GOP Lawmaker Drafts Bill Requiring Journalists To Be Fingerprinted And Licensed By Police

A Republican state lawmaker is drafting a bill that would require all journalists to be fingerprinted and licensed by the police in order to practice their profession.

Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas said he is taking aim at journalists for what he says is “irresponsible” coverage, telling the Indy Star: “If you’re OK licensing my Second Amendment right, what’s wrong with licensing your First Amendment right?”

Lucas, who has tried unsuccessfully to repeal a state law that requires a permit to carry a handgun, said his bill is really about gun rights and said he may file to make a point.

The bill is almost identical to his handgun bill.

“If I was as irresponsible with my handgun as the media has been with their keyboard, I’d probably be in jail,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I push for it? If one constitutional right is OK to license, then they all are.”

The Hill notes: “Lucas’s draft legislation comes the same week that President Trump has threatened to revoke the licenses of news networks for unflattering coverage, but Lucas said he originally drafted the bill last year.”

“I’m a year ahead of President Trump on this,” he said.