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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOur state’s embrace of the NRA is beyond me. Guns have overtaken car accidents as the number one killer of our children. It’s time to stop and look in the mirror, Indiana.
As our Republican supermajority raced to pass permitless carry in 2022, Hoosiers knew it was a bad idea, including an overwhelming majority of those who work in law enforcement. Those cries for common sense were thoroughly ignored.
I’ve been fighting for common sense gun reform in Indiana for years as a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and it’s tiring. But it’s worth it. Hoosiers deserve better.
Here’s the data: According to the CDC, Indiana averages 124 child and teen deaths per year due to guns and has the 20th-highest rate of gun deaths in the country.
Let’s look at the actual monetary cost of gun violence in our state. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis, gun deaths and injuries in 2019 cost Indiana $1,964 per resident or $13 billion total.
According to an Indianapolis Star article, Visit Indy says the NRA convention brings about $36.4 million to Indianapolis. Doesn’t seem like a lot in context, does it? It doesn’t cover 3% of the cost of one year of gun violence to our state.
Hoosiers, please join the movement to end gun violence. Text FED UP to 644-33 and join Moms Demand Action. We are moms, dads, aunts, uncles, gun owners and survivors. Anyone can join. It takes a village. We can do it together.
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Tricia Owens
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