{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-statement-on-bipartisan-safer-communities-act/", "Young Statement on Bipartisan Safer Communities Act", "2022-06-23", "2022", "2022-06", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) today issued the following statement regarding the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act:\n\n\u201cI have always been a strong supporter and defender of the Second Amendment, and I am committed to protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Hoosiers.\n\n\u201cAs I reviewed this proposal, I consulted with law enforcement officials, gun owners, Second Amendment experts, educators, and mental health professionals. After careful consideration, I support this targeted legislation because it takes prudent steps to address our mental health crisis and combat violent crime without compromising the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Hoosiers.\n\n\u201cIf you are a law-abiding citizen and have not been adjudicated as mentally ill, your Second Amendment rights will not be affected in any way. This bill contains no new restrictions, bans, required waiting periods, or mandates for law-abiding citizens of any age.\n\n\u201cTo deal with the root causes of violent acts, I have long supported increased federal funding for better access to mental health services and efforts to recruit, develop, and retain more mental health providers, particularly in school settings. The centerpiece of this legislation is the most substantial investment in community-based mental health services in our nation\u2019s history.Under this bill, Hoosiers who struggle with mental illness \u2013 including children and those in rural areas \u2013 will have significantly increased access to providers. It won\u2019t be an overnight fix, but the investments made in mental health care by this bill will be transformational. The bill also will provide more resources for enhanced school safety and school hardening measures.\n\n\u201cThis legislation does not create or mandate red flag laws at any level of government. Any state that chooses to use the Byrne-JAG Crisis Intervention grant program to develop or implement red flag laws, which Indiana already has, will need to meet stringent standards for due process to safeguard constitutional protections. In addition, states like Indiana could use this grant funding to train prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement officials to use these resources in a way that protects Second Amendment rights. These funds also can be used for other important crisis intervention efforts, including veterans\u2019 courts, mental health courts, drug courts, and assisted outpatient treatment courts.\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have to choose between protecting Second Amendment rights and keeping guns away from those who might be a danger to themselves or others. We can and should do both.This legislation, supported by the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement groups, will save lives without affecting the rights of law-abiding Americans.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nText of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is available here.\n\nThe legislation is supported by the following organizations:\n\nNational Sheriffs\u2019 Association\n\nFraternal Order of Police\n\nNational Association of Police Organizations\n\nInternational Association of Chiefs of Police\n\nMajor Cities Chiefs Association (Indianapolis is a member)\n\nIndianapolis Catholic Archbishop Charles C. Thompson\n\nIndiana Council of Mental Health Centers\n\nMental Health America of Indiana\n\nMental Health America of Knox County, Indiana\n\nAASA, The School Superintendents Association\n\nAmerican Academy of Family Physicians\n\nAmerican Association for Marriage and Family Therapy\n\nAmerican Federation of School Administrators (AFSA)\n\nAmerican College of Physicians\n\nAmerican Psychiatric Association\n\nAmerican Psychological Association\n\nAssociation of American Medical Colleges\n\nAssociation of Educational Service Agencies\n\nChildren\u2019s Hospital Association\n\nNAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness\n\nNational Association for Pupil Transportation\n\nNational Council for Mental Wellbeing\n\nNational District Attorneys Association\n\nNational Education Association\n\nNational Rural Education Association\n\nNational Rural Education Advocacy Consortium\n\nThe Jewish Federations of North America\n\nUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:13:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-statement-on-bipartisan-safer-communities-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9985710494220257, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}