On March 19 Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held a rally at the Iowa statehouse to oppose GOP efforts to repeal the current requirement that Iowans obtain a permit before purchasing a handgun.
Republican House members rightly view this permit-to-purchase requirement as an infringement on gun rights. And instead of offering a counter point, Moms Demand Action’s Ellyn Grimm said people need to understand that gun control and the 2nd Amendment are “not mutually exclusive.”
The Des Moines Register reports Grimm’s exact words: “We can protect the Second Amendment and have common sense solutions to reduce gun violence. Those are not mutually exclusive ideas, and I’m tired of our legislature and society treating it like it is.”
The repeal of the permit-to-purchase requirement — as well as other pro-gun measures — passed the Iowa House by a vote of 75-24 two weeks ago. Moms Demand Action immediately complained that the repeal of a permit-to-purchase means Iowans could begin buying guns without a background check — the same way almost every other American has done since the 2nd Amendment was ratified in 1791 — if the repeal passes the senate.
The repeal of a permit-to-purchase will actually force Iowans to go through a background check more often than they currently do. As state representative Matt Windschitl (R-Missouri Valley) explained, Iowans with a permit-to-purchase have to go through a background check annually to keep the permit up to date. But once the cards are repealed, Iowans will have to go through a background check every time they purchase a gun from a gun store — which could be numerous times each year.
Yet Moms Demand Action is trying to shame the senate in opposing the repeal by claiming it “will result in fewer background checks conducted” on handgun sales.
How can anyone take Moms Demand Action’s rallies against gun rights legislation seriously, given the fact that Grimm admitted the group sees no contradiction between guns rights and gun control?
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.