By members of Johnson County’s Moms Demand Action
It would be hard to find any reasonably informed Iowans who are unconcerned about the rising level of gun violence in our state. Most would agree that the last thing we need to be doing is tying our lawmakers’ hands if they attempt to enact commonsense gun safety legislation. Yet that is what the proposed Public Measure No. 1 would do, erecting an iron wall around unrestricted gun rights for years to come.
Ballot Measure No. 1 does NOT simply replicate the language of the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights. After stating that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” the proposed amendment adds that “any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.” Establishing this stringent standard of judicial review threatens the few public safety measures we have left for firearms in Iowa, and threatens any new ones legislators may try to enact. If Public Measure No. 1 is passed, a person could sue to overturn gun safety protections in our state, including laws that prohibit felons and domestic abusers from possessing firearms. The language in the measure is extremely vague, applying the strict scrutiny standard to any firearm “restrictions.” This could include everything from proposed red flag laws to existing hunter safety regulations to limits on carrying guns on school property.
Only three other states have enacted amendments like this one; Louisiana, Alabama and Missouri are all among the five states with the highest rates of gun death in the country — rates which are rising more dramatically than the nation overall. Contrast this with states that have strong gun safety restrictions: research shows a strong correlation with lower rates of gun deaths.
We are Johnson County Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense volunteers who are extremely concerned with rising gun violence in Iowa. This ballot measure is dangerous. We must vote no.
Leslie Carpenter
Lori Durian
Amy Green
Karen Greenleaf
Ann Gronstal
Temple Hiatt
Lenore Holte
Denise Kanne
Julie Kearney
Linda Louka
Ingrid Madsen
Cecilia Norris
Liz O’Hara
Erin Olufs
Julie Reynolds
Holly Sanger
Kim Schmidt
Michael Shaw
Jody Barry Theobald
Rebecca Summers Truskowski
Stacy Van Zante
Lo Whittington
Tricia Zebrowski
