A bill which would allow a person to legally carry a gun in a church property, regardless of whether there is a school on the same property or not, passed through the state Senate on Tuesday.
Currently, Hoosiers can carry a gun on church property as long as there is no school on the same property. Senate Bill 33, however, would allow a person to carry a gun with the permission of the church, regardless of the presence of a school.
Sen. David Niezgodzki, D-South Bend, said there are people who commit crimes involving guns and there should be people who are able to protect others on a church property.
“There are realities that we face, and there are bad people out there,” he said.
The bill’s author Sen. Jack Sandlin, R-Indianapolis, called gun rights a very passionate issue.
Sandlin said he admires public safety officials that run toward danger instead of away from it.
“We need people that are strategically positioned to be able to defend our houses of worships,” Sandlin said.
The bill passed 43-5 on the last day for third readings for senate bills in the Senate. It will now make its way through the House.
The House and the Senate will now head into the second half of the session, where they will read and vote on each other’s bill before March 14.
