Grassley voted against bipartisan gun bill

The great majority of Iowans, like the majority of citizens in our country, believe in the right of our citizens to be protected from guns in public places. I have written and called our senators regarding the slaughter of children in schools and always get the answer regarding the Second Amendment to the Constitution. When between 60 percent and 70 percent of our citizens believe we need to do something to change what is killing so many of our people, our Congress has to do something about it. Fortunately after decades of doing nothing Congress passed a bipartisan bill which will start to make us safer. Too bad it took the lives of 19 innocent children and two teachers and the horrible description that the bullets from the AR-15-style weapon did such terrible damage to the children’s bodies that they were unrecognizable and decapitated.

Sen. Chuck Grassley voted against this bill. He and Sen. Joni Ernst have benefited from hundreds of thousands of dollars which they received from the National Rifle Association through the years. I believe assault weapons have no place in our society — they are weapons of war. We need to pick leaders who will practice what democracy stands for — the will of the majority. Michael Franken and Deidre DeJear will bring democracy back to our state. We all need to vote and make sure our vote counts.

Patricia Levin

Iowa City