“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