In my "There's a Reason Why They Call Us 'Gun Nuts" commentary about an Indiana bill proposing to confiscate guns from individuals that a police officer deems to be mentally ill, I cited The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette's claim that "Rep. Larry Buell, R-Indianapolis, who authored the bill, says that he consulted with the National Rifle Association when he drafted the bill and that it supports the legislation."
I spoke with Stacey Stumpf of the Journal Gazette and asked her if this was correct.
"Yes," she replied. "I spoke with Rep. Buell the day before the article."
I then spoke with Buell spokesman Graig Lubsen, who also confirmed NRA support for the bill.
He informed me that the bill is undergoing changes, where the police would "need a warrant to take any weapons, and the person is entitled to have a hearing within 14 days."
He also informed me that the legislature was "talking about--but it hasn't happened yet--on second reading, an amendment that one year is the longest the state can hold the weapon. Then the person can reapply to have the weapon returned. If they reapply and are denied, the state can hold it for another year."
Mr. Lubsen assured me that Rep. Buell is a stong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms, and wanted to make sure I knew about the incident that precipitated the bill, the fatal shooting of the police officer son of a friend of Mr. Buell by a mentally ill person.
Editorial comments:
That is unfortunate. It is tragic. But it's also the rationale used to pass the Brady Law, the "assault weapon" ban, and many other gun control laws.
If a person can't be trusted with a gun because they are a danger to themselves and others, they can't be trusted without a custodian.
Since you have the paper's word and the Representative's word, is there also a way for you to confirm with the NRA itself? I just don't want to believe that they would support such action.
ReplyDeleteI asked Mr. Lubson for a name of Rep. Buell's NRA contact and he did not have one handy--I was scrambling to get the kids off to school and get to work when he called me back, so I told him I'd try to find out from other sources. Since I don't have contacts with Indiana NRA, any help will be appreciated--and if NRA wants to respond directly and explain why they approve of this bill, I'll be happy to post their undedited response--as long as we know who the person is, he has a real email address we can contact him at, and he agrees to answer comments posted by readers.
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