Tim Gatchell,
manager of ZX Gun Inc. in Goshen, displays two of his company’s best selling handguns Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Steve Wilson | The Goshen News
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Editor’s note:
This is another story in a CNHI series on the gun culture here in Indiana.
GOSHEN — In the aftermath of recent mass shootings and Indiana’s repeal of needing permits to carry handguns, the gun control debate continues locally and statewide.
While opinions are varied, in Goshen there seems to be at least a very general consensus, among both law enforcement as well as representatives of the gun industry, that firearm safety and education are keys to avoiding unnecessary injury and loss of life.
“We refer our customers to several different instructors for training options,” said Chad Halle, president of ZX Gun Inc. in Goshen and South Bend. “We also provide gun safety information and a trigger locks with each firearm sold.”
RECENT CHANGE
The repeal of Indiana’s requirement for a permit to carry a handgun in public, which went into effect July 1, has forced police agencies to change how they handle encounters with armed people, The Associated Press reported.
The change will allow anyone age 18 or older to carry a handgun in public except those with a felony conviction, who face a restraining order or have a dangerous mental illness.
Supporters argue the permit requirement undermined Second Amendment protections. Republicans pushed it through the state Legislature over the vocal opposition of the state police superintendent and several law enforcement groups that argued eliminating permits would remove a screening tool for quickly identifying those who shouldn’t have guns.
For decades, the issue of mass shootings has weighed heavily across the U.S., with Goshen recently proving to be no exception. On May 21, David Varela Morales, 20, and Richard Rios died in a mass shooting at a residence on Rosemare Court, with three others, all juveniles, sustaining serious injuries. The incident at last report remained under investigation by the Elkhart County Homicide Unit, with Morales being the accused shooter.
On Monday, seven people were killed and more than 30 were injured at a July 4 holiday parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Robert Crimo III, 21, has been charged in connection with that incident. On May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers, before turning the gun on himself, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The culmination of violence is being met with hypervigilance by the Goshen Police Department.
“The Goshen Police Department will have a police presence at all of the city’s events and in our schools,” GPD Assistant Chief Shawn Turner said by email. “Our officers, like officers throughout this country, are hypervigilant and are always assessing threats to the community. Our training department studies these events and provides our officers with current information about community risks and the tactics to be employed if such an event happened here.”
“In addition, Mayor (Jeremy) Stutsman is very supportive of the department and the officers’ needs. He continues to support trainings and always works to pull the money together that is needed to continue building a better department. This is all done to respond to the growing crime and to help make Goshen a safer community.”
VETERANS SECURITY PROGRAM
With respect to preventing school shootings, Halle believes schools should have a veterans security program, similar to several other countries.
“I don’t think veterans leaving active duty would be opposed to a four-to-six-month security post at a school to help them transition back to civilian life in the area they are looking to live,” Halle said. “Programs similar to this have been around a long
time and proven successful. The gun is not the problem, the problem is the widely known fact that schools are not defended or protected.”
Halle noted that while elected officials, courts, banks, celebrities and others have armed security, school display signs that say “THIS IS A GUN FREE ZONE.”
“These gun-free zones are a prime target for an individual seeking fame in creating a mass casualty event,” he said. “If the guns were not around that wouldn’t stop someone determined to cause harm, they would simply use other means like driving a truck through a parade or a crowd of people, as we have seen the past here and abroad. The best way to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun.”
Halle indicated his support for the recent change in the law here in Indiana.
“Armed citizens are beholden to the law,” he said. “A person cannot shoot someone simply because s/he feels threatened. The permit-less carry doesn’t change who can carry a firearm. It only allows them to carry quicker than in the past when you needed to apply for a permit first.
“An individual would be breaking the law if s/he are not eligible or prohibited to carry a firearm and choose to do so. This law will however allow would-be-victims of violent crime to be able to carry a firearm and protect themselves immediately. They are no longer required to wait months for a permit in the mail. The new Indiana permit-less carry law will save lives and it’s a step in the right direction. It’s better to have a gun and not need it, then to need a gun and not have one.”
So what’s selling locally? Tim Gatchell, manager of ZX Gun Inc. in Goshen, said Wednesday, specifically, the two of their best-selling handguns are the Springfield Armory Hellcatt RDP and the Smith and Wesson CSX, both 9mm pistols and both commonly used for home defense, personal carry and range time.
RESPONSE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT
GPD, however, has a different take on the recent move by the Indiana Legislature.
“The new law has us concerned,” Turner said. “This concern was expressed directly to our lawmakers by Chief José Miller and Mayor Stutsman. Numerous law enforcement associations have voiced their opposition to this new law and we believe it will have local impact.
“Prior to this law going into effect, law enforcement officers could arrest an individual who possessed a handgun without a valid permit. To obtain a permit, a gun-owner had to petition the state and pass a background check. This requirement made it very simple for law enforcement officers to determine if an individual is legally entitled to possess a handgun, the new law makes it incredibly difficult. The new law created the crime of ‘unlawful carrying of a handgun’ which is a class A misdemeanor, and it aligned the state of Indiana with federal law defining a ‘prohibited person’ as someone who cannot constitutional carry a firearm.”
Turner stressed the importance of members of the public knowing who can and who cannot possess a handgun.
“The problem for law enforcement is making that determination,” Turner said. “This is another burden placed on the officer where before it was pretty clear cut on whether or not one had the right to possess a handgun. Law enforcement officers now have to presume the person has a constitutional right to carry. In order to determine if they are a prohibited person we must have a reason to investigate, which is problematic when dealing with short-term detention periods such as a traffic stop.
“Prior to this law,” he said, “GPD has intervened and prevented acts of violence by arresting and confiscating handguns from individuals who did not have a permit. This has prevented crime and stopped individuals who intended on causing harm to others. Again, the new law places the burden on the officer to discover if someone is a prohibited person, and the officer has to work within the legal confines of detention periods to ascertain this information.”
GUN SAFETY, EDUCATION
Turner also emphasized that GPD has been involved with gun safety and education efforts.
“An officer is willing to meet with people who are thinking about purchasing their first firearm and instructing them on the proper handling of the weapon,” Turner said. “We’ve supplied gun locks to our community members in the past and provided tips (or best practices) on how to safely store their guns at home. Even though there may be benefits to having a gun or rifle in your home, most people are unaware that having a weapon statistically increases their odds of someone in your family being killed by that weapon.
Turner noted numerous examples throughout the Goshen community of people leaving weapons in unlocked vehicles and then they are stolen.
“This guarantees the handgun or rifle has ended up in the hands of someone who should not possess it and immediately presents more danger to our community,” he said. “Gun safes, gun locks, and educating yourself on how to properly handle the weapon greatly reduces the risks of gun ownership.”
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