Porter and LaPorte counties would like to join the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force, but legislators signaled a potential uphill battle as the bill allowing it has been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee unanimously passed Tuesday Senate Bill 148, authored by State Senators Rodney Pol Jr. and Aaron Freeman, which would add Porter and LaPorte counties to the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force.
The task force was created during the 2021 legislative session and there are currently 10 counties on the task force. Lake County was added to the task force during the 2025 legislative session.
Pol, D-Chesterton, said the task force “has had some phenomenal achievements that they’ve been able to accomplish in their short time.”
The task force has been able to confiscate hundreds of guns, and nearly 200 of the confiscated guns were Glock switch guns, which are Glock guns with a switch device that makes them machine pistols, Pol said.
“The coordination, collaboration here in central Indiana starting in Marion County and the donut counties has been nothing short of incredible, how they have been able to attack violent crime, particularly involving illegal guns and drugs,” Pol said.
Law enforcement officials have seen “a pipeline” of illegal guns from Chicago to Northwest Indiana to central Indiana, Pol said.
“Crime doesn’t have borders. Guns don’t have borders,” Pol said.
Initially, the bill increased the number of executive board members from seven to eight for a quorum and established that in the event of a tie vote, the way the chairperson voted prevails, as long as five members vote the same way.
Freeman, R-Indianapolis, amended the bill to state a majority of the board establishes a quorum and returned to the bill’s original language of four members voting the same way, along with the chair, to break a tie.
Porter County Sheriff Jeffrey Balon told the committee Tuesday that the department supports the bill.
“Porter County is 100% in favor of joining the task force. I think it makes sense. It’s going to help keep our communities safe,” Balon said.
Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon. (Porter County Sheriff’s Department)
Balon said the LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd couldn’t make it to the statehouse Tuesday. But, Balon said Boyd told him to share with the committee that Boyd “is on board as well.”
Fishers Police Department Chief Ed Gebhart testified that Fishers was one of the founding members of the task force. In 2025, the task force seized 349 illegal guns in Marion County, which led to 293 state charges and 28 federal charges, Gebhart said.
In Fishers, 555 illegal guns have been seized since the task force was established in 2021, Gebhart said.
“The success kind of speaks for itself,” Gebhart said.
Gebhart said he supports Senate Bill 148 because when the task force was established, it was with the notion that it would expand throughout the state. But, it’s important that the state fund the addition of two more counties, he said.
“We, as a task force, cannot support bringing on these agencies with the current budget that’s set forth now,” Gebhart said.
Freeman said sending a bill to appropriations “is not the place to go right now” because it’s not a budget year.
“Please don’t take offense. We’ll keep working on it. We’ll do everything we can. Senator Pol’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll keep doing this,” Freeman said.
The committee voted 9-0 on the bill and it was assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
akukulka@post-trib.com
