POLITICS

Marion County's gun rule stands ... for now

John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com

The City-County Council voted Monday to let residents in outlying Marion County continue to discharge weapons recreationally, fearing that banning it would violate state law.

Corporation Counsel Andy Seiwert said passing a ban could open the city up to lawsuits because a 2011 gun bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly prohibits cities from passing their own, tougher ordinances.

"The risk of enacting a ban has a great downside," Seiwert said before the meeting.

But a ban has been on the books in ­Indianapolis since at least 1975. It prohibits target practice, hunting and random shooting of guns. Violators are subject to a fine.

City lawyers discovered that the ordinance was actually "void," or unenforceable, because of the state law. Councilwoman Angela Mansfield pressed ahead anyway with an ordinance that would expand the ban to the outer county. She said those once-rural areas are now developed and populated and it was dangerous to allow guns to be discharged there.

Councilman Will Gooden said state law allows citizens to sue municipalities that pass their own gun laws.

"My concern is we are exposing ourselves to extreme consequences, ­extreme liability and extreme costs," Gooden said.

Councilman Ben Hunter called the state law "an affront to home rule" but agreed it was too chancy to challenge it.

Proponents of expanding the ordinance said residents near the White River and Keystone Avenue have been terrified by duck hunters in recent years. They argued it is only a matter of time until someone is struck by gunfire.

Councilwoman Christine Scales, an ordinance proponent, said after the meeting the council had put money ahead of safety.

"We are talking about people's lives, and we are concerned about cost," she said.

It was not immediately clear whether the city needs to repeal its ban to comply with state law.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter: @john_tuohy.