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Monday, September 19, 2011

Ind. Law - More on "Gun-Toting Man at Evansville Zoo Causes Commotion"

Updating this ILB entry from earlier this afternoon, two items.

First, Indiana attorney Jordan Stover sent this info, clarifying my statement re a "concealed" carry permit at the end of the earlier entry:

Truth be told, Indiana doesn't issue "concealed carry permits," they issue "Licenses to Carry a Handgun," and the statutes never mention the word "concealed."

This creates a lot of confusion when people, lawyers included, see a story where a person was opening carrying a firearm, but has a "concealed carry permit." The natural assumption is that a concealed carry permit only permits concealed carry, and therefore the person openly carrying is somehow doing something wrong. So I just wanted to point out that our elected officials have not made such a distinction, and that they have explicitly allowed for both the open and concealed carry of weapons by people who have a license to carry a handgun.

The cite is IC 35-47-2-3, which uses the term "License to Carry a Handgun." The word concealed is not used in all of Chapter 2 regarding the Regulation of Handguns.

Second, the Evansville Courier & Press earlier this afternoon posted a second story, this one by Mark Wilson, headed "Armed man escorted from zoo by police sues city of Evansville." The story begins:
EVANSVILLE — A Zionsville, Ind., attorney has filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of a man Evansville Police Department officers escorted out of Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden after police said he refused to cover up a visible handgun.

The lawsuit, filed in Vanderburgh Circuit Court on Friday by attorney Guy Relford, names Evansville and its Department of Parks & Recreation. It alleges that the actions of zoo employees and police officers violated an Indiana law effective July 1 that preempts the regulation, with a few exceptions, of firearms by local governments.

It seeks financial damages, a court declaration finding the cities actions were an and an injunction preventing future actions by the city.

This is only the second lawsuit filed against local governments since the state law was enacted, Relford said. In August, he filed a similar lawsuit against Hammond, Ind.

The story includes a copy of the 9-page complaint.

[More] Here is a Sept. 4 ILB entry on the Hammond suit.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 19, 2011 02:46 PM
Posted to Indiana Law