(4) Waited at least seven (7) business days after the date the
dealer provided the state police department with the
information required by subdivision (2).
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2.5-7; (05)IN1204.1.5. -->
SECTION 5. IC 35-47-2.5-7 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]: Sec. 7. (a) The state police
department shall provide its response to a requesting dealer under
section 6 of this chapter during the dealer's call or by return call
without delay.
(b) If a criminal history check indicates that a prospective purchaser
or transferee has a disqualifying criminal record or has been acquitted
by reason of insanity and committed to the custody of the division of
mental health and addiction, the state police department has until the
end of the next seven (7) business day of the state police department
days to advise the dealer that the records indicate the buyer or
transferee is prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm by
state or federal law.
(c) If a dealer:
(1) is not advised of a prohibition by the state police department
before the end of the next seven (7) business day of the state
police department; days as described in subsection (b) and
section 4(4) of this chapter; and
(2) has fulfilled the requirements of section 4 of this chapter;
the dealer may immediately complete the sale or transfer and may not
be considered in violation of this chapter with respect to the sale or
transfer.
(d) In case of electronic failure or other circumstances beyond the
control of the state police department, the dealer shall be advised
immediately of the reason for the delay and be given an estimate of the
length of the delay. However, after a notification under this subsection,
the state police department shall inform the requesting dealer whether
state police department records indicate the buyer or transferee is
prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm by state or federal
law:
(1) by the end of the next business day of the state police
department following correction of the problem that caused the
delay; or
(2) within three (3) business days of the state police department;
whichever time limit occurs earlier.
(e) A dealer that fulfills the requirements of section 4 of this chapter
and is told by the state police department that a response will not be
available under subsection (d) may immediately complete the sale or
transfer and may not be considered in violation of this chapter with
respect to the sale or transfer.
SOURCE: IC 35-47-2.5-11.3; (05)IN1204.1.6. -->
SECTION 6. IC 35-47-2.5-11.3 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A
NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2005]:
Sec. 11.3. (a) This section applies to
Indiana residents licensed to carry handguns under IC 35-47-2-3.
(b) A person may not purchase or otherwise obtain more than
two (2) handguns during a calendar month.
(c) A person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section
commits a Class A misdemeanor.