Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett
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Like so many other big government entities, the city of Indianapolis, which has had nothing but Democrats in the mayor’s office since the first Eisenhower administration, likes to blame its problems on, well, anyone and everything else but its own elected officials and policies.

Looking to “do something” about the increase in crime that’s affected most big blue cities since the pandemic and the George Floyd Summer of Love™, Mayor Joe Hogsett is now blaming…guns. Last night he got the Democrat-dominated city council to pass a series of gun control measures including an “assault weapons” ban, a ban on gun sales to adults under 21, handgun licensure and more.

The only problem with that is it’s all plainly and willfully illegal and entirely unenforceable.

That’s because the state of Indiana has a preemption law that prevents localities form enacting their own gun control laws that are more restrictive than state’s. That’s a common sense provision a lot of states have that keeps them from becoming unworkable patchworks of varying gun control schemes, making owning and carrying a firearm a legal minefield.

Does anyone in Indy government care that what city government just did is illegal? Apparently not. The stunt legislating has nothing at all to do with actually reducing crime, it’s all about the kabuki politics of demonstrating that you’re doing something while inveighing against those awful Republicans who run the show in the capitol building across town. It seems that actually arresting, prosecuting, and jailing law-breakers hasn’t occurred to anyone in Indy city government.

Mayor Joe Hogsett, who just happens to be running for reelection right now, proclaimed “victory” — or something — after the laws were passed last night.

Here’s how the Indianapolis Star reported it . . .

The plan, announced by Hogsett in May as part of a sweeping response to gun crime, consists of two proposals. One is a slate of aspirational, stricter gun control measures that cannot take effect in Indianapolis unless Indiana’s gun laws change. The other authorizes the city to hire three new federal prosecutors as part of a tougher approach to punishing serious violent crime.

The slate of gun control provisions are, as the paper hilariously put it, only “aspirational” because everyone (including those who voted for it) knows the legislation can’t stand up to legal scrutiny. That doesn’t matter, though. They’ll serve their purpose as a handy campaign prop for the Mayor.

it won’t surprise you to learn that . . .

All five Republican councilors voted against the gun control measures.

“I’m voting against this because I disagree with the toothless language and the policy itself, but also because it likely violates state statute and the state constitution,” Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery said during the council meeting, saying that the Indiana Office of the Attorney General’s opinion is that the proposal violates the state preemption law.

Numerous Democratic councilors made an impassioned plea for the state to pass stricter gun regulation and spoke in support of what many called commonsense gun laws in the proposal.

Once again, more of the same political onanism by more of the same suspects. And so it goes.

53 COMMENTS

  1. Once again, if government does not have to obey the law why should we?

    • “It’s dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” Modern American society has been convenienced to death. The overwhelming majority lack the stones to do what is required in order to defend against tyranny.

    • I keep hearing people say, “We need a new amendment!”

      Too true.

      Amendments to both the federal and State Constitutions:

      Any elected official of the Congress of the United States (Congress of the State of “…”) who has been instrumental in drafting the final language of or voted in favor of legislation later determined to be in violation of their Constitution shall be immediately removed from their elected office and the seat remain open until a new election can be held or they be replaced by such other means as allowed in that Constitution.

  2. Indianapolis should pass stricter Defective Citizen Control laws.

    Yeah, brilliant. That’s what is needed a law. Maybe “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Uh, been there done that, God weeps. But, surely man is smarter than God. Maybe, Murder 1, Murder 2, and 23,000 anti-gun laws. Surely, Indianapolis’ one more law will be the solution.
    Politicians with laws never stop bad guys with guns, evil intent.
    They only control the good guys which is their true agenda.

    Keep screwing with gun laws, and maybe you can “smart”: yourself out of the revenuse enjoyed hosting the NRA Convention, as hosted April 2023.

  3. Here we go again. Yesterday it was Massachusetts passing legislation that’s already been knocked down and declared unconstitutional in federal court. Today it’s Indianapolis. California has been embroiled in the back-and-forth for years, passing gun control and having it successfully challenged, with CA eventually losing nearly every time albeit thru lengthy delays.

    It’s either (1) these freedom-hating Democrats really are that dumb, and aren’t paying attention to the litigative landscape to know in advance their attempts will fail, or (2) they know they’ll fail but are aware such laws won’t be struck down until long after they’re out of office, giving them ample time to declare “we did something” in the interim.

    • Haz – I suspect that those .gov entities enact draconian ‘gun control’ laws that they KNOW will not pass scrutiny simply because they can and also know it will just be a ‘bit’ more control they can exert over their Citizens. This egregious and blatantly anti Constitutional action is just the latest example.
      Isn’t it ‘amazing’ that there are so many dupes (aka democRATs) that continue to fall for those acts?

