INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels on Thursday signed into a law a measure allowing employees to have guns in their locked vehicles while at work.
The move came despite business groups and large manufacturers urging him to veto House Bill 1065.
It was one of 18 bills signed by Daniels on Thursday.
The bill was pushed by the National Rifle Association and was approved in both the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled House – something the governor referenced in a statement on the bill.
Many businesses objected to the bill, saying it violates their right to control their private property and that guns and the workplace don’t mix.
Daniels cited the clear language of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution regarding the right to bear arms and even stronger language in the Indiana Constitution.
“Protecting these rights … is appropriate,” Daniels said. “I also am compelled to give great weight to the overwhelming consensus of both houses of the General Assembly as they passed this bipartisan statute.
“The law does contain ambiguities that the General Assembly may wish to refine at some future date, to avoid unnecessary litigation, but the understandable concerns raised against the bill do not suffice to justify a trespass on a fundamental right so expressly protected by our founding documents.”
Daniels was referring to a number of exemptions lawmakers placed in the bill as part of the final compromise.
Businesses that are exempted include child-care facilities; jails and prisons; group homes; colleges and universities; domestic violence shelters; and some public utilities and businesses that are required to meet certain requirements issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The new law, which takes effect July 1, also gives businesses immunity for injury or damage resulting from the employer’s compliance with the law.
Businesses still have the right to prohibit firearms inside their buildings.
