As the “gun control” debate rages on, the state of Iowa has begun to take measures to shore up their second amendment rights.
The Iowa senate voted last Wednesday to add the “right to bear arms” to their state constitution.
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
From the Des Moines Register:
After a heated debate, the Senate voted 34-15 in support of House Joint Resolution 2009. On Monday night, the House passed the measure on a 54-42 vote.
Both chambers must approve the resolution a second time, either in the 2019 or 2020 legislative sessions, before Iowans could vote on a constitutional amendment.
The debate was extremely heated, with Sen. Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) accusing the senate Republicans of being “tone deaf”.
“We haven’t even figured out how to secure our school buildings yet,” McCoy said. He suggested Republicans were acting as though they were preparing for the “zombie apocalypse.”
Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said he is baffled when he hears legislators talk about the intentions of the nation’s Founding Fathers as though modern people knew what they envisioned for firearms.
“Can you envision what arms will look like in 150 years? What we have today for arms is beyond their imagination,” Bisignano said.
Republicans suggested the strict scrutiny language was to provide guidance to the courts, cautioning that some activist judges offer their own views when interpreting laws.
Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, the resolution’s floor manager, urged support for the measure.
“I trust the Iowa voter,” he said. “They are going to tell us if they don’t like the language in front of us. They are going to tell us how important their Second Amendment rights are.”
Some democrat senators made the tired argument that the Founding Fathers didn’t envision the powerful weapons we have now, and the resolution does not consider how powerful they may be in the future.
“Can you envision what arms will look like in 150 years? What we have today for arms is beyond their imagination,” [Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines] said.
What do you think? Should states take legislative measures to reaffirm the second amendment rights of their citizens or is this just “zombie apocalypse” paranoia?
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