The Granite State has just shy of 1.4 million people and a state legislature with 24 senators and 400 state representatives. The City-County Council here in Indianapolis/Marion County has 25 members for a population of over 977,000.
So, by comparison, the municipal government here is really...streamlined. Things can happen fast when it's just the mayor, backed by an overwhelmingly Democratic-controlled council.
Due to the levels of violence in town (which are still pretty sporty, but down from 2020-'21) there's a lot of pressure on the mayor and city council to Do Something, and so the Something the mayor wants to do is gun control.
The mayor presented a package of proposed city ordinances to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee of the council, including the following:
- A ban on "semiautomatic assault weapons" in the city.
- Raising the age for all firearms purchases to 21.
- Ending permitless carry in Indianapolis/Marion County.
Which is entirely a theatrical gesture, since Indiana state law says that no political subdivision of the state can pass its own gun control laws. These ordinances would be toothless and unenforceable and Mayor Hogsett admitted as much:
“If state preemption is overturned by the legislature or by the courts, there will be no delay in implementing the most basic safety measures," Hogsett said. "That is why, today, I am announcing that we will submit to our City-County Council a package of gun safety measures that, if passed, will immediately become law, should state preemption be abolished for the city of Indianapolis.”Considering the legislative makeup in the statehouse, with its Republican supermajority, and the judicial climate in post-Bruen America, Hogsett might as well have wished for a gold house and a rocket car while he was at it.
The proposed ordinances sailed through the Public Safety Committee and are probably a cinch to pass the whole council...in a purely meaningless symbolic gesture, since any attempt to enforce them would just be a jobs program for Guy Relford.
However there were a few items in the mayor's proposal that weren't entirely dumb.
For one, there was a proposal to increase the pay of IMPD officers. In an era where departments are hemorrhaging good cops, every little bit helps, I guess, but what would help even more is better training and convincing them they won't be hung out to dry after any use of force.
The other good proposal was freeing up city money to pay three federal prosecutors to go after local felons when they violate various federal firearms statutes. Maybe if there were an actual chance of catching hard time for some of this stuff, word might get around.
It's a long shot, but hey, it might help.
