By Dean Weingarten
Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- An Indiana Representative is forcing the establishment media to look in the mirror and face their hypocrisy.
He is proposing the First Amendment in Indiana be treated the same as the Second Amendment. His proposal is that journalists be required to apply for a license before they are allowed to publish.
If they have felony convictions, they might not be allowed to publish.
Lucas, from Seymour, has been critical of the media’s coverage of his efforts to repeal a state law that requires a permit to carry a handgun.
He has stated reporters, columnists and editorial boards mischaracterize his idea, which is sometimes referred to as “constitutional carry.”
“If I was as irresponsible with my handgun as the media has been with their keyboard, I’d probably be in jail,” Lucas said.
The proposal would require professional journalists to submit an application with Indiana State Police. They would be fingerprinted and would have to pay $75 for a lifetime license.
“Why should a Government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticised? It would not allow opposition by lethal weapons. Ideas are much more fatal things than guns. And as to the freedom of the Press, why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinions calculated to embarrass the Government?”
Jim Lucas has a leadership position in the Indiana House of Representatives. He is the Assistant Majority Whip.
From indianahouserepublicans.com:
Prior to being elected to the General Assembly, Rep. Lucas served on the Seymour City Council. He also owns a local small business, The Awning Guy, Inc.
Rep. Lucas is active in the community. He is a memberof Immanuel Lutheran Church, the American Legion, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America National Association for Gun Rights, Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association and the NFIB.
As a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and a small business owner, Rep. Lucas brings valuable experience to policy discussions. His biggest priorities at the Statehouse are jobs, fiscal integrity, education and protecting the right to bear arms.
Representatives in Indiana are not separated from the people by much. A district in Indiana has a population of about 65 thousand people. A representatives salary, alone, would put them near the poverty level. They have to be able to support themselves.
Lucas is a citizen politician. He knows he will have to live under the rules he crafts. He is part of the Republican revolution in the states, a grass roots revolution that is pushing out the “progressive” Republicans who have more loyalty to the establishment elite than to the people they represent. It is difficult to say if this Marine could keep his integrity after 20 years in public office. Many have not.
At the moment, this former Army officer gives a “Well done Marine!” to Representative Jim Lucas.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
All these requirements that pop up in the states are more about revenue than public safety. Just think about how much revenue is produced by these laws. And once a money stream is started, government becomes addicted and will never turn it loose .Not one gun law will keep the bad guys from having a gun or using it to harm someone.
if as gun owners we were as IRRESPONSIBLE AS THE MSM WITH THEIR MOUTHS AND LEFTIST VIEWS THAT CAUSE UNTOLD MISERY AND INJURY WE ALL WOULD BE IN JAIL.
this representative i feel has something we can GET BEHIND, AND MAYBE ON A NATIONAL LEVEL.
AND THIS ALSO NEEDS APPLIED TO THE IRRESPONSIBLE CONGRESS AS WELL.
You may have heard of the two Apache who were sending smoke signals back and forth, when an atomic bomb was tested in the distance. One of them looked up and said, ” I wish I had said that.” I can say that I wish that I had thought of this First Amendment tactic when I met my state rep. Go Lucas!
It occurred to me that what we really need is a national ban on those scary black assault journalists, too. I’m sure Diane Feinstein will get right on board with this.
How about a background check every time a journalist wants to publish? After all, I have to have a background check for every gun I want to purchase.
Agreed on the page and word limits. And, there needs to be restrictions on where they can publish, such as no where that a child can have access to the publication, nor can it been allowed inside any government building, national monument, etc.
This legislator is almost correct. “His proposal is that journalists be required to apply for a license before they are allowed to publish.” Once someone has information, government can not stop them from publishing. There is no Constitutional Civil Right to gather news, however. Thus the state legislatures could require background checks, fingerprinting, ethics classes, exclude felons, and a host of other measures designed to guarantee truth in the media as part of a journalist licensing requirement designed to guarantee truth and exclude fraud, in the media.
We have a lifetime license to carry in Indiana. With fingerprinting and background check added in, it comes to $165 total. Our speaker is the biggest impediment to getting Constitutional carry and Jim has been a fantastic advocate for the 2A for us Hoosiers. We are in the midst of a “summer study” of the bill he has introduced to remove the license requirement. This is the 3rd year we’ve tried to get it out of committee with no luck so this summer study is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the press, dems and LE are all spouting… Read more »
Whats up with LE getting in the way of normal people owning and carrying firearms? Most of the LEO’s I have met are very pro 2A and want people to carry any way they want. I find it disturbing when they say I cant have a firearm or carry it around but they want all sorts of special exemptions. The slippery slope in this mess is if we get restricted in owning and carrying firearms, they will eventually turn back to LE and impose restrictions. We would make a lot more progress on 2A issues if LE’s lined up with… Read more »
The beginning of a mans or a nations demise is not from a bullet fired, but from a word spoken or written.
Love it, we need MORE of this type of upstanding example of what a politician should be.
What’s with the lifetime license for $75 instead of having to renew every two, three or four years for a journalist license? Could this be a case of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander? Go get’em, Marine.
And magazines must be limited to no more than ten pages.
The licensed journalists should have a limit of 7 words per article, too.