Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have passed two bills dealing with guns this week. On Tuesday, the Iowa Senate gave final approval to a bill to prevent credit card companies from taking steps that would make it easier for law enforcement agencies to identify purchases of firearms and ammunition. A day earlier, the House voted […]
gun laws
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House approves bill to prevent tracking of suspicious gun purchases on party-line vote
A bill to stop credit card companies from taking steps to help law enforcement agencies identify suspicious purchases of firearms and ammunition was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday. HF 2464 was approved on a party-line vote with House Democrats voting against it. The bill prohibits credit card companies from using transaction […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Republican leaders poised to eliminate gun regulations as new amendment is officially added to Iowa Constitution
On Friday, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate held a ceremony to mark Public Measure 1 becoming the latest amendment to the state constitution. The new amendment requires courts to use “strict scrutiny,” the most stringent form of judicial review, when considering existing or future regulation regarding guns. It’s a higher level of scrutiny than […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Iowa City students, now living in a state where gun reform is virtually impossible, reflect on psychological toll of mass shootings
Despite bitterly cold winds, more than 50 students from Iowa City schools gathered at the Old Capitol on the Pentacrest at noon on Thursday to protest against gun violence and demand new gun safety laws. The protest was organized by students from South East Junior High School and City High School. Both junior high students […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
‘I should not be predicting my death’: Iowa City students lead march to demand action on gun violence
For most students who are getting ready to start high school in the fall, a hot, humid Monday morning in June is a good time to sleep in. But a dedicated group of students about to make the transition to high school decided instead to march on Monday to demand action on gun violence. About […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Reps. Hinson and Miller-Meeks vote against raising the age to buy semiautomatic rifles, Red Flag laws and other gun safety measures
On Wednesday, members of the Oversight and Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives watched a video in which Miah Cerrillo described the mass shooting that killed 19 of her classmates and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. “He shot my friend that was next to me,” she said in a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Senate Republicans push through bills eliminating gun permits and giving gunmakers new legal protections
The Iowa Senate passed two bills concerning gun sales on Monday. The first removes the requirement for a person to be licensed to buy or carry a gun, and the second provides broad immunity against lawsuits to gun manufacturers and dealers. Both bills passed the Republican-controlled chamber on party-line votes. HF 756 and HF 621 […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: The proposed ‘strict scrutiny’ amendment is un-Iowan
By Liz O’Hara When I told a friend 16 years ago that I was moving to Iowa, her comment was that the Iowans she had met always seemed so sensible. It’s a flattering generalization, but some in the Iowa Legislature seem about ready to prove the exception. A proposed constitutional amendment subjecting any limits at […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s ‘stand your ground’ law successfully used for the first time
On Monday, the first successful use of the Iowa’s stand-your-ground (SYG) law occurred in Red Oak, when a judge declared Kevin Staley was immune from prosecution in the shooting death of Devin Davis.
