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Monday, September 26, 2011

Ind. Law - Still more on "Gun-Toting Man at Evansville Zoo Causes Commotion"

Updating this ILB entry from Sept. 19th, Eric Bradner reported Sept. 24th in the Evansville Courier & Press - here are some quotes from the long story:

The state legislator who wrote Indiana's new gun law and carried it through the General Assembly this spring says situations like the one that occurred recently at Evansville's Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden were never what he had in mind.

State Sen. Jim Tomes, the freshman Republican from Wadesville, said, though, he has no regrets about a law he drafted that allows Hoosiers to carry firearms in public locations such as parks, libraries and some municipal buildings.

Still, Tomes said, he was "furious" when a man refused when asked to conceal a handgun holstered at his hip while at the zoo on Sept. 10. Police escorted him out because, they said in an incident report, he "started causing a scene."

"A responsible person doesn't do that," Tomes said. "We have our rights. We hear a lot about that. But we also have obligations and responsibilities, and that requires us to conduct ourselves in a manner that would not generate alarm out in public."

But, he said, he does not want to change the law. * * *

Before being elected to the Indiana House, Democratic Rep. Gail Riecken served as Evansville's parks director. She said she is "not surprised at all" by what happened at the zoo.

"It's one of the first things I thought about — guns around children," she said. * * *

Riecken was the only Southwestern Indiana legislatorto vote against the measure, Senate Enrolled Act 292.

She said as a policymaker, she considers her job one that requires examining just how far each bill she is asked to vote on could be taken.

"The unintended consequence, the worst-case scenario, the long-term effect is not something that some of the folks must be looking at, or we wouldn't be looking at some of the laws we passed this last year. And this is one of them," Riecken said. * * *

"I respect the rights of gun-owners, but at some point you've got to respect the other people that are in the room," Riecken said.

"The rest of us have rights, too. I think we have a right to feel safe and secure in our environment, especially when our children are around, and this law takes that away."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 26, 2011 09:38 AM
Posted to Indiana Law