The third hearing at the Statehouse to debate making Indiana a “constitutional carry” state was held Monday morning by a study committee. That committee voted to call on legislators to “remove all hurdles” to gun ownership, but did not specifically mention how. State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Seymour Republican who also represents southern Bartholomew County, is championing the move. He says that a number of misconceptions about constitutional carry have been bandied about. Lucas took aim at the media.

We asked if we could expect any legislative action in the upcoming session.

The recommendation passed on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting “no.”

Lucas released the following statement:

“I believe it’s wrong to require a license to exercise a Constitutional right. I plan to introduce Second Amendment legislation known as Constitutional Carry that would eliminate this cumbersome and expensive burden on innocent, law-abiding Hoosiers. The only people who would be affected by this would be those innocent people that currently have to fill out lengthy forms online, take time off work to get fingerprinted and pay a fee of up to $140 to get a card to prove their innocence — all to receive a license. I look forward to this upcoming session where I can bring this piece of legislation to the House of Representatives to consider as I work to give the people of Indiana the ‘right to bear arms for defense of themselves and the state.’”