Gun violence prevention advocates rally In Iowa

DES MOINES – Speakers with close ties to gun-violence tragedies brought a national campaign for what they called “common-sense gun policies” to Iowa on Wednesday.

Gun-control advocates traveling with the Mayors Against Illegal Guns bus tour included Carlee Soto, whose sister, Victoria, was a teacher killed last December at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., and Pat Maisch, a woman who survived a shooting at a 2011 political gathering in Tucson, Ariz.

“It's time for our leaders in Washington to take meaningful action and to help save lives,” Soto told nearly 100 people who rallied at Union Park. “Gun violence knows no bounds and it poses a serious threat to all Americans everywhere.”

A broad coalition of gun violence prevention advocates came together to voice their support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks as part of a 25-state tour over 100 days. Advocates said it remains too easy for criminals, domestic abusers, and other dangerous or seriously mentally ill individuals to skirt laws and obtain guns by purchasing them online or at gun shows where background checks are not required under federal law.

“Mass shootings are the events that garner the most attention, but 33 Americans are killed every day with a gun in this great country,” Maisch told the gathering. “I say enough.”

The “No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence” touring bus had an electronic sign on the back with the number 7,738, which represented the number of people who have been killed by a gun in the U.S. since the Newtown shootings. Each of those gun violence victims' names was read at the end of Wednesday's rally.

Soto thanked Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, for supporting bipartisan background checks legislation in April, while Maisch said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and others who sided with the gun lobby and the gun manufacturers in opposing the bill “have blood on their hands.”

State Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, a possible 2014 Democratic candidate for governor, expressed disappointment that Iowa legislation he co-sponsored last session stalled. The bill proposed to eliminate the so-called "gun-show" loophole, expand background checks to cover severe mental health issues, require schools to develop emergency safety plans, and increased penalties for the killing of an emergency response worker.

Hatch said he expected the proposal to be scaled back and reintroduced in 2014. He hoped it would garner bipartisan support, adding that the intent would not be to weaken 2nd Amendment protections or take away guns from law-abiding citizens but rather keep guns away from criminals, felons and the mentally ill who shouldn't have them.

“We can no longer tolerate the intolerance of people who can no longer and should no longer be permitted to carry a gun, and it's the responsibility of the state, of cities and of the federal government to ensure there are safeguards in place to protect the rest of us,” Hatch told rally participants.

Gov. Terry Branstad, a five-term GOP incumbent who is considering a 2014 re-election bid, said he did not think gun rights would be an issue in next year's election unless Hatch is a candidate and makes it an issue.

“I think most Iowans feel that we have a fair and balanced approach. Most Iowans respect and support the 2nd Amendment and don't want to see some of the restrictions that we've seen in some of the liberal states,” Branstad said in an interview.

“I think I have a pretty good feel for how Iowans feel about that. Iowans want criminals to be held accountable and they want felons not to be able to possess firearms, but I think they also don't want to see a bunch of restrictive laws,” he added.

Julian Chestelson, a gun-rights advocate from Dallas County who attended Wednesday's Union Park rally, said most citizens oppose gun violence and people “who make a living selling guns to gang-bangers and people who normally wouldn't qualify to get a gun.” But he worried the gun violence prevention crowd was trying to “cloak” more restrictions for gun owners in their proposed changes.

“There hasn't been a country yet that had registration that eventually didn't go to confiscation,” he said. “I believe our right under the 2nd Amendment needs to be protected.”