I (am) a year ahead of Trump on this: Indiana Republican wants journalists to register with police [View all]

[steve2470]

https://thinkprogress.org/indiana-lawmaker-journalists-permit-be239c9e6e7b/

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INDIANA REP. JIM LUCAS LISTENS TO OPENING REMARKS AT A BALANCED BUDGET PLANNING CONVENTION AT THE ARIZONA CAPITOL IN PHOENIX ON SEPT. 12, 2017. (CREDIT: AP PHOTO/BOB CHRISTIE)


If Indiana state Rep. Jim Lucas had his way, journalists would be required to register with state police in order to report the news.

Lucas, a Republican who has represented Indiana House District 69 since 2012, has officially drafted a bill that would require journalists to become licensed by registering with Indiana State Police, prior to entering their field. According to The Indianapolis Star, “Journalists would be fingerprinted as part of the process and would have to pay a $75 fee for a lifetime license.”

Anyone with a record of domestic battery or felony convictions would be barred from receiving a permit. The Star noted that the draft is essentially identical to the state’s handgun permit laws. In an interview with ThinkProgress on Friday, Lucas noted that he had drafted it that way intentionally.

“If you’re okay licensing my Second Amendment right, what’s wrong with licensing your First Amendment right?” Lucas asked in a statement to the Star. “If I was as irresponsible with my handgun as the media has been with their keyboard, I’d probably be in jail.”


I only have two words: fascist bastard.