U.S.A. — On the east side of the Indiana Statehouse is a grand statue of “War Governor” Oliver P. Morton, commissioned by the General Assembly and installed in 1907. Standing atop a marble pedestal, the governor is flanked by two resolute Union soldiers, both on perpetual guard with bayoneted rifles.
To the statue’s left is a historical marker, a sign commemorating that the site also served as the state’s Civil War Arsenal from 1861 to 1864. But directly in front of the statue is another sign, this one newer and of considerably less material and design quality, an ugly thing made of street sign metal bolted to an adjustable height post anchored in an even uglier scuffed and stained yellow l base. Ugliest of all is the message on the sign:
“Weapons and destructive devices prohibited on the Indiana Government Center Campus 25 IAC 8-3-1”
That would have been useful information for my wife and me to have been aware of on April 15 after parking north of the campus and crossing its parking lot on our walk to the NRA Annual Meeting a couple of blocks away at the Indiana Convention Center. It’s fair to wonder how many attendees carrying openly and concealed walked right past that sign – and a companion one I posed in front of at the corner of the campus at Washington St. (with both feet on the Statehouse side of the property line, incidentally.)
I bring it up because one of the events I attended was the NRA-ILA 2023 Political Update, featuring key legislators in the State Senate and House of Representatives responsible for bringing permitless carry to the Hoosier State. They were literally surrounded by members carrying guns and were the first to assure us that they not only felt safe, they knew they were safe. (We all were. The only ones I wasn’t sure about were the sign-waving lunatics across the street calling us “terrorists” and accusing us of being responsible for slaughtered children.)
That leads to the logical question of why the politicians would be safe when outnumbered by gun owners on one side of an artificial property line, and wouldn’t be if those same gun owners took one step over it, where they would find themselves in violation of the law?
“Sec. 1. No person in possession of a deadly weapon… shall be permitted into or permitted to remain in the Indiana government center campus.”
It says “into” and “in.” The signs say “on,” and they’re placed where they’re seen before anyone steps on the campus (unless you enter from the north parking lot as I did, where there was no sign). But wait, as the infomercials say. There’s more!
“(4) “Indiana government center campus” means the following… (G) The land adjacent to these buildings that is owned and controlled by the state.”
With the Indiana Legislature dominated by Republicans – and with enough “pro-Second Amendment” ones to pass open and permitless carry – there’s no legitimate or even political reason why the entire campus should be off limits.
Actually, if anyone wants to talk to Philip Van Cleave over at Virginia Citizens Defense League, he’ll be able to show them how armed citizens used to visit peaceably with legislators inside the Capitol every year on Lobby Day (until hoplophobe Democrats banned the practice) and never once did they cause a problem. But for now, acknowledging the firearms prohibitionist lobby scores successes toward its end goal incrementally, clarifying rules on the surrounding property, and making sure any armed citizen stepping on the lawn isn’t a violator subject to arrest will be a step in the right direction.
Because as things stand now, with that sign in front of the statue of Gov. Morton and the soldiers, the message it conveys is:
“The right of the government to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The people, not so much.”
You can do better, Indiana Republicans.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Back in th days of yore, before “shall issue” became a thing in Florida, at a neighborhood meeting we all heard the following:
Neighbor: I don’t want my neighbors carrying guns. I don’t want to get shot dead!
Cop: What have you been doing to your neighbors that would upset one of them enough to want to shoot you?
Food for thought.
😉
We have similar here in South Carolina. No guns on State House grounds in Columbia. I believe that may also apply to the sidewalk adjacent to State House grounds. What are they afraid of, and why?
There is horrible precedent that says we can’t sue to enjoin enforcement of the laws wrongfully banning guns in public spaces, but we must wait until we are convicted of the crime and then appeal to have the law overturned (very likely from a prison cell). I need to go to the post office often. To obey the law, I have to drive there, park off the property and leave my pistol in my car. People will point out that the only way they’ll know I broke the law is if I have need to draw the weapon, but I… Read more »
As I understand the Texas Concealed Carry Rules, one cannot carry into any of our small county/city buildings WHERE THERE IS A COURTROOM. So my little town’s entire city offices (including the public library) is off-limits due to the fact a Courtroom ( which is only used 1-2 days a week by a traveling judge). If the Courtroom were in a different building, we could carry in all those other places, in accordance with The Rules
This bull manure wasn’t there when I moved out of state… RINOs, don’t make me come back and edumacate y’all! Indiana is a solidly red state and will remain so for the forseeable future. This only happened because of RINO voters electing RINO politicians… and THAT needs immediate correction!! On 2nd thought, I think this became a thing in many states because of the 2020 VCDL Lobby Day when law-abiding gun owners turned out and accidentally became the 83rd largest army in the world. That shows just how much the politicians despise gunowners; if they are willing to do this… Read more »
hell you can;t even carry a two inch pocket knife into a courthouse in Indiana what a bunch of dumbasses
Mr Codera, you are admitting that you broke the law with the picture you took. You are no longer law abiding, yet you have a problem that the cops would hurt you over your gun crime. You are in the same boat as hunter Biden violating the unconstitutional 4473 form with taking that photo. Kind of why you shouldn’t support the government and their useful idiots in both parties turning our rights into government privileges and using that to harm us Citizens. You support the government harming others you dont like over guns, why not support the government harming yourself.… Read more »