Iowans for Gun Safety Executive Director visits Decorah

The Executive Director of Iowans for Gun Safety, Reverend Jeremy Brigham of Cedar Rapids, says his group is getting ready to talk with state legislators about gun control legislation in the 2017 session.

But Rev. Brigham made it clear Monday morning in Decorah that his group is limited in what it can do in order to maintain its status as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization--only 20 percent of its funding can support lobbying efforts.

Even so, Brigham says he was pleased his group helped to stop a proposed bill last year that would have allowed children under the age of 14 to handle handguns.  The group also helped to defeat a bill that would have allowed carrying guns during a declared state of emergency.  On the other hand, the group failed to stop a bill allowing the manufacturing and sale of silencers.  It also failed to win approval of a bill to strengthen the hand of sheriffs in determining who gets a gun permit.

Brigham says his group is working to expand requirements for background checks before a gun can be purchased.  He says surveys have shown 85 percent of the public supports background checks, but the political power of the gun lobby has prevented such legislation from getting enacted.