Indiana senator calls for tougher gun background checks, red flag laws
WAVE
August 12, 2019
https://www.wave3.com/2019/08/13/indiana-senator-calls-tougher-gun-background-checks-red-flag-laws/
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-IN, added his support Monday to better background checks for firearms.
His position is similar to that of other Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
But Braun said he draws the line at imposing checks on private sales or closing the so-called gun-show loophole.
“Because that’s not going to get across the finish line,” Braun said. “Not only from the NRA, but from all of us who want to make sure we don’t cross over to where the only laws we’re creating are impacting people who would never need it in the first place.”
Speaking to WAVE 3 News on Monday, the Indiana Republican said his focus will be toughening current background checks already covering sales at gun stores.
“Until we get that correct,” Braun said, “why would you want to start fiddling with other things when you haven’t perfected background checks where most guns get sold?”
Braun said issues of privacy and individual rights could lead to conflict as Congress returns to address gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas.
He said he sees common ground in support for red-flag laws, already passed in the Hoosier state, allowing courts to take away someone’s guns if they are deemed a potential danger to themselves or others.
“When it comes to red-flag laws, they’ve proven to work,” Braun said. “I’m a believer that if we want to keep our Second Amendment rights intact, without something more drastic down the road, we’ve got to embrace some common-sense stuff, and I think it starts there.”
