Broad Ripple gun-free zone hits insurance obstacle
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Broad Ripple might not ban guns after all.
What's happening: The Broad Ripple Village Association, a nonprofit community group that manages events, is hitting obstacles trying to keep firearms away from nightlife spots.
Catch up fast: The BRVA announced plans to use Mayor Joe Hogsett's new gun-free zone program after three people died in a Broad Ripple shooting in late June.
- How it works: The designation lets private organizations set up security scanners around public property for special events, or, in the case of Broad Ripple, on busy weekend nights.
Why it matters: It's the first large-scale test of the program, which is a key piece of Hogsett's new anti-violence plan.
Between the lines: The BRVA needs insurance to protect itself from liability if someone manages to bring — and use — firearms inside the gun-free zone.
- Insurance companies want to see a permanent boundary, but Broad Ripple hasn't settled on one because a small security barrier would exclude some bars and restaurants and a large one would make it harder to stop weapons from passing through, increasing the risk of shootings.
- "Right now, we don't have an insurance option," BRVA president Jordan Dillon tells Axios. "We have had a lot of rejections and we're just trying to determine what else we can do."
💠James' thought bubble: The concept has precedent in other nightlife destinations.
- Anyone entering Disney Springs, a sprawling free-to-the-public dining and entertainment district near Disney World in Florida, must enter through security scanners surrounding the perimeter.
Yes, but: Disney generates billions of dollars per year in economic activity, while the BRVA has a staff of one.
What they're saying: The logistical challenges for Broad Ripple go beyond creating a physical barrier — staffing scanners and plugging potential security gaps in alleys and businesses' back doors would also be difficult, Dillon said.
- "It's been very challenging for a very small organization to try to pull that together on the scale it would have to be put together," she said.
The bottom line: Indianapolis' gun-free zone designation showed promise at the WonderRoad Musical Festival in Garfield Park, a contained, one-time event, but Broad Ripple's experience suggests there are limits to using it broadly for violence prevention.