State Senator Jim Arnold is hoping several bills will assist in the efforts of the law enforcement community.
Among Arnold’s proposed bills this session is legislation that would better define a safety indicator on firearms. It would also increase penalties for those found to have modified a toy gun to resemble a real firearm.
The Democrat out of LaPorte says that he proposed the bills after speaking with the Indiana Sheriff’s Association. He says the legislation attempts to remedy situations such as the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, but also attempts to solve the reverse of that situation.
“We’re finding people that are carrying actual firearms, but they’re painting the barrel orange to give the indication that the weapon is a toy gun,” says Arnold.
The Sheriff’s Association says they have had a number of situations involving toy guns that Arnold says he hopes his bill helps resolve.
Democrats are in the minority in the state senate, but Arnold is confident that another bill he has filed will permit law enforcement agencies to share certain information with a crime victim advocate organization.
Arnold says Senate Bill 289 prevents the two groups from doing double the work.
“Nobody can go in and purchase a copy of that report,” says Arnold. “The news media is kept at bay, they cannot come in and secure a copy of that as well. The information still stays confidential, but it will able to be shared between law enforcement agencies and the advocacy agencies that assist the victim.”
That bill is expected to get a hearing in February.
