A small group of female Indiana Statehouse workers went out for lunch.
While walking down the street, a man ran up and threw a red package at their feet. He ran away only to come back, pick it up and take off. The women called 911.
It turned out the fellow was being videotaped by a buddy. It was a prank.
That was one of the reasons presented last week to show support for a legislative bill that would allow state employees to carry firearms if they are licensed to do so.
In short, a prankster could have been shot to death by women on their lunch break.
Senate Bill 43 is receiving legislative support because legislators’ staffers work into the evening hours and leave the office after armed police have gone. The bill applies to employees of the House and Senate and the Indiana Legislative Services Agency.
A similar bill went through the Senate in 2016 but didn’t receive consideration in the House.
No survey has been conducted of Statehouse employees about the issue. There’s no data to show there have been attacks on staffers.
By all means, Hoosiers want state employees to be protected by security guards and feel safe in their jobs.
We think of the 2001 shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson. Six people died including one of her staffers. Would an armed assistant have prevented the unwarranted attack?
We also think of a shooting of an 18-year-old man on the Statehouse lawn on Jan. 22. State police don’t believe the 10 p.m. Saturday night shooting was random. If an armed staffer had been nearby, who knows what the outcome might have been.
But we also think of the employee walking to a car and suddenly feeling threatened by a homeless person also walking through the parking lot. If a gun had been fired, the public backlash would be disarming.
More guns aren't needed at the Statehouse. Common sense is needed here.
And those staffers should follow the laws facing all Indiana workers. Indiana employers can prohibit guns in workplaces.
It’s a move aimed at protecting employees. But it’s also a move that protects workers from one another and from misguided uses of firearms.
In that sense, firearms shouldn’t be allowed for Statehouse staffers who might feel threatened by a prank.