I'll say this first... I believe every adult should be able to carry and handgun without a license... that said here are a couple ideas...
1. Pay a $20 fee, like a gun dealer would pay, ($100 for lifetime) at the license branch and they run a NICS. If you pass you get a "H" or "H/L" endorsement on your license ("H" for handgun like the "M" endorsement for motorcycle riders). This is your "Indiana" handgun license. Current reciprocity applies. It also allows you to bypass the Indiana background check for purchases, just like the current pink license. As long as you keep your "H/L" current (or renew the "H" with another $20) and aren't ordered by a judge to reliquish it, you keep it on your drivers license (there would be a way in the license branch system to check for privileges that have been revoked). It also allows private FTF sales people to have a warm fuzzy about who they sell to. It might possibly get people to shut up about the so-called "gun show loophole." If the background check required by the State Police is more in depth than a NICS, then you may have to take your pink paper to the license branch, it might have a transaction code on it or something that they can look up on their system and verify it isn't a forged document.
2. Require the people at the License branch to ask every person who renews if they want to add the "H" endorsement to their license. This generates revenue after all. (I can dream.)
2. Those who desire maximum reciprocity take a safety and proficiency class and get a separate license. This shows they have gone to the next step in their desire to carry a handgun and have the willingness to show that they are safe, know how to use their gun, and are aware of the laws and consequences of using their gun. (I think this is what other states who do not give us reciprocity are worried about.)
1. Pay a $20 fee, like a gun dealer would pay, ($100 for lifetime) at the license branch and they run a NICS. If you pass you get a "H" or "H/L" endorsement on your license ("H" for handgun like the "M" endorsement for motorcycle riders). This is your "Indiana" handgun license. Current reciprocity applies. It also allows you to bypass the Indiana background check for purchases, just like the current pink license. As long as you keep your "H/L" current (or renew the "H" with another $20) and aren't ordered by a judge to reliquish it, you keep it on your drivers license (there would be a way in the license branch system to check for privileges that have been revoked). It also allows private FTF sales people to have a warm fuzzy about who they sell to. It might possibly get people to shut up about the so-called "gun show loophole." If the background check required by the State Police is more in depth than a NICS, then you may have to take your pink paper to the license branch, it might have a transaction code on it or something that they can look up on their system and verify it isn't a forged document.
2. Require the people at the License branch to ask every person who renews if they want to add the "H" endorsement to their license. This generates revenue after all. (I can dream.)
2. Those who desire maximum reciprocity take a safety and proficiency class and get a separate license. This shows they have gone to the next step in their desire to carry a handgun and have the willingness to show that they are safe, know how to use their gun, and are aware of the laws and consequences of using their gun. (I think this is what other states who do not give us reciprocity are worried about.)