Page last updated on April 16, 2021 at 4:19 pm
Statement from Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton regarding the Indianapolis FedEx facility mass shooting:
It is with great sorrow that I find myself once again in a position to offer condolences to another community following yet another senseless multiple murder. The recent shootings at the FedEx Ground Facility that resulted in the deaths of eight people took place less than an hour’s drive from Bloomington. The FedEx facility is a regional employer, so I have every reason to expect that we will learn of direct connections between those victims and our own community in due course.
You should know that as your mayor, my power to impact local gun regulations to protect our community is extremely limited. That’s because our Indiana State Legislature has strictly limited the authority of local governments to regulate the ownership, use and carry of firearms. That means legislators from across the state decide how firearms can be regulated in Bloomington.
In fact, right now the General Assembly is seeking to loosen gun laws. They spent this legislative session seeking to remove our permitting system for carrying firearms in public, despite massive opposition from law enforcement across the board. Bloomington Police Chief Mike Diekhoff was among those law enforcement officials who testified to keep our gun permitting system in place.
Just this week legislators inserted language into another bill that will expand Indiana Stand Your Ground Laws by making it legal to brandish a loaded gun, even when one's life isn't in imminent danger.
Those seeking to promote these dangerous policies are out of step with today’s reality . They are leading Indiana in the wrong direction. I have joined the United States Conference of Mayors, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in calling for common sense gun laws in our state and in our country.
It’s too late for the 8 individuals who lost their lives yesterday and their families and friends, but we can, if we choose to, work to prevent another community from experiencing this kind of heartbreak.