One thing to remember, South Benders once elected Pete ButtJudge™ as their mayor. If that doesn’t tell you the proggie political bent of the majority there, nothing else will
Police, South Bend leaders urge veto of bill eliminating gun permits
South Bend, Ind. — “This is choosing extreme ideology over common sense,” James Mueller (D), Mayor South Bend.
South Bend leaders are raising major concerns over a controversial bill that could be signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb. The bill will no longer require someone to have a permit for their handgun.
Mayor James Mueller, Police Chief Scott Ruskowski, Prosecutor Ken Cotter, and community activist Isaac Hunt all spoke out today believing this bill would make South Bend more dangerous.
The four-person panel want it to be clear, they are not against the second amendment. But they say this law isn’t about that.
“They have prioritized the inconvenience of this permit system how they were doing it over the safety of our law-enforcement and the ability of our brave men and women in uniform to keep our community safe,” said Mueller.
Chief Ruszkowski says he hears the same thing all the time.
“It’s too easy to get guns and too easy to use them. So, what happens now, take away a layer of hope that we had, the very first layer that we had to make it even easier which makes absolute no sense. If people cared about gun violence taking place and hoping it ends, why would they take away that hopeful layer,” said Ruszkowski
They acknowledged it’s a small percentage of people who are violent, but they make up the majority of the violence. Without the permit, they say an arrest last week wouldn’t have been possible if they couldn’t ask about the gun.
“After the fact we found out that this person is on parole for attempted murder. We wouldn’t of been able to do that in the beginning. We wouldn’t be able to hold them that long,” said Ruszkowski.
Second amendment attorney Guy Relford knows the permit system can be convenient, but he believes police can do their job without it through criminal history databases.
“We are just taking an unnecessary burden off law-abiding Hoosiers who are already lawful to possess a gun, lawful to buy a gun,” said Guy Relford, Second Amendment Attorney.
He adamantly said he would never advocate for something that puts law enforcement in danger, but he says it won’t change how an officer responds or proof it increases risks.
“Officers are all trained to treat everyone on the street, in a car as if they are potential threat until they confirm that they’re not. And they assume everyone has it as a weapon,” said Relford
Ruszkowski says there is validity to that statement, but his concern is every stop will take longer and add more risk as they try and determine if that person is a threat.
He understands people want to use their right to bear arms, but he asks is the inconvenience to get a permit worth more than catching a bad guy with a gun?
“I honestly pray that I’m wrong about this but when you see an increase in shootings and deaths make sure the next press conference is not with us it’s with the lawmakers who passed this,” said Ruszkowski.
21 states already have constitutional carry, but they say comparing states is like comparing apples to oranges.
If Governor Holcomb signs the bill, it would go into effect July 1st of this year.
St. Joseph County Sheriff William Redman is also speaking out against the bill.
In a statement… he said, “The removal of the current gun permit process takes away an additional level of safety for our officers to be able to identify those who have legally gone through the gun permit process versus those who haven’t.”