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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Ind. Law - More on: "Indiana gun bill is signed into law: some businesses weighing legal challenge"

Updating this ILB entry from March 20, 2010, which included the ILB's thoughts on the case currently pending before the SCOTUS, McDonald v.City of Chicago, and its relevance to Indiana, the Indianapolis Star has an editorial today, headed "Ready for duel? Guns law ripe for legal challenges," that, IMHO, takes a purely parochial viewpoint, with no mention of McDonald. A quote:

By overriding employers' rights of property and self-protection in favor of a dubious cause of individual armed defense, the legislature set up a fundamental confrontation for some future courtroom.
The Elkhart Truth had a story March 20th, reported by Marilyn Odendahl, headed "Take your gun to work? Some are glad it's legal in Indiana now: People with security concerns at their jobs welcome the new law, hopeful that the threat of concealed arms will deter crime." The story does mention, in passing, a "case currently at the U.S. Supreme Court."

On the other hand, the ILB has received a release indicating that:

City-County Councillor Ed Coleman (L) will introduce a resolution this Monday, March 22, in support of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and the protections it provides to Indianapolis residents.

The resolution further expresses its support of the position of Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) who co-signed a “friend of the court” brief in an important Second Amendment case argued before the Supreme Court. In the brief, Zoeller and a bi-partisan group of more than thirty other state attorneys general argue that the Second Amendment applies to state and local units of government. The case, McDonald v. Chicago, was heard before the Supreme Court earlier this month and is expected to be decided later this year.

Councillor Coleman proposed an ordinance earlier this year which would allow law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in city parks. The proposal is currently tabled. “This [resolution] is a simple vote,” says Coleman; “either you support the Constitution or not.”

Timothy Maguire, Chairman of the LPMC, is confident that Councillors and the Mayor can put aside their differences and support the Attorney General. “Regardless of our disagreements about Indianapolis gun laws, I think we can all agree that the Bill of Rights is as much of a limit on local government as it is on federal government.” Coleman continues, “If elected officials do not support the U.S. and State Constitutions, they should resign as they can’t effectively support their constituents.”

For more on McDonald, see this ILB entry March 1, 2010. The entry includes a link to the amicus brief filed by
the States of Texas, Ohio, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in Support of Petitioners.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 21, 2010 02:13 PM
Posted to Indiana Law