The deadline for committees in the Indiana House to vote on bills is fast approaching and the leadership is still not permitting several good pro-Second Amendment bills to have a hearing. Bills have been introduced to prohibit local units from confiscating legally owned firearms when they declare an emergency, to prohibit banning legally owned firearms in locked vehicles in parking lots, and to allow staff, faculty and students to possess firearms on the property of colleges and universities if they possess them legally.
Not a single one of the introduced bills aids or abets criminal activity; they all would support a citizens right under both the U.S and State Constitutions and ultimately improve public safety. Despite the fact, there is a substantial bi-partisan majority in the House of Representatives who are pro-gun and would vote for the bills if the House leadership permitted them to come to the floor for a vote, leadership is apparently going to deny them that opportunity. It boils down to the fact that the House leadership is denying law-abiding Hoosiers the right to vote on important issues, because, in a representative, republican form of government, those men and women are casting a vote on behalf of their neighbors.
While our attention is drawn to Federal and State issues, we must not ignore the attempts by foes of the Second Amendment to infringe on our rights by passing city, town, and county ordinances. Thankfully, there are individuals and groups in Indiana who take this seriously.
A good example of ordinary citizens taking time to influence local government is Jim and Margie Tomes from Wadesville. They alerted folks in the Evansville area that the city Police Department was placing requirements on applicants for a license to carry that were outside the Indiana law. The local public television station in Evansville invited Jim and the police Chief to participate in a public discussion of this issue. The police department refused to appear; but Jim accepted the invitation and was able to explain the facts to the viewers. After the facts were presented to the public, the police department agreed to follow State law.
The Tomes also learned that the LaPorte City Council was preparing to introduce an ordinance banning legally possessed firearms from city property. They alerted residents of the area who then attended the Council meeting to object, and the majority of the Council heard the people and voted to not even let the ordinance be introduced.
Earlier this year, Indianapolis-Marion County Councilman Lincoln Plowman noticed that a major redevelopment ordinance for downtown Speedway contained a provision that would have banned stores from selling firearms. Councilman Plowman worked with the sponsor of the ordinance to successfully remove that prohibition.
Some officials who support bills and ordinances restricting the lawful possession and use of firearms claim that they support the 2nd Amendment right to own, but they are just thinking of safety in the community. Even though they might claim it will not affect the shooting sports, hunters, and collectors, experience has shown in other societies that it ultimately results in disarming the citizenry.
Let us be vigilant and be active participants in the defense of our rights.