Indianapolis council passes Hogsett gun control measures

The Indianapolis City-County Council voted to pass Mayor Joe Hogsett's gun violence prevention plan Monday night.

The plan, announced by Hogsett in May as part of a sweeping response to gun crime, consists of two proposals. One is a slate of aspirational, stricter gun control measures that cannot take effect in Indianapolis unless Indiana’s gun laws change. The other authorizes the city to hire three new federal prosecutors as part of a tougher approach to punishing serious violent crime.

"Tonight we are sending a clear message of where we stand about the causes of gun violence and the proliferation of illegal weapons on our streets," Hogsett wrote in a statement after the vote.

Hogsett's plan has been applauded by supporters — including many gun violence prevention advocates — although the Republican minority members on the council have slammed the gun control measures as unconstitutional.

The mayor, who is running for reelection, has also faced criticism from his Republican opponent Jefferson Shreve for the city's high homicide rates.

“It’s remarkable how much Joe Hogsett has to say now that it’s an election year," a campaign spokesperson for Shreve, Jennifer Erbacher, said Monday in response to questions about Shreve's stance on Hogsett's plan and the council vote.

Shreve has advocated for the city to reinstate the public safety director position, a role that Hogsett scrapped when he took office in 2016 as part of bureaucratic restructuring that made him de facto head of public safety.

Shreve is expected to announce his plan for public safety this month, according to his campaign spokesperson.

Gun control measures

The council voted 18-5 along party lines on Hogsett's gun control plan, which cannot take effect due to a 2011 Indiana law preventing cities from regulating guns.

More: How will Hogsett's big gun violence prevention plan fight crime?

If allowed by state law, Hogsett would like to ban assault weapons, as defined by the proposed 2023 federal Assault Weapons Ban. The proposal also would ban carrying a handgun without a permit, concealed carry of a firearm and prohibits those under 21 from purchasing a firearm, unlike the state limit of 18 years old.

All five Republican councilors voted against the gun control measures.

"I’m voting against this because I disagree with the toothless language and the policy itself, but also because it likely violates state statute and the state constitution," Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery said during the council meeting, saying that the Indiana Office of the Attorney General's opinion is that the proposal violates the state preemption law.

Numerous Democratic councilors made an impassioned plea for the state to pass stricter gun regulation and spoke in support of what many called commonsense gun laws in the proposal.

Councilor La Keisha Jackson delivered an emotional testimony as she shared how she survived the October 2015 Washington Square Mall shooting in Indianapolis, where she was injured, not from a gunshot, running away from the shooter and endured nine months of physical and occupational therapy.

"I said, Lord, my prayer, was, don't let my mother come up here and identify my body," Jackson said. She added, "These are the fears we have to walk around with."

Tensions ran high as the Democratic and Republican councilors clashed.

After Mowery made his comments, Democratic councilor Ali Brown said, "You may call this toothless. This is us taking a stand because it's too much....Everyday we hear about gun violence in our city. We need to do something."

Money for 3 federal prosecutors

The City-County Council voted 24-0 to approve the hiring of three new federal prosecutors who will report to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana violent crimes unit, which currently has eight attorneys, focused on prosecuting serious violent crime and gun crime in Indianapolis.

Their salaries will be paid by Indianapolis with $225,000 in this year's budget through the office of the city’s corporation counsel and will subsequently be funded through the office's budget.

The Hogsett administration pitched this as a way to obtain longer sentences for individuals who commit violent crimes, especially gun crimes, as well as more efficient sentencing.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary Myers said federal prosecution is reserved for the worst of the worst — the most dangerous criminals and the most serious crimes, such as criminal conspiracies and repeat violent offenders.

With the three additional federal prosecutors, his office would use the same standards and criteria but would be able to take on more cases, he said.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said his office will still be responsible for the vast majority of criminal prosecutions in Marion County.

Contact the reporter at 317-903-7071 or kcheang@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis council passes Hogsett gun control measures