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Dear Editor & Fellow Hoosiers,
Indianapolis is still coping and processing its third and most public mass shooting this year, but to add to the heartbreak, Senator Scott Baldwin doubled down with an untimely stance touting his support of the failed House Bill 1369 and his authoring of Senate Resolution 39 – supporting legislation that would have lessened gun regulation in Indiana.
One thing that still frustrates me from the General Election campaign last year is that then-candidate Baldwin never really took the chance to really speak to the issues that were important to the people. In fact, the one opportunity where we both could have participated in a candidate forum together, he consciously chose to hold a fundraiser that evening instead of providing his would-be constituents a chance to question both of us in real time.
Friday, Baldwin decided to let us know what was important to him on the day that the state and the nation learned of the mass shooting at the Indianapolis FedEx Ground Center: His support for looser gun regulation is more of a priority.
Our community, represented by Senator Baldwin, is approaching the three-year anniversary of the shooting at Noblesville West Middle, and his out-of-touch misstep hours after the tragedy in Indianapolis demonstrates lack of truly responding to the people’s need in the moment. Senator Baldwin is now in a position where he and the other legislators should have serious conversations that actually lead to common sense gun regulations to prevent incidents like what happened in Noblesville in 2018 and what happened in Indianapolis last Thursday night.
Compassionate leadership is what we need right now, not partisan promotion. Hoosiers cherish the Second Amendment, but it should not come before the safety of our community or our lives.
For the People,
Ronnie Saunders
Vice Chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party
Former Senate District 20 candidate
Westfield
Mr Saunders,
With great disappointment I read your letter concerning Sen Baldwin’s stance on the Second Amendment.
The shooting at NMS was, (IMHO ex-military opinion), a targeted attack. Not a mass shooting, but life altering for everyone in Noblesville that day. Noblesville School District took advantage of this terrible act to have yet another referendum under the guise of school safety. Hidden in that referendum was approx 53% of referendum dollars going to pay raises. A pay increase…which did not even appear on the printed ballot presented to the voters at the poles. Like I said, it was deeply hidden.
What happened in Indianapolis at the FedEx Ground facility was truly terrible, evil, but could have been, (most likely), stopped had the Marion County District Attorney, Ryan Mears’ office done it’s due diligence, processed the simple paperwork it was given by IMPD, and forwarded it to a Court, (Judge within the county), and quite simply that shooter would have been labeled a ‘Prohibited Possessor’. He never would have been able to purchase the two rifles as he would have been flagged in the federal system. This would have blocked him from purchasing a firearm nationwide, forever.
DA Mears in a press conference stated the 14 day time limit was not enough time… bunk. This is done routinely in the case of domestic violence, and other potentially violent situations without complaints by that DA’s office. If we look for someone or something to blame, start with DA Mears and his people for NOT doing their part, in accordance to and under the ‘Red Flag’ Indiana State Law.
Every darn time something goes wrong, and almost immediate cry for the need to take something away from the folks that do not misbehave, who keep their nose clean, who behave in public as well as private.
Finally Mr Saunders, your attempted politicization of this tragedy, and grumping about the outcome of the last election was upsetting. No sense of feeling for the lives lost in your letter. No condolences for the families of those whos loved ones just wanted to go to work, and then home to their loved ones. Nothing.
There’s a reason you lost that election. The voters chose correctly by seeing thru the person who in an event resulting in a tragic loss of life, can’t even say, “I’m sorry for your loss”.
I would like to comment that the Fed-Ex shooting is the first mass shooting in Indianapolis. The other two were domestic violence within families; one teenager disobeyed his father and another young person shot up his family over a dispute over the Cares Act Refund Check. The later two were not mass shootings, just anger within families, not the community.