NewsMax.com Wires
February 16, 2001

Toth announced his support Wednesday of Indiana House Bill 1138 and said he intends to testify at a committee hearing on the bill Tuesday in Indianapolis.

"The safety of children should be our number one priority," Toth said.

State Rep. Michael Dvorak, D-Granger, chairman of the Courts and Criminal Code Committee, said he set the bill for hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after learning about several incidents around the state in which children have been able to get to loaded guns.

The issue of children with loaded guns has received a great deal of attention locally because of a 10-year-old special education student accused of bringing a loaded handgun to Monroe Elementary School on Jan. 23. The gun at the boy's home was kept in an unlocked drawer in a living room table.

A St. Joseph County grand jury last week was unable to indict the adults involved in the boy's care because the circumstances of the case did not reach the level, in the grand jury's view, of violating any state laws.

The outcome of the grand jury caused Toth to pledge to work to revise state law to hold adults more accountable if children gain access to a handgun. He has drafted a law similar to H.B. 1138 that he plans to discuss at the hearing.

"Guns left unsecured where children can access them within homes is unacceptable," said Toth.

South Bend Schools Superintendent Joan Raymond promised last week to assist Toth with the effort to change state laws. At the time of the gun incident, Raymond said she believed the boy's parents should be held responsible.

Whether or not parents should be prosecuted if their children take a gun from home should depend on each individual person's circumstances, said Angela Baker, mother of the Monroe pupil who said he brought a gun to school because he was being teased.

Baker said Wednesday, charges should be filed if parents leave a gun out in the open intentionally.

"But our case was a little different," she said.

State Rep. John Day, D-Indianapolis, wrote H.B. 1138, which Dvorak described as "a good place to start the debate on this issue. I encourage people from the South Bend area to come to the Statehouse next Tuesday and make their feelings known."

H.B. 1138 would make it a Class A misdemeanor for an adult to store a loaded handgun or one with ammunition nearby in a location where an unsupervised child would be able to get it with little difficulty.

Penalties would come if a child does get a weapon and uses it to cause injury or is found in violation of other state laws governing possession of a handgun. Repeat offenses would carry tougher penalties

No action had been taken until this week on the bill which was first introduced in January

Toth, a Republican, plans to ask legislators to revise the proposed law to make the offense a Class D felony if it involves youngsters under the age of 13.

A Class D felony carries a prison term of six months to three years and maximum fine of $10,000.

Baker said she hoped a jury would have been a bit more understanding in her family's case, if a law had been in place that applied.

"The gun was in a place that was constantly watched, and we didn't have money to buy a fireproof safe because we were still trying to recuperate from the two house fires we've been in," Baker said.

The mother said, "But I do take some of the blame and would have faced whatever charges they brought."

While Baker was unsure as to whether Indiana should have a law against parents, she said if there was, perhaps parents who are negligent would lock up their guns.

Baker will not be traveling to Indianapolis to speak on the issue.

(C) 2001 South Bend Tribune. via Bell&Howell Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved