Hmmmm. I don't know about you, but I am getting real sick of hearing democrats use the term "common sense" for ludacris ban ideas among other things.
Indiana's gun laws too lax, Helmke says | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN
Whether you are for guns or not, there's not much debate that Indiana's gun laws enforce only the bare minimum. The state aligns with the federal government's mandated laws but chooses not to add further restrictions on buyers or sellers.
Paul Helmke is critical of the state for that.
As president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Fort Wayne's former three-term mayor spends his days in Washington, D.C., now, pushing for those restrictions. His organization recently released its annual state scorecards, rating each state on the strength of its gun laws, and Helmke wasn't surprised to learn how lacking his home state really is.
Indiana received eight of a possible 100 points on the scorecard, ranking it 31st of the 50 states in the strength of its gun laws.
“Basically the only points that Indiana gets are for not doing bad things. We don't force guns onto college campuses or into the workplace, for example,” Helmke said. “Bottom line, Indiana hasn't done anything on guns one way or the other. People don't realize how weak the laws are at the federal level; people don't realize how weak the laws are at the state level; and because of that, we end up seeing a lot more violence than we should be seeing.”
Jerry Wehner, executive vice president of the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state branch of the National Rifle Association, falls on the other side of the fence when it comes to gun laws.
“… Indiana has some of the best gun laws, or lack of gun laws, of any state in the nation,” said Wehner, who said he would support required training if the conditions were laid out. “We have very reasonable gun laws. I realize what the Brady Campaign does is they take states that have ‘bad' gun laws, or what I call ‘good' gun laws, or lack thereof, and gives them a bad rating. The more laws a state has, the more restrictive it is, the better score they get.”
Wehner said those states with more restrictive gun laws also have high crime rates, citing New York and California.
But Helmke says it's the lack of gun laws and training that are leading to deaths.
The Brady Campaign reports some 30,000 deaths per year nationwide as a result of guns. More than 80 people die from guns every day, with about 200 more suffering injuries.
“It's a public-safety issue, it's a public-health issue, it's a common-sense issue,” said Helmke. “We're not requiring people to show that they've taken any gun-safety classes, we're not requiring them to show that they're physically capable of handling a gun. We make it too easy for dangerous people to get guns, and we don't talk enough about the responsibilities that need to go with gun ownership.”
To buy a gun in Indiana, you must be over 21 years old and possess a valid state ID or driver's license with a current address. Then, you'll go through a federal background check.
If the check comes back void of felonies and misdemeanor crime convictions and shows the applicant to be mentally stable with no involuntary commitment into the mental health system and no chronic abuse of drugs or alcohol, that person can buy a potentially deadly weapon.
Indiana has no limitations on the sale or possession of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, no requirement for handgun purchasers to give fingerprints, no license or permit required to buy handguns, and no one-handgun-per-month limit on sales.
Hoosiers aren't required to report any lost or stolen guns to law enforcement, their guns needn't be registered with law enforcement and there's no waiting period on gun sales. The permit is for people who want to carry or use their guns outside their homes, but it's not necessary to possess a permit to purchase a gun. What's more, gun purchasers are not required to go through any training or testing, and gun dealers aren't forced to offer them, raising the question: Does Indiana need to change its gun laws?
California, by comparison, goes the other way in almost all categories with the toughest gun laws in the nation, earning 79 of 100 points to score first overall on the Brady scorecard.
Illinois, which ranked ninth, requires background checks at gun shows, a loophole in Indiana to which Helmke strongly points. Ohio, which ranked 20th, requires firearm training for all purchasers.
“We require a driver's license to drive a car, and formal training,” said Mark vanBurk, president of H&H Firearms, 1525 Directors Row, whose business voluntarily offers an introduction to handgun safety course every two weeks.
“Kids and handguns, it's the only two things you can own that you don't have to have any kind of formal training.”
VanBurk says a gun owner in Indiana must be willing to put in the dedication to become a responsible owner. He suggests any owner put in the individual training by practicing shooting, disassembling and carrying a gun safely.
The bottom line is, gun laws don't have to translate into high gun-related injury or death statistics, and both sides can agree on that.
“If someone wants a gun, I'm not against that,” said Helmke. “People have a right to have a gun, the courts made it clear. But the courts also made it clear that there are limitations on that, and it's a responsibility as well as a right.
“We focus so much on the gun rights, but we don't focus enough on the responsibilities that come with it. There are more requirements on the dealer that sells cigarettes or alcohol than the ones that sell guns.”
