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The National Association for Gun Rights is calling on Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to nullify an Indianapolis City-County Council proposal aimed at curbing gun violence.
NAGR is claiming the proposal, which was approved by the council at a July 10 meeting, is in violation of Indiana’s preemption law that passed in 2011.
“It is Attorney General Rokita’s duty to defend Indiana state law and the Constitution of the United States,” Dudley Brown, NAGR’s president, said in a news release. “Indianapolis’ measure is not only a direct violation of state law on the grounds of preemption, but also violates both the Indiana State Constitution and United States Constitution, which explicitly state the right to bear arms.”
Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, who authored Indiana’s preemption law, also spoke out against the proposal.
“Indiana’s preemption law, as it was passed in 2011, is explicit and now we have a Mayor from Indianapolis expecting the people of his city to follow a law which is a direct violation of State law. That is unethical and hypocritical,” Tomes said in a news release.
Proposal 156 would ban the possession and use of “semiautomatic assault weapons,” raise the minimum age to purchase gun from 18 to 21, and end permitless carry and concealed carry of handguns in Marion County. It would only go into effect if the Indiana General Assembly repealed current Indiana law.
The proposal pulls back the permitless carry law that was enacted just a little over a year ago. It passed 18-5.
Council Republican Minority Leader Brian Mowery, citing Rokita, whom he said he consulted with, said the proposal conflicts with Indiana statutes and the state’s constitution.
“156 is a completely toothless proposal unless the state Legislature reverses course and takes a specific future action,” Mowery said at the council meeting.
Hogsett released a statement after the July 10 meeting, applauding the proposal’s passage.
“I also wish to thank those who approved our common-sense gun safety measures, including a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, increasing the purchasing age to 21, requiring handgun licenses, and removing the concealed carry of firearms,” Hogsett said in a statement. “Tonight we are sending a clear message of where we stand about the causes of gun violence and the proliferation of illegal weapons on our streets.”
Jefferson Shreve, Hogsett’s Republican opponent in the mayor’s race, announced a plan July 13 with gun control measures.
Shreve’s plan includes the hiring of a public safety director and provides more support to hire and retain police to fill a 300-officer gap.
NAGR is currently suing Illinois in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in response to the state’s assault weapons ban that passed in 2022. That case is Robert Bevis, et al. v. City of Naperville, Illinois, and Jason Arres, in his official capacity as chief of Police, 23-1353.
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