By Olivia Covington
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Local governments could lose the ability to buy firearms back from citizens under a Senate bill that was considered in the House Public Policy Committee on Wednesday.
Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, said he authored Senate Bill 229 because he’s “never understood the logic†behind firearm buyback programs.
He said rather than allowing local units of government to buy and destroy firearms, law enforcement should take the guns and sell them at public auctions, where prices are usually higher. They could then take the revenue from auctions to buy supplies, such as bulletproof vests, ammunition or new firearms.
Damaged weapons could only be sold to federal firearm license dealers.
SB 229 would also prohibit law enforcement agencies from destroying guns, unless the serial number has been obliterated.
The bill allows citizens whose weapons are confiscated by law enforcement to request to have those weapons sold. The revenue – minus 8 percent that would stay with law enforcement – would then be returned to the weapon’s original owner.
“I don’t see where anybody is harmed in this,†Tomes said.
Bill Dowden, legislative director of the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, said he thinks buyback programs are “feel good†programs meant to make cities appear safer. And, he said the revenue law enforcement agencies would gain under the bill would enable them to do more firearms training.
But law enforcement officials expressed concerns about the bill’s regulations on destroying firearms.
Warren County Sheriff Rusty Hart said he and the Indiana Sheriff’s Association think law enforcement should be allowed to destroy weapons that are taken from crime scenes or meth labs. He said when firearms are destroyed, companies pay for the guns and recycle the salvageable parts.
Hart said destroying quality guns is “the exception, rather than the rule.â€
And, Hart said he is concerned that criminals would buy guns previously used in crimes to harm or kill more people. But Dowden said there is no nationwide evidence that supports this concern.
Stephanie Crandall, a Fort Wayne legislative and business liaison, said very few of the guns that are confiscated by law enforcement have obliterated serial numbers, which she said could lead to stockpiles of guns in police stations if they cannot be destroyed.
But both Hart and Crandall said they support eliminating the buyback program because they think it is ineffective.
A representative for the Association of Indiana Cities and Towns said the organization does not support eliminating the program, because its members want to have the authority to decide if the program is right for their community.
The committee took no vote on the bill.
Olivia Covington is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.Â
