MARION COUNTY GUN FIRE BAN DEFEATED

Good news.

I saw on WTHR it went down 8 pro 16 con, so sounded like it lacked support on both sides of the aisle, as they say...

I would have thought Mansfield would have seen the writing on the wall when the committee gave it a negative recommendation and no one spoke for it in the first place, but at least things worked out in the end....

Council kills ban on firing guns
Proposal aimed to stamp out celebratory gunfire; gun-rights advocates cheer after 16-8 vote

By Brendan O'Shaughnessy
brendan.oshaughnessy@indystar.com

A proposal to ban the discharge of firearms in all of Marion County was shot down Monday night in the City-County Council in front of a crowd of jubilant gun-rights supporters.

The council voted 16-8 against the proposal, which would have extended a 1975 ordinance prohibiting the discharge of a gun within the old city limits, except in self-defense. The bipartisan defeat was expected, especially after the committee that heard the proposal moved it to the full council but recommended against its passage.

Opponents said the measure unfairly restricted the constitutional right to bear arms because it placed limits on shooting even in safe situations on private property.

A few dozen cheered after Monday's vote.
Boyd King, a 68-year-old Southside military veteran, said he was relieved that the ordinance failed. King said he enjoys shooting revolvers at an 18-foot firing range with a bullet trap that he set up in his garage.

"This would have hurt John Q. Public more than the dishonest person," King said. "It would have turned me into a lawbreaker."

The proposal's author, Democrat Angela Mansfield, said her goal has been to prohibit celebratory gunfire and target shooting near residential neighborhoods. The firing of guns into the air is a practice that ushers in the New Year in some areas.

Mansfield said many people agreed with her that it makes sense to update the ordinance because Marion County is no longer a rural area where hunting is common. The whole county has become as urbanized as the area covered under the 1975 rule -- roughly equivalent to Center Township.
Mansfield said many other cities in the state have similar ordinances. Carmel, Greenfield, Lawrence, Fort Wayne and Evansville also prohibit the discharge of firearms except in specific situations.

"The reality is that this is not something new and different," Mansfield said. "There are people out there who support this, but I think there is some subtle intimidation about opposing the gun crowd."

One of those silent supporters, Jennifer Yumibe, said she was hit by a ricochet bullet about 15 years ago while sitting next to a community pool in New Jersey. Police determined that it was likely fired by someone shooting target practice nearby.

The Northeastside mother of two had to have a .22-caliber bullet removed from her hand. She said she supported the ordinance as an effort to improve safety.

"I'm disappointed it didn't pass," she said by phone. "I have small children, and I don't want anyone firing guns near them."

The people who were motivated enough to testify at council hearings overwhelmingly opposed the idea of restricting shooting rights. The hearings drew more than 100 opponents each and not a single supporter.

Jim Heath, a retired police officer, said the outcome was "an upholding of citizens' rights."
"The right to bear arms means it's evident that you have to practice with that firearm," Heath said. "Any infringement on that right is a violation."

Olgen Williams, a community activist in Haughville and member of the Indianapolis Public School Board, said celebratory gunfire is rampant on the Westside every New Year's Eve.
The tradition has been occurring for years, Williams said, but now it's semiautomatic weapons instead of shotguns. Some shoot just to let others know their household is armed, too, he said.

"They start shooting from 10 minutes to midnight and don't let up until half past the hour," Williams said. "It's just so dangerous and scary, it's unbelievable. People shoot in the air, but the bullets come raining down."
The problem has gotten so bad, Williams said, that he walks home from church with his Bible on his head on New Year's Eve.

Still, he doesn't think a ban is a good idea: His neighborhood is within the old city limits, and he said the current ordinance doesn't stop anyone.


Call Star reporter Brendan O'Shaughnessy at (317) 444-2751.