Moms Demand Action calls for stricter gun laws after FedEx shooting
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The grassroots movement Moms Demand Action is calling for stricter gun laws after the FedEx mass shooting in Indianapolis.
The Indiana chapter said Red Flag laws work, but not in this case. The group said this mass shooting is a tragic missed opportunity to utilize the state’s Red Flag law, but also highlights the need for stricter laws and more background checks.
“We have to enforce the laws that we have on the books,” said Jennifer Haan, a volunteer leader with the Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “I think that this shows that there are a lot of holes in the law, there are a lot of things we could do to make it stronger.”
Indiana’s Red Flag law says that the police have a right to take someone’s gun if they are an imminent threat to themselves or others. However, it doesn’t automatically stop them from buying another weapon.
In this case, the shooter’s family went to the police to ask for help after he began talking about suicide by a cop in March of 2020. His gun was removed, but the Marion County prosecutor said the man was no longer considered a threat and the office didn’t file for a “red flag” hearing. Then, the man went on to buy the guns used in the FedEx shooting.
Moms Demand Action is adamant that Red Flag laws work when utilized, and are designed to prevent tragedies like the FedEx shooting. The group said in the 10 years after implementing Indiana’s Red Flag law in 2005, the state’s firearm suicide rate decreased by 7.5%.
The group wants the existing Red Flag laws to be stronger and is asking Indiana leaders to make background checks mandatory for all gun sales. Currently, in Indiana background checks are required in stores, but not for private purchases.
These moms say it is time for a change.
“These tragedies are just the effect of very weak laws. We need stronger laws to protect us from gun violence. And you know, a mass shooting it grips the nation, but this was the third one we have had in Indianapolis this year, in 2021. We have a daily gun violence problem that is going on in Indiana,” said Haan. “We really need to work together to get something done here to stop people from dying from gun violence in our state.”
Moms Demand Action has this website set up to help educate Hoosiers about gun laws in Indiana and across the country.