(The Center Square) – Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed constitutional carry into law Monday night, making Indiana the 24^th state to lift restrictions and allow people to carry a handgun without having to get a permit or license.

“The Second Amendment has been debated for years, yet time and again our U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed this important constitutional right that I fully support,” Holcomb said in a statement.

He said only people 18 years old and older who are legally allowed to possess a handgun will be able to now legally carry a gun outside the home, on their person or in a vehicle.

“It’s important to note that if a person is prohibited, under federal or state laws, from possessing a firearm before this law goes into effect, that person will still be prohibited,” Holcomb said. “And if a prohibited person has a firearm, he or she can be prosecuted.”

A prohibited person is anyone who falls into one of several categories, including those who have a domestic violence conviction, a record of being alcohol or drug abusers, a conviction for resisting law enforcement in the last five years, or have committed any crime which they could have been sentenced for more than a year.

The handgun licensing program will remain in place for anyone who wants to get a license to carry to take advantage of reciprocity agreements Indiana has with other states, or to be able to easily prove they have been vetted and are not a prohibited person.

Also, the 1.2 million handgun licenses held by Hoosiers will remain active and may still be used.

Holcomb issued his statement in conjunction with a statement from Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, who had testified against the bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying, “if you choose to support this bill, you will not be supporting us.”

“As Superintendent of the Indiana State Police, I have pledged my continued commitment to Gov. Holcomb to work towards solutions enacting HEA 1296,” Carter said. “I, like Gov. Holcomb, feel enormous responsibility for front-line law enforcement officers. I will work with law enforcement leaders across our state to make necessary changes to firearms enforcement as well as finding the best way to identify individuals who are not allowed to carry a firearm as defined by Indiana statute.” 

This year was the second year a constitutional carry bill passed the House, and the second year it got hung up in the Senate Judiciary Committee, only making it out this year because of an eleventh-hour effort by a few Republican senators led by Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, who stripped the language out of a House bill in conference committee, inserted the constitutional carry bill language into it, and then got it passed through the House and Senate on the last day of the session.

The vote in the Senate was 30-20, with nine Republican senators voting with the majority of Democrats in voting no.

Several gun rights groups and their members had pushed hard for passage of the bill, including Hoosier Gun Rights, the Indiana affiliation of the National Association for Gun Rights and the National Rifle Association.

“I’m ecstatic,” Will Fite, of Hoosier Gun Rights, said Monday after the news broke Holcomb had signed the bill into law. “It’s a great day for gun owners in the state of Indiana. I’m excited for everyone to be able to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense without having to ask the government’s permission.”