Gun-toting While Drunk

A couple of weeks ago Jim Lucas, Indiana State Representative for District 69, was arrested.  He got drunk and then drove his truck the wrong way on a highway ramp and crashed into a highway guardrail, destroying it along with a significant part of his truck. He didn’t call the police to report the incident. Instead, still drunk, he decided to drive some more – several miles on three rims and a flat tire. He didn’t go to the police station or home; he drove to closed business where he hid his busted-up truck behind a building.  Then, still drunk, he wandered down the road until the police caught up with him and started asking questions.  He pretended nothing had happened and told them he was just out walking.  Appearing to be still drunk, he was field tested for sobriety and taken into custody, refusing to own up to what he’d done.

I don’t think anyone, including me, would expect Representative Lucas to have the integrity to tell the truth or respect the rule of law.  We are only grateful that the police were able to track down the criminal responsible for reckless drunk driving that put law-abiding Hoosiers at risk of being injured or killed.

However, Representative Lucas’ “hiccup”, as he has characterized the incident, raises another important issue for the rest of Hoosiers who do care about the rule law and the safety that it is intended to ensure.  While Representative Lucas can be held accountable for his reckless drunk driving – suspended license, probation, and restitution, there is no law that addresses the fact that in addition to driving while drunk, Representative Lucas was in possession of loaded guns – one in his busted-up truck and one on his hip. 

If Representative Lucas was drunk enough to risk killing someone with his vehicle, he was drunk enough to mishandle a loaded gun.  Indiana needs to pass a law that enhances the criminality of drunk driving if the drunk is also in possession of a gun.  Even if we fear that criminals like Representative Lucas might violate such a law, at least he would be held accountable for risking the lives of law-abiding Hoosiers. 

Deb Chubb