Five Indiana mayors are among the 237 mayors across the nation who signed a letter urging the Senate to pass gun control legislation.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, Ft. Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson urged the Senate to pass two House bills improving back ground checks on potential gun owners.
"I think now with Parkland a year ago, we had these rapid fire tragedies, the garlic festival, the El Paso shooting, then the Dayton shooting, on top of the Pittsburgh shooting, I think it's finally reaching a critical mass," says former Ft. Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke.
Helmke, who is also Director of IU’s Civic Leaders Center, says with the 2020 elections looming, lawmakers may be encouraged to act.
“We haven’t done anything to address the fact that with semi-automatic weapons we’ve created a whole new class of weapons that are extremely powerful, extremely lethal,” Helmke says.
Helmke says none of the laws on the books govern purchases made at gun shows.
He says while mental health issues have to be addressed, he says it shouldn’t be used a scapegoat for gun violence in the US.
