General Assembly On Verge of Eliminating Ban on Guns in Indianapolis City Parks; Measure Will Override Mayor Ballard's Opposition to Gunowners' Rights

Licensed gun owners can carry their firearms into both state and national parks. The law allowing the latter was signed by none other than President Barack Obama.

Libertarian At-Large
Councilor Ed Coleman

But last year when Libertarian Councilor Ed Coleman announced that he would introduce a measure to allow licensed carriers to take their guns in city parks, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard responded immediately that he would veto the measure. Council Republicans, of course, let the measure die rather than exercise thought independent of the Mayor.

While the focus has been on whether the bill allowed guns to be carried into municipal sporting venues like Lucas Oil Stadium and Conseco Fieldhouse (an amendment apparently has addressed this by allowing ban for those facilities), the media is overlooking that Senate Bill 292 would override the Mayor's opposition to gun rights and invalidate the city ordinance banning guns in city parks.

That is, of course, the right decision and unfortunately one our Republican Mayor didn't support.  People who are going to break the law are not going to be deterred  by a law not allowing guns to be in city parks.  All the current ordinance does is strip law-abiding citizens of the ability to carry a gun to protect themselves when in a city park.

This is the second setback for the Mayor's anti-gun rights position.  The Mayor had also taken the position that the City did not have to follow the Second Amendment in its ordinances and policies. That position was overridden by the United States Supreme Court which said that states and local governments do have to follow the Second Amendment.

Here is the latest version of Senate Bill 292 that I can find on-line.  It is on its way to conference committee to work out the differences between the passed House and Senate versions of the bill.