Gun violence prevention advocates across the nation struggle to understand the increased gun violence that we are experiencing and what to do about it.  Media reports assure us that what we see locally is not unique to Indiana, as cities nationwide share contributors to violence. Long familiar issues compounded by COVID-19 get most of the blame: people out of work, social isolation, tension and anger in the home, killings associated with drug deals, resentment of people who are easy to target – all exacerbated by nationwide record sales in firearms (See “How Many Guns Did Americans Buy Last Month?” in News Links below). 

Those very real contributors demand community-based, root-cause solutions. One promising discussion in Indianapolis is how to expand the scope and capacity of an existing violence interrupter initiative. Alongside root-cause realities, Hoosiers Concerned wants the public to recognize companion realities: Guns are too easy to acquire by purchase or theft, too at-hand to settle disputes or lead to accidental shootings, too much relied on for personal protection. Given that, we are dismayed that year after year, members of the Indiana General Assembly put forward policies that would put us all at greater risk. Those measures are even more troubling at a time like the present when unrelenting violence should make it evident that more guns on the streets, in public places, in our schools and homes take us in exactly the wrong direction.

Three bills were filed this year that would move us in the right direction. At the time of this writing, their fates are not determined. HB1006 (updated below) would require the Indiana law enforcement training board to establish mandatory training in de-escalation as part of the use-of-force curriculum. SB173 would prohibit bringing firearms to or near polling places. Senator Qaddoura’s SB285, would require secure storage for firearms in the home. Practices like safe storage that make it harder to go grab a gun won’t by themselves reverse the trend of rampant gun violence, but they are practical means to save lives, complement other violence prevention strategies and deserve Hoosiers’ support. 

In the meantime, again, we’re speaking out against bills that enable violence. Among ill-conceived bills introduced this year are: HB1027, the latest in a series of bills filed every year to provide handgun training for teachers; HB1034, HB1232 and HB1369, each of which would repeal the requirement that a person must obtain a license to carry a firearm; HB1295 that would eliminate gun free zones, and SB302 which would permit state employees and officers to carry handguns at the Indiana Government Center. Those initiatives come from a narrow, reactionary viewpoint and do not reflect the sound judgment of most Hoosiers who favor reasonable regulations. 

“Gun Violence in the Crosshairs”, Indianapolis Star February 20, reported the city’s efforts to decrease gun violence. Their strategy is to place primary focus on guns that are illegally possessed and on those who carry them, including adding four police detectives, one sergeant and additional staff to the Gun Crime Intelligence Center.
We applaud community interventions such as the Voice program described in the article, but we must point out that missing was discussion of easy access to guns in Indiana. Under Indiana law it is legal for private sellers to sell all types of firearms without background checks at gun shows, on the internet and on our streets. As a result, streets of Indianapolis are awash with guns. Bills introduced to the General Assembly in 2019 and 2020 which would have required background checks on all firearm sales in Indiana did not receive committee hearings. In 2018, we formed a coalition simply to ask that the bill receive a committee hearing in 2019. An email and follow-up to the mayor’s office asking Mayor Hogsett to support that effort received no reply. Nor did a request to Chief Roach’s office.
The need for increased staff to help get guns off our streets is a result of the failure to address how the guns are getting on our streets.

Jerry King, President
Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence

Two bills before the Indiana General Assembly are not scheduled for committee hearings even though they address matters urgently important to Hoosiers. Both are assigned to the Senate’s Corrections and Criminal Law Committee.  SB 28 would close critical gaps in background checks for purchase of firearms. SB 29 would require guns in homes to be stored securely to keep them from children.

Universal background checks (UBCs) are fundamental in helping to keep guns out of the hands of felons, seriously mentally ill persons, and others excluded under the current system that applies to gun dealers.  However, firearms are readily available in Indiana for purchase by anyone through private sales without a background check, at gun shows, on the internet and on the streets. In a survey of gun owners who had obtained a firearm in the last two years, 22% said they were able to do so without background checks.

Nationwide, states with UBC laws experience lower rates of homicide than those without, which might be why support for comprehensive background checks was 69% of NRA members, 78% among gun owners who are not NRA members and 89% for respondents who don’t own a firearm.

SB 29’s proposal – that gun owners must store their guns in a way that prevents a child from getting one – simply should not be controversial. Safe storage helps prevent accidental shootings, teen suicides, impulsive domestic violence and trafficking in stolen firearms. Because most guns used in school shootings are taken from the home, safe storage would help to prevent school shootings and be safer than coping with a gun at school.

Employers especially have a stake in reducing gun violence. In 2017, 351 gun homicides happened in workplaces. Since 1999, mass shootings in workplaces were four times the number in schools.  And communities that experience gun violence see lower property values, decline in economic growth and business startups and loss of jobs.

Hoosiers deserve public dialogue addressing access to guns in relation to gun violence, beginning with committee hearings for Background Checks and Safe Storage.   Starting earnest consideration of these measures should not wait for next year’s long session. Sensible legislation to reduce gun violence perennially fails in the General Assembly because legislators underestimate the depth of support for those measures among Hoosier voters. The solution for that perception problem is for people who know better to speak up.

Jerry King, President
Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence