Advocates of gun-law reform face an uphill battle to push their ideas through the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly, but say public sentiment on firearms safety may be moving some to action.

Groups seeking to change Indiana gun laws say recent high-profile shooting incidents heighten the need for universal background checks, storage regulations, raising the minimum age to buy and carry a gun, and the banning of homemade or "ghost" guns.

A poll by the Pew Research Center found more than 70% of Americans believe gun violence is either a "moderate" or "major" problem in the country.

Jerry King, president of Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence, said the gun lobby has a lot of influence in Indiana.

"A fanatical minority of people who think that any encroachment on possession is a violation, any kind of reasonable regulation is a violation, of the Second Amendment," King pointed out. "I think those folks will be with us for a long time."

King's optimism is a result of some gun reform measures getting bipartisan support on such issues as strengthened gun- and ammunition-storage regulations and closing loopholes in the state's "red flag" law. Republican leaders say their goal is to protect Second Amendment rights and make Indiana a safer place to live.

King explained the gun-storage regulations are partly aimed at slowing the high rate of suicide-by-gun incidents, with measures requiring guns and ammunition to be stored in separate rooms. He is also concerned another law, approved in 2022, makes guns too easy to get.

"Last year, Indiana passed permitless carry legislation, pretty much allowing any person of age to go into a gun shop and not sign any document," King noted. "They put their money down, and they walk out with a gun."

King believes public sentiment on gun regulation is on his group's side, but added it is important for voters of all stripes to make their feelings known to their legislators.

"One of our goals is to get more and more of those people to send emails to their legislators, call their legislators, write personal notes; even better," King urged. "Our goals ought to be to shift the balance on how lawmakers see public sentiment."

As the Pennsylvania House reconvenes this week, lawmakers will focus on regulating 3D-printed ghost guns.

These untraceable firearms, like the one allegedly used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, complicate criminal investigations.

For the third time, state Rep. Melissa Shusterman said she plans to introduce legislation aimed at classifying 3D-printed firearms as standard firearms under Pennsylvania's laws and regulations, and require 3D printer owners to be licensed as manufacturers.

The Chester Democrat said she's already circulated a memo to colleagues, and said she's hopeful action will be taken for the bill.

"We are waiting to get any additional feedback," said Shusterman. "With every two years, my legislation needs to be tweaked and updated, to hone in on exactly how to create a piece of legislation that'd work for our manufacturers, work for our law enforcement, works within the law."

Pennsylvania State Police data reveal a doubling of ghost gun seizures by law enforcement in 2023 compared to 2022.

Shusterman added that a bill to ban ghost-gun kits passed the House last session with bipartisan support, but stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, said his group helped craft the bipartisan ghost-gun bill passed by the Pennsylvania House.

He warned that these firearms, easily assembled from online parts without background checks, have been seen in the state in the last few years.

"A lot of the violence we saw rising in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg and York, was being driven by ghost guns," said Garber. "Police were recovering them at a higher rate - again, because they escape our gun safety laws."

Garber added that the Biden administration announced a new federal rule to require 3D-printed guns be treated like any other gun and require background checks.

He added that there is now concern that a future administration could reverse this, making them a preferred weapon for violent crime once again.



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CORRECTION: The next stop for the exhibit is the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, not the Detroit Institute of Arts. (1:30 p.m. MDT, Jan. 6, 2025)

A gun violence memorial now on view in Boston aims to reveal the personal lives behind the statistics.

The exhibit was designed in 2019 and includes four small houses, each built with 700 glass bricks to symbolize the average number of people killed weekly by guns in America. The statistic climbed to more than 800 people per week in 2024.

Maggie Stern, project manager for the architecture firm MASS Design Group, said each brick contains something personal from the victims.

"You might encounter baby shoes, graduation tassels, a basketball," Stern outlined. "Things that family members have donated that really speak to who the loved one was that they lost."

The Gun Violence Memorial Project remains on view through Jan. 20 at three locations in Boston, including City Hall, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the MASS Design Group gallery.

Stern emphasized the goal of the memorial was to show the enormity of the gun-violence epidemic while honoring the individual lives taken. More than half of U.S. adults now say they or a family member has experienced some form of gun violence. She hopes people use the memorial and the personal items it contains to reflect on the loss but also feel inspired to take action.

"We hope that where the memorial travels and how the memorial grows, its impact will really be driven by the communities who are leading the charge to end the gun-violence epidemic," Stern stressed.

Stern noted the memorial will travel this spring to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. She added designers and the community groups they work with continue to collect personal objects of loved ones to add to the exhibit with the hope of finding a permanent home for the memorial in Washington, D.C.

As the new year begins, state lawmakers and officials will continue to grapple with how to prevent school shootings, like the one just two weeks ago in Madison.

While Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has called for a "holistic approach" to prevent such incidents, gun violence prevention advocates said prevention starts with stronger gun laws.

Lindsay Nicols, policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said the state could require universal background checks for gun purchases or raise the age for gun possession.

"We know that some of these shooters are young people themselves, and there are plenty of policies, for example, to keep guns out of the hands of youth," Nicols pointed out. "These are laws that some states have passed and some haven't, so we need action from our lawmakers to prevent, and protect our kids."

She noted other options are to pass a "red flag" law, or strengthen legislation on firearms storage. Giffords ranks states on a scorecard for their gun laws every year. Wisconsin most recently received a "C" grade.

Giffords' yearly analysis also compares states' gun laws with their fatal outcomes. Nicols emphasized time and again, they have found the stronger a state's gun laws, the lower its gun death rate, and the weaker the laws, the higher the gun death rate.

"We know that these gun laws work," Nicols contended. "There really is no reason why legislators shouldn't be taking action to prevent these tragedies."

While Wisconsin has enacted basic gun safety laws, she argued the state could also pass bans on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines or lengthen the waiting period for a firearms purchase. Despite public pressure for new gun safety laws in 2020, Wisconsin has not passed any significant gun legislation in years. Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to introduce at least 30 gun safety measures since 2019.


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