The chief medical officer of Marion County demands gun control education and safety

Indianapolis, Indiana – Dr. Virginia Caine, the chief medical officer and director of public health for Marion County, stated that she is not interested in debating permitless carry or the Second Amendment in relation to firearms in Indiana.

”I want to get away from the political aspects of guns,” Caine said. “This is about saving the lives of children.”

Equipped with $2 million in increased state money for her 2025 budget, Caine hopes to use more financing from foundations and other groups to disseminate a public health message about gun safety and training, thereby lowering the risk that firearms provide to the children of Marion County.

”We’re having hospital systems such as Riley Hospital, Eskenazi Health, that are distributing gun locks as patients and families come in,” Caine said. ”I would love to see if we could figure out some kind of way how we could provide and require two-hour education, so if you’re gonna buy a gun, I think you should be required to have a gun lock or storage box if you’re gonna buy a gun. I think there should be some education related to that. Maybe just a two-hour education about the prevention and safety related to owning or being a gun owner.”

Three persons were shot on Friday afternoon on the east side of Indianapolis on Dubarry Road, and a young person was narrowly spared by a bullet.

“I came to the living room, and my nephew, he was sitting on the couch, and I looked at him, and I saw when the shot from the gun went right past his head,” said Alejandra Perez. “And I told everybody to get down.”

With 44 deaths overall, 2023 set a record for Marion County child homicides (trials involving individuals 19 years of age or younger). For Americans under 20, gunshot wounds are the top cause of death.

”We saw the highest rates of firearms injuries in Marion County in 2022,” said Caine. “We had 120 firearm-related emergency room visits from those children zero to 17. We’ve started to see a decrease, a decline. It dropped to 109 cases in 2023, and so far this year we’re down to 35.”

This spring, two 16-year-olds were killed in different events in Indianapolis and Lawrence within a month of each other. Two 16-year-olds were taken into custody in connection with the murders in March and May.
To give adolescents and families the tools they need to stop youth violence, the Marion County Public Health Department is creating a website.

”We are part of the Marion County Youth Violence Prevention Coalition,” said Caine. “And we’re developing and building a website and this website is gonna be a listing of all those organizations that provide services to anyone 24 years and under in terms of different programs that will help them protect themselves and their loved ones.

”This website will list every single organization, what age group it’s targeted to, what are the particular interventions they offer, what type of support. For example, someone may have their son arrested for a gun injury — how do I navigate the system and helping out my child?”

This month, MCPHD is also sponsoring an art contest titled, “Disarm Hate, Arm Love,” which will allow young people the opportunity to design artwork that addresses the fear of violence and its potential solutions.

”We will have shared responsibilities in carrying this out,” said Caine. “But I value the community as a trusted messenger, trusted individuals in their own social networks that I am willing to give two million dollars out to the community to help us solve this problem.”