We already have laws to protect gun ownership

This fall Iowa citizens will vote on Public Measure 1 to amend the Iowa Constitution with respect to gun laws. Proponents will make tantalizing arguments that this just protects the right to bear arms. Your antenna should quiver. Why is an amendment needed when our U.S. Constitution already guarantees this right in the Second Amendment?

No matter what the proponents say, this proposal is sleight-of-hand. It slyly adds a “technical legal provision” which actually diminishes our public safety laws relating to guns. Iowa already has laws in place to protect against felons and domestic abusers possessing firearms. If adopted, this amendment potentially jeopardizes those prohibitions. It would force spending tax dollars in costly legal battles to continue supporting our current public safety laws. Louisiana and Missouri currently acknowledge they are spending significant time, hours and money defending against the Pandora’s box opened by this nefarious type of amendment. Missouri confesses that the cost to their taxpayers could be hundreds of millions of dollars!

This proposal also will open the door to abolish our current prohibition of arms in secure, safe areas like schools.

I repeat — this public measure is simply underhanded and devious. We already have in place laws to protect gun ownership and protect public safety without the potential loss of these important guards and cost of significant tax dollars.

Please vote no on Public Measure 1.

Tom Michel

Waverly