It is March and the Indiana General Assembly session is over. It was a very good year at the Indiana Statehouse; we put three in the win column. But the details of this year’s Statehouse victories went out to the ISRPA membership as an email update. So rather than send a rerun out to the ISRPA membership, I’ll take a different angle this month.
Earlier this month I was invited to speak to the Plainfield Graduates and Residents Club. Full disclosure: a friend of my Dad is a member of the club and asked if I could speak. I’ve never been asked to speak to a group, ever. Of course, I never pass up a chance to talk about the 2nd Amendment (2A.)
Since I was there in my role as Co-Director of Government Affairs for the ISRPA, I opened with the mission of the ISRPA, “To encourage and promote safe gun handling procedures and good marksmanship qualities among law abiding citizens of the United States, and most especially the law-abiding citizens of the State of Indiana.” That leads to the question, “How do we do this?” Match and competition shooting at all levels is what comes to mind supporting our mission. From youths with air rifles to long-range sniper (which is beyond 600 yards in the ISRPA) and everything in between. In between includes matches with the venerable M-1 Garand Rifle. How many obtain this World War II era weapon also is something familiar to the ISRPA.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) out of Anniston, Alabama has the mission to transfer surplus military arms to civilians in support of marksmanship, safety, and youth shooting programs. Along with the M-1 Garand Rifle, CMP has sold M-1 Carbines, Springfield Model 1898s, 1903s and 1917s. CMP has also sold thousands of Government Model 1911 .45acp handguns. To buy a firearm from the CMP, you must be a member of a CMP-affiliated group, such as the ISRPA.
The ISRPA is also affiliated with the American Legion, The 2A Project, and is the State affiliate of the NRA. Support of the 2A is vital for the ISRPA to carry out its mission. This provided an opportunity to speak about what happens at the Indiana Statehouse.
One of the three bills we put in the win column this legislative session really showed how our affiliation with the NRA helps out at the Statehouse.\ Senate Bill (SB) 176 Shooting Ranges made it so local zoning boards can’t put onerous restrictions on shooting ranges beyond those mandated by the State.
I was going to the Statehouse to testify in support of SB 176. I reached out to the NRA lobbyist Nick Buggia and I think my exact words were, “I don’t know anything about zoning.” I knew Nick was in Michigan fighting the good fight for 2A Rights so he wouldn’t be available to speak in support of SB 176.
I still know very little about zoning, but thanks to Nick I do know about the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937. There is an 11% federal excise tax on an ammunition, long guns, and most archery equipment. In Fiscal Year 2025 Indiana received nearly $15 million dollars from this program, going to wildlife conservation and safety training. Shooting ranges are now the main source of Pittman-Robertson dollars.
I wrapped things up with how the 2026 Federal Budget (AKA The Big Beautiful Bill) has opened up the opportunity to significantly change the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA 34.) One thing I really like about what I do with the ISRPA, I learn things. I have learned that the NFA 34 was a tax bill, not a gun bill. I’ve learned the Supreme Court Of The US (SCOTUS) case Sonzinski v. US 1937 recognized the Legislative Branch’s authority to tax, and that investigating the use of taxation as a means to circumvent the Constitution isn’t under the prevue of SCOTUS. I have also learned the 2A case US v. Miller 1939 upheld the NFA 34, but neither Miller nor his attorneys were present. Only the Government’s case was presented.
After about 15 minutes of talking to the Plainfield Graduates and Residents Club, I opened it up for questions. I was there for another 25 minutes fielding questions. These questions ranged from Indiana’s License To Carry a Handgun, to Constitutional Carry of handguns, to the difference between semi and full automatic, to what I like to call, “The Doctrine of My House/My Rules.
I was humbled by the opportunity to speak to this fine group in Plainfield. I met many fine people, and look forward to being able to speak to them again.
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