Added Wehner, “You cannot legislate common sense.”
Indiana's gun laws too lax, Helmke says | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN
Whether you are for guns or not, there's not much debate that Indiana's gun laws enforce only the bare minimum. The state aligns with the federal government's mandated laws but chooses not to add further restrictions on buyers or sellers.
Paul Helmke is critical of the state for that.
As president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Fort Wayne's former three-term mayor spends his days in Washington, D.C., now, pushing for those restrictions. His organization recently released its annual state scorecards, rating each state on the strength of its gun laws, and Helmke wasn't surprised to learn how lacking his home state really is.
Indiana received eight of a possible 100 points on the scorecard, ranking it 31st of the 50 states in the strength of its gun laws.
“Basically the only points that Indiana gets are for not doing bad things. We don't force guns onto college campuses or into the workplace, for example,” Helmke said. “Bottom line, Indiana hasn't done anything on guns one way or the other. People don't realize how weak the laws are at the federal level; people don't realize how weak the laws are at the state level; and because of that, we end up seeing a lot more violence than we should be seeing.”
Jerry Wehner, executive vice president of the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state branch of the National Rifle Association, falls on the other side of the fence when it comes to gun laws.
“… Indiana has some of the best gun laws, or lack of gun laws, of any state in the nation,” said Wehner, who said he would support required training if the conditions were laid out. “We have very reasonable gun laws. I realize what the Brady Campaign does is they take states that have ‘bad' gun laws, or what I call ‘good' gun laws, or lack thereof, and gives them a bad rating. The more laws a state has, the more restrictive it is, the better score they get.”
Wehner said those states with more restrictive gun laws also have high crime rates, citing New York and California.
But Helmke says it's the lack of gun laws and training that are leading to deaths.
The Brady Campaign reports some 30,000 deaths per year nationwide as a result of guns. More than 80 people die from guns every day, with about 200 more suffering injuries.
“It's a public-safety issue, it's a public-health issue, it's a common-sense issue,” said Helmke. “We're not requiring people to show that they've taken any gun-safety classes, we're not requiring them to show that they're physically capable of handling a gun. We make it too easy for dangerous people to get guns, and we don't talk enough about the responsibilities that need to go with gun ownership.”
To buy a gun in Indiana, you must be over 21 years old and possess a valid state ID or driver's license with a current address. Then, you'll go through a federal background check.
If the check comes back void of felonies and misdemeanor crime convictions and shows the applicant to be mentally stable with no involuntary commitment into the mental health system and no chronic abuse of drugs or alcohol, that person can buy a potentially deadly weapon.
Indiana has no limitations on the sale or possession of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, no requirement for handgun purchasers to give fingerprints, no license or permit required to buy handguns, and no one-handgun-per-month limit on sales.
Hoosiers aren't required to report any lost or stolen guns to law enforcement, their guns needn't be registered with law enforcement and there's no waiting period on gun sales. The permit is for people who want to carry or use their guns outside their homes, but it's not necessary to possess a permit to purchase a gun. What's more, gun purchasers are not required to go through any training or testing, and gun dealers aren't forced to offer them, raising the question: Does Indiana need to change its gun laws?
California, by comparison, goes the other way in almost all categories with the toughest gun laws in the nation, earning 79 of 100 points to score first overall on the Brady scorecard.
Illinois, which ranked ninth, requires background checks at gun shows, a loophole in Indiana to which Helmke strongly points. Ohio, which ranked 20th, requires firearm training for all purchasers.
“We require a driver's license to drive a car, and formal training,” said Mark vanBurk, president of H&H Firearms, 1525 Directors Row, whose business voluntarily offers an introduction to handgun safety course every two weeks.
“Kids and handguns, it's the only two things you can own that you don't have to have any kind of formal training.”
VanBurk says a gun owner in Indiana must be willing to put in the dedication to become a responsible owner. He suggests any owner put in the individual training by practicing shooting, disassembling and carrying a gun safely.
The bottom line is, gun laws don't have to translate into high gun-related injury or death statistics, and both sides can agree on that.
“If someone wants a gun, I'm not against that,” said Helmke. “People have a right to have a gun, the courts made it clear. But the courts also made it clear that there are limitations on that, and it's a responsibility as well as a right.
“We focus so much on the gun rights, but we don't focus enough on the responsibilities that come with it. There are more requirements on the dealer that sells cigarettes or alcohol than the ones that sell guns.”
Added Wehner, “You cannot legislate common sense.”
