Bill Text: IN SB0292 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Preemption of local firearm regulation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 10-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-18 - Effective 07/01/2011 [SB0292 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2011-SB0292-Enrolled.html
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AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and procedure.
(1) fixed cartridge ammunition;
(2) shotgun shells;
(3) the individual components of fixed cartridge ammunition and shotgun shells;
(4) projectiles for muzzle loading firearms; and
(5) any propellant used in a firearm or in firearm ammunition.
(1) any device specifically adapted to enable:
(A) the wearing or carrying about one's person; or
(B) the storage or mounting in or on any conveyance;
of a firearm; and
(2) any attachment or device specifically adapted to be inserted into or affixed onto any firearm to enable, alter, or improve the functioning or capabilities of the firearm.
Chapter 11.1. Local Regulation of Firearms, Ammunition, and Firearm Accessories
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to a political subdivision (as defined in IC 3-5-2-38).
Sec. 2. Except as provided in section 4 of this chapter, a political subdivision may not regulate:
(1) firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories;
(2) the ownership, possession, carrying, transportation, registration, transfer, and storage of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories; and
(3) commerce in and taxation of firearms, firearm ammunition, and firearm accessories.
Sec. 3. Any provision of an ordinance, measure, enactment, rule, or policy or exercise of proprietary authority of a political subdivision or of an employee or agent of a political subdivision acting in an official capacity:
(1) enacted or undertaken before, on, or after June 30, 2011; and
(2) that pertains to or affects the matters listed in section 2 of this chapter;
is void.
Sec. 4. This chapter may not be construed to prevent any of the following:
(1) A law enforcement agency of a political subdivision from enacting and enforcing regulations pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories issued to or used by law enforcement officers in the course of their official duties.
(2) Subject to IC 34-28-7-2, an employer from regulating or prohibiting the employees of the employer from carrying firearms and ammunition in the course of the employee's official duties.
(3) A court or administrative law judge from hearing and resolving any case or controversy or issuing any opinion or order on a matter within the jurisdiction of the court or
judge.
(4) The enactment or enforcement of generally applicable
zoning or business ordinances that apply to firearms
businesses to the same degree as other similar businesses.
However, a provision of an ordinance that is designed or
enforced to effectively restrict or prohibit the sale, purchase,
transfer, manufacture, or display of firearms, ammunition, or
firearm accessories that is otherwise lawful under the laws of
this state is void. A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) may not
use the unit's planning and zoning powers under IC 36-7-4 to
prohibit the sale of firearms within a prescribed distance of
any other type of commercial property or of school property
or other educational property.
(5) The enactment or enforcement of a provision prohibiting
or restricting the possession of a firearm in any building that
contains the courtroom of a circuit, superior, city, town, or
small claims court. However, if a portion of the building is
occupied by a residential tenant or private business, any
provision restricting or prohibiting the possession of a firearm
does not apply to the portion of the building that is occupied
by the residential tenant or private business, or to common
areas of the building used by a residential tenant or private
business.
(6) The enactment or enforcement of a provision prohibiting
or restricting the intentional display of a firearm at a public
meeting.
(7) The enactment or enforcement of a provision prohibiting
or restricting the possession of a firearm in a public hospital
corporation that contains a secure correctional health unit
that is staffed by a law enforcement officer twenty-four (24)
hours a day.
(8) The imposition of any restriction or condition placed on a
person participating in:
(A) a community corrections program (IC 11-12-1);
(B) a forensic diversion program (IC 11-12-3.7); or
(C) a pretrial diversion program (IC 33-39-1).
(9) The enforcement or prosecution of the offense of criminal
recklessness (IC 35-42-2-2) involving the use of a firearm.
(10) For an event occurring on property leased from a
political subdivision or municipal corporation by the
promoter or organizer of the event:
(A) the establishment, by the promoter or organizer, at the
promoter's or organizer's own discretion, of rules of
conduct or admission upon which attendance at or
participation in the event is conditioned; or
(B) the implementation or enforcement of the rules of
conduct or admission described in clause (A) by a political
subdivision or municipal corporation in connection with
the event.
(11) The enactment or enforcement of a provision prohibiting
or restricting the possession of a firearm in a hospital
established and operated under IC 16-22-2 or IC 16-23.
(12) A unit from using the unit's planing and zoning powers
under IC 36-7-4 to prohibit the sale of firearms within two
hundred (200) feet of a school by a person having a business
that did not sell firearms within two hundred (200) feet of a
school before April 1, 1994.
(13) A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) from enacting or
enforcing a provision prohibiting or restricting the possession
of a firearm in a building owned or administered by the unit
if:
(A) metal detection devices are located at each public
entrance to the building;
(B) each public entrance to the building is staffed by at
least one (1) law enforcement officer:
(i) who has been adequately trained to conduct
inspections of persons entering the building by use of
metal detection devices and proper physical pat down
searches; and
(ii) when the building is open to the public; and
(C) each:
(i) individual who enters the building through the public
entrance when the building is open to the public; and
(ii) bag, package, and other container carried by the
individual;
is inspected by a law enforcement officer described in
clause (B).
However, except as provided in subdivision (5) concerning a
building that contains a courtroom, a unit may not prohibit or
restrict the possession of a handgun under this subdivision in
a building owned or administered by the unit if the person
who possesses the handgun has been issued a valid license to
carry the handgun under IC 35-47-2.
Sec. 5. A person adversely affected by an ordinance, a measure,
an enactment, a rule, or a policy adopted or enforced by a political
subdivision that violates this chapter may file an action in a court
with competent jurisdiction against the political subdivision for:
(1) declarative and injunctive relief; and
(2) actual and consequential damages attributable to the
violation.
Sec. 6. A person is "adversely affected" for purposes of section
5 of this chapter if either of the following applies:
(1) The person is an individual who meets all of the following
requirements:
(A) The individual lawfully resides within the United
States.
(B) The individual may legally possess a firearm under the
laws of Indiana.
(C) The individual is or was subject to the ordinance,
measure, enactment, rule, or policy of the political
subdivision that is the subject of an action filed under
section 5 of this chapter. An individual is or was subject to
the ordinance, measure, enactment, rule, or policy of the
political subdivision if the individual is or was physically
present within the boundaries of the political subdivision
for any reason.
(2) The person is a membership organization that:
(A) includes two (2) or more individuals described in
subdivision (1); and
(B) is dedicated in whole or in part to protecting the rights
of persons who possess, own, or use firearms for
competitive, sporting, defensive, or other lawful purposes.
Sec. 7. A prevailing plaintiff in an action under section 5 of this
chapter is entitled to recover from the political subdivision the
following:
(1) The greater of the following:
(A) Actual damages, including consequential damages.
(B) Liquidated damages of three (3) times the plaintiff's
attorney's fees.
(2) Court costs (including fees).
(3) Reasonable attorney's fees.
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