Republican Senator Joni Ernst and the top Democrat in the senate are hurling accusations at one another over a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Ernst accuses New York Senator Chuck Schumer of blocking Democrats from supporting the bill to hurt her bid for re-election. Schumer … [Read more...]
Biden says GOP inaction on gun restrictions ‘disgraceful’
Former Vice President Joe Biden today said there's little chance the U.S. Senate's Republican leader or President Trump will embrace new gun restrictions. "The president has no intestinal fortitude to deal with this," Biden said. "He knows better. Even his instinct was to say: 'Yeah, we're going … [Read more...]
O’Rourke calls for mandatory buy-back of assault-style weapons
Former Texas Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is calling for an end private ownership of military-style weapons. "It will not be a voluntary program, to be clear," O'Rourke said today during taping of an upcoming Iowa Public Television "Iowa Press" episode. "It will … [Read more...]
O’Rourke says most of country ‘already there’ on key gun measures
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke tonight said his goal now is to help the country "connect the dots" and take action to curb the kind of gun violence that erupted in his hometown of El Paso this month. "I think the surprise for many of us is that most of the country is already … [Read more...]
At Polk County town hall, Ernst fields questions on guns
Gun issues were the dominant topic at Republican Senator Joni Ernst's town hall meeting early Saturday morning in Johnston. Ellie Holland, a teacher in Johnston, was emotional as she told Ernst about going through active shooter training in her school last week. "So my question for you today … [Read more...]
Billionaire Bloomberg pledges massive 2020 effort backing ‘gun sense’ candidates
Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety held a forum in Iowa today and, while the crowd applauded the gun-related policies of the Democratic presidential candidates who spoke, the audience was equally animated about building a movement to counter the National Rifle Association. "In the … [Read more...]
Warren says congress must act to address ‘gun crisis’
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is calling on Congress to take action on gun reform in the wake of two deadly shootings last weekend. "We have a gun crisis in this country," Warren said Wednesday. Warren spoke to a crowd of more than a thousand in Council Bluffs last night. … [Read more...]
Klobuchar says Trump has power to force GOP action on gun bills
Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar gave a speech on a central Iowa this morning to highlight what she calls her "heartland economics," Klobuchar began by talking about this weekend’s mass shootings. She called for passage of universal background checks and a waiting period for gun … [Read more...]
Bill would allow stun guns on public university, community college campuses
A bill likely to win final approval in the Iowa legislature next week would let most students carry stun guns on the university campuses in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City as well as on community college property. Senator Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said the reality is there's an … [Read more...]
Bill backer says hunter education class infringes on parental rights
The Iowa House has voted to remove a requirement that children between the ages of 12 and 15 complete a hunter safety course in order to hunt deer with a pistol or revolver. Republican Representative Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley said this clarifies part of a 2017 gun rights law. "I believe … [Read more...]