Gun owner immunity bill passes

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would give civil immunity to gun owners whose weapons are stolen and later used in a crime.\nThe bill's sponsor, Sen. Robert Meeks, said he is trying to protect responsible gun owners. He said people whose stolen firearms are used in crimes should not have to pay for legal fees to defend themselves against frivolous lawsuits.\n"This is an effort to put some sense into the law," said Meeks, R-LaGrange.\nA version of the bill that would have granted nearly blanket immunity to gun owners passed the House. The Senate narrowed the bill and passed it 40-8 Tuesday.\nOne of the bill's opponents questioned whether owners would have to go to court to prove their guns were stolen. Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, pointed out that the bill does not state whether a person must be charged with or convicted of stealing a weapon before a gun owner can be given civil immunity.\n"How will the courts determine how the gun was acquired?" Broden said. "The language doesn't really explain how this will work."\nBecause the House approved a different version of the bill, the new version will now return to the House for consideration of the changes.\nThe Senate also passed a bill Tuesday that would change Indiana's curfew law to conform with a ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. That court declared Indiana's current law unconstitutional because it interfered with minors' First Amendment rights. The court said the law would prohibit minors from participating in some religious or political activities -- including late-night legislative sessions.\nUnder the bill, police officers could not detain a minor under the curfew law unless they had spoken with the child first, considered the facts and circumstances and reasonably believed a violation had occurred and there was no legal defense of it.\nSen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, said the bill was needed just to fix the current law because the court obviously perceives things differently than lawmakers. He told senators to keep their eyes open for children packing the chambers at midnight during the last night of the session.\nThe bill passed the House 80-0 and the Senate 48-0. It will now return to the House for consideration of minor changes.