ST. JOHN — A Lake Central High School teen was among those who pleaded with Republican lawmakers Saturday at a town hall meeting to toughen Indiana’s gun laws in light of Wednesday’s deadly mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“Reading some of the (social media) posts by the students who were in that school that day, the fact that I could so closely relate to the school environment that they were in, it really worried me,” said Gabriella Hay, 16.
The day after Florida’s shooting, which killed 17, Lake Central had a scare of its own when a student alluded to a threat at the school in an online group chat. The potential threat was later determined not credible by police.
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, and state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, mostly listened quietly at the front of the room at the St. John Community Center, periodically chiming in.
Niemeyer said he was open to the idea of strengthening background check requirements at gun shows. However, much beyond that — such as a second level of identification, like Illinois' FOID card requirement — is overreach, he said.
Several people at the town hall demanded Niemeyer and Slager push for legislation that ensures weapons like AR-15s — which the Florida shooter allegedly used — don't get in the hands of ill-intentioned people so easily.
“No one needs these types of guns. This young man who killed all these people, he could not buy a handgun but he would buy an automatic weapon in Florida,” said Sherrill Stanford, of Schererville, referring to Florida state law that requires handgun purchasers be 21 but only 18 to be a rifle.
In other matters, Niemeyer and Slager discussed new laws that allow alcohol sales on Sundays and the sale of cannabidiol. They also talked about bills aimed at strengthening Indiana's workforce.
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