Gun control is a key issue in Iowa's midterm elections.
Survivors of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting are traveling the country this summer, and they are followed very closely by gun rights activists.
At the start of the new school year, more security measures will be in place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed. There’s a single point of entry with a video system. Surveillance cameras have been updated. Security staff has doubled.
“I’m a mom of two teenage boys. I wonder if they’ll make it home from school safe,” said Cindy Axne, who is running for Congress in the 3rd District against Republican incumbent David Young.
She believes in the Second Amendment but said more needs to be done on the federal level to keep communities safe.
“I want universal background checks to keep guns out of hands of people with mental health or violent issues,” Axne said.
“We’ve had holes in our background check system,” Young said. “People are receiving guns who should not be. Those with criminal elements in their background should not be getting guns.”
Axne said she also favors a ban on assault weapons, which failed to make headway in Congress.
But Young said, “We need to make sure we are not punishing law-abiding citizens who are exercising their constitutional rights to protect themselves from tyrannical government, criminals, wanting to protect their families.”
Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert is pushing for more gun control laws after two metro officers were killed by an assault rifle.
“Some of our street officers are encountering more assault rifles. It’s a big concern for us,” Wingert said. “Our preference would be to see
