Citations Affected: IC 35-47.
Synopsis: Handgun background checks. Provides that a person may not
receive a handgun license if the person is prohibited from owning a
firearm under state or federal law. Specifies that a dealer may not
immediately sell a handgun to a prospective purchaser if a state police
background investigation is pending. (The introduced version of this
bill was prepared by the criminal law study commission).
Effective: July 1, 2003.
January 21, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal, Civil and Public
Policy.
February 27, 2003, amended, reported favorably _ Do Pass.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state
police, civil defense and military affairs.
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.
(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
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, and is otherwise eligible to
possess a firearm under state and federal law, 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).