{"id":91839,"date":"2023-04-13T09:25:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T14:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=91839"},"modified":"2023-04-13T09:25:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T14:25:52","slug":"91839","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=91839","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Iowa House votes to let Iowans have guns in parking lots of schools, public buildings<\/a><\/p>\n

Iowans could keep guns in their locked cars in the parking lots of schools, city and county buildings, state universities and prisons, under a bill passed Wednesday by the Iowa House.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers approved\u00a0House File 654<\/a>\u00a0on a\u00a0vote of 62-37<\/a>\u00a0after two hours of emotional debate. Most Republicans voted yes but two \u2014 Reps. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, and Chad Ingels, R-Randalia \u2014 joined Democrats in voting no.<\/p>\n

The bill must still pass the Iowa Senate before it can become law.<\/p>\n

It’s the latest expansion of gun rights by the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature, which has passed several laws loosening or repealing gun regulations in recent years, including a 2021 law\u00a0eliminating the requirement for Iowans to have a permit<\/a> to carry or possess handguns.<\/p>\n

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And it comes on the heels of recent mass shootings that have rocked the nation when a\u00a0gunman killed 5 people in a Louisville bank<\/a>\u00a0one day after Easter Sunday and a\u00a0former student shot dead three children and three adults<\/a>\u00a0March 27 at a parochial school in Nashville.<\/p>\n

Last fall, Iowa voters\u00a0approved adding a Republican-backed amendment to the state constitution<\/a>\u00a0protecting the right “to keep and bear arms” and adding language that goes beyond the protections in the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. The measure passed 65% to 35%.<\/p>\n

“I do think this comes down to trusting free men and women,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “And that is what the Second Amendment is about, that is what the Bill of Rights is about, that is what our whole country and our constitution are predicated upon \u2014 trusting free men and women to conduct themselves responsibly.”<\/p>\n

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Throughout the debate, Democrats spoke passionately about mass shootings around the country, and school shootings in Iowa. They said the bill won’t protect student safety.<\/p>\n

“This bill puts guns closer to our kids, to our teachers, to our school staff and to our schools,” said Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, a retired public school teacher. “How can we let this happen? We need to support gun safety.”<\/p>\n