Gun safety advocates call for defeat of law allowing children to handle handguns

DES MOINES - Gun safety advocates called on lawmakers to reject legislation that would allow parents let their children younger than 14 handle handguns in the same way state law permits them to use rifles and shotguns.

Children under 14 not developmentally mature enough 'to grasp the consequences of the use of such a lethal instrument as a handgun, Rev. Jeremy Brigham of Cedar Rapids, executive director of Iowans for Gun Safety, said at a Statehouse news conference Tuesday.

'Many children will have difficulty distinguishing between a real gun and a toy,” he said in calling on senators to defeat House File 2281, which was approved by the House 62-36.

Young children lack the physical development - strength and coordination - necessary to safely handle a gun, added Amy Shriver, a general pediatrician at Blank Children's Pediatric Clinic in Des Moines.

'They also lack the brain development necessary to concentrate on safety rules, calculate distances, refrain from acting on impulses and understand the true dangers of the weapon,” she said.

The speakers compared the current law that prohibits children younger than 14 from handling handguns to state laws that require children to be restrained when riding in vehicles.

Among the supporters of HF 2281 is Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, who frames the issue as one of parental rights.

'Do you accept that the government always knows what's best,” he said Tuesday, 'that the government can best provide for a person's protection in every instance?

'I believe parents know best,” he said.