INLegis Archive

Tucker: Legislature should pass SB 0006

(Joseph Tucker is a Hamilton County resident.)

“Knives with automatic blades. Removes a provision that makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase certain knives with blades that opens automatically.”

SB 0006 is a senate bill that removes an archaic law which effectively did nothing except prohibit law abiding citizens from purchasing, owning,  selling or manufacturing knives that open through mechanical means. Knives that use a spring to open at the push of a button are a good example of this, these knives are commonly know as switchblades or automatic knives.

Automatic knives have been easily purchasable for the entire life of the law banning their purchase, sale, display, etc. I won’t go into the means through which they can be acquired, but any individual seeking to obtain them can accomplish it easily and fairly inexpensively.

The law has not been very effective at actually banning the sale and possession of these knives, but it has been effective at banning their sale in brick and mortar stores and their manufacture here in Indiana.

If you would like to see this needless and punitive law removed from our books; if you would prefer that people have the freedom of choice to  manufacture and legally sell automatic knives here in Indiana; if you think people should be generally free to purchase any knife they choose, then I urge you to contact your state representative and ask them to support SB 0006.

As I write this the SB 0006 has passed the first house which means it is very close to fully passing, with your support it can fully pass the house to  become law and give us back a little bit more of our freedom.

Supporting the bill won’t take long, here’s the step by step:

1. Go to this site to find out who your state representative is:

http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup

2. Go to this site to email your state representative’s email, just find their name and click the “Email Your Legislator” link:

http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact.pl

3. Fill out the form and in the comments all you need to say is: “I am writing you to ask that you support Senate Bill 0006.”

Feel free to add whatever else you would like to say in support of the bill. Click the “Email Representative” button and you are done.

The Session: Will a New Government Class Keep You From Getting Divorced?

(Originally Published by the Indianapolis Star via their legislative blog, The Session.)

The tea party presented a choice for Republican leadership the last two years: liberty or central planning?

State Rep. Cindy Noe has recently introduced House Bill 1248 that will increase the fees for those seeking marriage licenses. The fee will still be $18 for those who have completed a new marriage counseling class designed by the office of the secretary of Family and Social Services. For those not taking the class, the fee will be increased to $78.

This is an attempt by Republicans to lower our divorce rate in Indiana. Divorce is a spiritual and personal problem with no government solution, and marriage is none of the government’s business.

A supporter has called this a “positive intrusion” in your personal life.

Why do I need my government parents explaining to me the basics of marriage? Sadly, the view of Hoosiers by the legislature is that we aren’t able to make life decisions for ourselves anymore, and they think they have a solution. That isn’t liberty.

The Session: New Ways to Tax

(I am a contributor to the Session, a blog of the Indy Star. Please visit it for up to the date thoughts on the IN General Assembly.)

After the 3, 2, 1 property tax caps went in to effect, everyone slowly began to realize that local governments were going to be hit very hard without the revenue from over-charging on property tax bills.

The legislature has introduced five bills for revenue generation at the local level. First is the much discussed Senate Bill 53, or commuter tax. This is proposed by Republican Jim Buck.

Senate Bill 31 introduces a new municipal income tax of 1%. This is also proposed by a Republican, Randy Head.

Democrat John Broden has introduced Senate Bill 356. It will allow increases of the Local Option Income Tax levy for public safety from 0.25% to 0.50% for everyone but Marion County.

While these won’t cost an individual taxpayer thousands per year, they will take more money from economies that are struggling to keep revenue flowing to local small business owners. The commuter tax alone will take around $100 per year out of your paycheck.

The Decriminalization of a Constitutional Right – SB 506

(By Phyllis Klosinski, Brown County, IN)

The Libertarian Legislative Think Tank has swiftly reacted to a Senate bill proposing measured restoration of the Constitutional Right to Bear Arms, prompting extensive discussion overwhelmingly expressing support.

A Restoration of a Constitutional right: why have we become so willing to “accept” back what government has arbitrarily taken from us?  This legislation is an attempt to provide less government, and correct legislation which limits individual freedom by moving closer to the explicit terms of the Constitution.

The LP platform promotes individual freedom, including the presumption of innocent until proven guilty, with the qualification of accepting individual personal responsibility. It is up to the government to prove an individual has relinquished the right to bear arms.

Instead under current law, the individual must prove they are worthy of exercising their Constitutional right.

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Revenue, Revenue, Revenue: A Look at the General Assembly’s New Taxes

(By Jerry Titus, Howard County Chair)

While the ‘traditional’ media brings you news of the General Assembly’s diligent efforts to trim and reform our State government, it appears that they’ve missed reporting on several new tax and revenue generating bills that have been introduced this session.

At the Libertarian Legislative Think Tank on Facebook, we’ve been diligently sorting through the 971 pieces of legislation filed this session.  It’s slow going, but so far we’ve found several new taxes and revenue generation that we think our fellow Hoosiers should be aware of.
New Taxes

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