There are currently a lot of questions floating around about whether or not it’s legal to carry firearms into voting booths and outside of booths in the state of Indianapolis. That’s because the state has passed laws that make it legal for its residents to carry firearms nearly anywhere that they go other than a very few number of limited locations.
Carry Firearms into a Polling Place
Currently it looks like voters are allowed to bring firearms right into a voting location, as long as that location is not in a church, a school or a private location. That means that all the polling locations that are in public locations could have some people with firearms standing around. These people cannot be excluded from voting and they aren’t breaking any laws by carrying their firearms either. Even though they are legal to carry them, they aren’t supposed to use them for intimidation purposes and are instead supposed to act calm and in control while holding the weapons.
Potential for Intimidation
Voters are worried that some gun owners are going to try and intimidate others into either not voting, or to change their votes. These gun owners are not allowed to rely on any tactics of intimidation while carrying their guns, but there is always a chance that it’s going to happen anyway even when it isn’t allowed. This is an issue that lawmakers need to consider, and it’s common knowledge that tensions are often quite high at polling locations on the day of a big election, and guns at the location might not be the best idea. That’s why the state should consider banning them inside a polling location at the very least, and also think about making it illegal to have them right outside of a voting location as well. This would ensure that voters can go in and place their votes without worrying about how they will be treated by firearm owners.
State Looking Over Gun Laws
The state is taking a closer look at its gun laws and how they relate to polling locations to help figure out the confusion. There is still a lot of confusion about whether or not people are allowed to carry firearms into all these polling places, but so far the answer looks like a resounding yes. That means that some voters could be carrying firearms with them when they head off to exercise their right to vote, and for some people that could be a nerve wracking experience.