  4. Lefties don’t seem to care about the time or financial waste attributable to their endeavors.
    So what’s the carbon footprint of their nonsense? Maybe they’ll care about that.

    • Shire – oh they DO care since they know that plain old ordinary people don’t have the resources to fight them.
      Look at the guy up in New Hampshire (or was it Vermont?) who just caved to the little town using ‘environmental’ court to force him to shut down his private range on his private land. Not only was he facing a long stretch in state prison (not city or county jail) but that would cause him loss of all of his farm produce and animals that were on that land.
      Hmm sounds suspiciously like what is continuing to be done to the J6 ‘defendants’ – How Dare You ‘Peasants’ Try to Petition YOUR Government For Redress of Grievances. Remember the intro to The Outer Limits – WE are in control…………………

      • Ironically it was ‘Plain Ordinary People’ that fought, sacrificed and died to remove the last tyrannical government. That was enacting tyrannical laws against the citizenry’s Rights. The only difference between now and then is the desire to do what is necessary to remove this one from doing likewise. Nothing more…Nothing less.

  5. I can’t stand Democrats, they are flushing America down the toilet.
    But I admire how they are never on the defensive and do not give a shit what the opposition thinks. They know that Republicans won’t fight them, or if they do, it will take long enough that something, ultimately, just might stick – if not in the lawbooks then in the consciousness of the public to attract more stupid voters.

    Over the years, it’s worked. Would be nice if we had a side that would give just as equal of a shit themselves.

  6. City Mayor and Assembly: We don’t want to really do anything about the criminals in our streets. So we will respond to the crises by taking guns out of the hands of those that obey the law while leaving them in the hands of those who break the law.
    Please send your contributions via our website.

    • Tommy – and don’t forget to vote (early and often) for us since we ‘did something’.
      Exactly how effective those illegal ‘do something’ actions turn out to be? Never afaik yet the sheeple keep voting for them……………..

  7. Citys dont care if its legal or not.
    They go to court and win or lose they still win.
    The city of Katookie got sued 6hundredand50billion dollars, taxes go up and roads develop potholes but the mayor still gets paid the same.

  8. Like it, or not, this is what Bruen wrought: more cockroaches. The tactic is designed to bankrupt 2A defense efforts.

    This is why it is so important to cut off the head of the snake: NFA/GCA.

    • It goes without saying we aren’t moving anywhere near Indianapolis when we move to Indiana. And our plan is “moving” along. Texas has Austin & Indiana has Indianapolis(& Gary & South Bend).

      • fww – we also are stuck with H-town and the DFW Metroplex and to a lesser degree even my humble little city 🙁 but yep, Austin is probably the worst.

      • There are great places to live near Indianapolis that are very 2A friendly. I happen to live in one. Thankfully, this law is meaningless or I’d be arrested on my way to work in the city.

    • “Like it, or not, this is what Bruen wrought: more cockroaches. The tactic is designed to bankrupt 2A defense efforts.”

      Justice Thomas saw what happened after ‘Heller’, and gave us ‘Bruen’, strict scrutiny on steroids.

      I imagine now he’s sitting in his chambers or at home thinking up ways to discourage them pulling crap like they’re pulling now… 🙂

      • “I imagine now he’s sitting in his chambers or at home thinking up ways to discourage them pulling crap like they’re pulling now…”

        Thinking that even if the SC declared 2a absolute, we would see the same outcome.

  9. Meh, much like Chiraq, NYC, LA and a dozen or so other big “Progressive” Left run cities I never left anything in Indy that I can’t live without…

  10. Its only a harbinger of what is to eventually come at the Federal Level and of course long overdue as all the civilized industrialized nations of the world have had most of this become law decades ago and their much lower homicide and mass murder rate proves that all this mayhem and needless deaths of innocent people are the direct result of the Gangster Criminal Republicans who are paid prostitutes of the NRA, because they continue to opposes these sane and common sense gun laws.

    When will the 45,000 firearms deaths a year stop and when will over 2,000 children’s firearms deaths each year stop? When the American people vote the Republican racist jackbooted criminals out of power.

    • Ahhhh yes, the moronic Trolls version of Utopia where mother government spoon feeds you all the bullshit you desire until you are no longer useful… I don’t quite understand why you have not planted your dumb ass IN one of those “civilized industrialized nations” so you will no longer need to fear for your life OR comment on MY lifestyle choices… Guess you missed the early Obama years when Dems held the Senate, the House AND the Oval Office or Braindeads first two years with the SAME scenario…

    • Lol. Or when we stop telling a small part of the population that their culture of violence, misogyny, and crime are welcome and normal. When we enact policies that reward couples that stick together instead of having droves of kids from fatherless homes looking for somewhere to belong, and finding it in gangs.

