This legislative session is over, at least as far as new bills go. SB 29, 65, 66, 158, and HB 1043 never even got hearings. SB 356 did, and even made it to third reading, but after two Dem and two GOP senators spoke against it and it's author and two co-authors spoke for it, it failed to pass a Constitutional majority. (There are 50 total senators, and two are excused absent-I am uncertain, but I think I heard that both have cancer. My prayers are with them and their families.) Of the 48 senators present, 25 (all GOP) voted to pass it to the House and 23 (all Dems, plus 7 GOP) voted not to do so.
Senator Nugent introduced the bill and gave his fellow legislators his solemn promise, on his honor, to repair an oversight he'd made in the bill which would have allowed an 18 year old high school senior to carry his weapon legally in a k-12 school.
Senator Wyss, despite carrying a lifetime LTC himself, does not trust the public to be armed, worries about drunk college students who might carry, claims that the Capitol was made gun-free "for the people", worries about his ability and accuracy to shoot back at an attacker, claims that in some other state (Connecticut, if memory serves), 7% of domestic abusers hold CCW permits, and refers to the victims of the VA Tech killer as the "32 kids".
Senator Kenley expressed concerns to Sen. Nugent regarding the circumstance of a Presidential visit, such as in the 1980s, when Pres. Reagan visited Indiana, and also asked if the provision that buildings leased by the state not being able to be denied for carry was a usurption of private property rights
Senator Waltz asked Sen. Wyss what the difference was between people being legally armed while drinking at a frat party vs. people being legally armed and drinking in a bar. Wyss had no coherent answer.
Senator Lanane bemoaned the removal of the ability of local governments to control what happens in their areas and indirectly questioned Sen. Nugent's integrity, claiming that he promised to fix the bill, but "this is the bill we have to vote on _now_", insinuating that Senator Nugent would go back on his word.
Senator Deig gave a very emotional and poignant testimony of his good friend who was a school bus driver whose (ex?) husband boarded her bus after the last child was dropped off, riding back with her to the bus lot. Apparently, they argued and he shot her, then himself, and this was his reasoning for voting against LTC holders being able to carry on school property.
Senator Steele brought up several examples such as the other senators' staff members having to leave the State House late at night and being disarmed and helpless, discussed that certain dental students nearby were told they must have LTCs and must carry, because they were often robbed for the gold they carried for fillings, crowns, and the like. He discussed that the staff members are trusted with the minutiae of their senators' lives, but not trusted to defend their own, and supported Sen. Nugent, reporting that Johnny Nugent has never once broken his word to anyone in that chamber.
Lastly, Senator Long spoke to oppose the bill on the grounds that it allowed guns at K-12 schools.
Of note, Senator Long spoke to oppose, but still voted to pass the bill. Senators Waltz and Steele also voted to pass it.
The Dem votes against the bill were as follows:
Arnold
Breaux
Broden
Deig
Errington
Hume
Lanane
Lewis
Mrvan
Rogers
Simpson
Sipes
Skinner
Smith
Tallian
R.D. Young
The Republicans who did likewise were:
Alting
Becker
Kenley
Lawson
Lubbers
Merritt
Wyss
Any one of these people changing his or her vote to support our bill would have passed it to the House.
I have dispatched emails to Senators Wyss, Deig, and Alting on this issue. At this writing, I have received no replies with the exception of an autoresponder from Sen. Deig's email box.
While we are disheartened that our bill was defeated, we take heart in the fact that HB 1260, which would have required "encoded ammunition" by mid-2009, was also defeated before it ever got a hearing. It's a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
We will continue watching and will return to lobby next session. While the organization is not supporting any particular candidate, we can report voting records and in most cases, it's clear from those who will protect your right to protect yourself, and who wants you a helpless little pawn of the Nanny State. Be careful how you vote, for the rights you save may be your own.