Republican legislators in Indiana are fighting for the right to carry guns just about everywhere: in libraries, parks, arenas, even the 2012 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Senate Bill 292 is already well on its way to becoming a reality. It passed the Senate with overwhelming support Monday. Many Hoosiers are now scrambling to stop it.
“It’s a very serious bill,” said Jennifer Simmons, of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
The agency, she said, is vehemently opposed. She said it takes local control away from a potentially deadly situation.
“It would take away our ability to regulate where one could take a firearm and where one could discharge a firearm,” Simmons said.
Even Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is weighing in by tweeting, “someone’s got a bill in the Indiana state legislature making it illegal for the CIB [Capital Improvement Board, which runs the stadium] to stop someone from bringing a gun into Lucus Oil. I’m against it, so should you.”
State Senator Jim Tomes (pictured), the sponsor of the bill, says this will make the state safer: “Your fellow Hoosier that has that firearm if something happens they are your first responder because they’re right next to you shoulder to shoulder when it happens.”