    • dacian, the DUNDERHEAD, Again, with the “civilized nations” nonsense? Seems you only consider a nation “civilized” if they ban guns? It seems that your “lower murder rates” are bogus, as you and your Leftist control freaks are only counting murders done with a firearm. The US is the ONLY country in the world that includes suicides in the “gun deaths statistics”.
      Do us a favor? Come up with some new material. This stuff you keep presenting is stale at best.

  11. We’ve got one of those preemptive laws in Florida. Tallahassee city council tried to ban gun shows. When Mayor Andrew Gillum (remember him?) was told he was looking at fines and jail time they backed off quick. There’s a gun show at the fairgrounds this weekend.

    • Gadsden Flag,

      See my comment below: Indianapolis City Councilmen/women will not face a single penny of fines and not a single hour in prison.

      No wonder various government entities keep passing such laws–they never have anything to lose and everything to gain.

      • Win or lose they always win.
        When Xfckhead gets sued and the money comes out of his pocket that’s a win. However that will never happen. Suing the city only makes hardships on the citezens.

    • “Tallahassee city council tried to ban gun shows. When Mayor Andrew Gillum (remember him?) was told he was looking at fines and jail time they backed off quick.”

      Perhaps we need that at a federal level… 🙂

  12. From this article:

    … [Indianapolis] city council [passed] a series of gun control measures including an ‘assault weapons’ ban, a ban on gun sales to adults under 21, handgun licensure and more.

    The only problem with that is it’s all plainly and willfully illegal and entirely unenforceable.

    That’s because the state of Indiana has a preemption law that prevents localities form enacting their own gun control laws that are more restrictive than state’s.

    That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is (at minimum) a conspiracy to deprive the people of Indianapolis of their rights. That is a felony which, if prosecuted, requires hefty personal fines as well as serious prison time. Alas no federal prosecutor will bother to prosecute the Indianapolis City Council, none of the Councilmen/women will pay any fines, and none of the Councilmen/women will spend a single hour in prison.

    • un – while I agree with your post, the BIG problem is exactly who (or is it whom – gotta appease the grammar police) is going to charge those .gov critters for their crimes? Most likely even if such charges were actually filed, those same critters would either claim some sort of Sovreign Immunity or simply drag things out with legal maneuvers until the charges got ‘forgotten’ and even if by some miracle they did get convicted they would at most get a minor slap on the wrist and any fines would come from .gov coffers, no their personal fortunes.
      Small wonder us little people are the ones who lose in the long run ;-(

  13. Just for the record, Indianapolis has not had “nothing but Democrats in the mayor’s office since the first Eisenhower administration.” Up until about thirty years ago, Indianapolis had been largely under Republican control — including the mayor’s office, although I’ll grant the Republican mayors the city had couldn’t exactly be classified as conservative, or pro-gun.

    The last Republican mayor Indy had was a liberal washrag named Bart Peterson, who might as well have been a Democrat, and he served immediately prior to “Boss Hogsett” (as he’s not-so-affectionately referred to on local radio).

    If Mr. Zimmerman wants to trash the city I grew up in, have at it. I despise the place now and only venture inside the city limits when absolutely necessary and I stay not a moment longer than I’m required. What sentimentality I once held for the Circle City died long ago because of the political and social path the city and its so-called leaders embarked upon. And if Mr. Zimmerman is going to highlight the stupid, futile actions the city government is taking, at least get the record straight.

    • Too true. Goldsmith wasn’t as bad as Peterson, but the city has been on the decline for decades. I still have to go the office downtown twice per week, but the state government campus is probably the safest part of downtown, despite being legislated as a gun-free zone.

  14. I am confused. How is it that a local governmental entity has the power to hire federal prosecutors? Moreover, why do they need federal prosecutors to go after bad guys who break the existing laws against murder, mayhem, etc.?

  15. How exactly does a city government get the authority and money to hire three new “federal” prosecutors?

  16. And two weeks after Indiana passed constitutional carry a young man carrying a concealed firearm walked into the Greenwood Park mall and killed a criminal with an ar15 saving many lives. Democrats are idiots.

  17. Joe Hogg is the same weasel who told the police to back down during the Floyd riots and then went into hiding resulting in millions of dollars in damages.
    This is nothing more than a “look at me’ ploy for reelection when he has done little or nothing during his current term. He along with his pet prosecutor are a waste of breathe.

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