Iowan's comments on the McDonald ruling

Legislators, lobbyists and a quote from Aaron Dorr all weigh in on the McDonald v Chicago ruling from Monday:

Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision casting doubt on Chicago's ban on handguns will provide momentum to efforts in Iowa to repeal requirements for obtaining annual pistol and revolver permits, gun advocates and some supporters in the Legislature said.

Permit proponents, including the president of the Iowa Police Chiefs Association, say a repeal would jeopardize public safety.

Advocates of abolishing gun permit requirements insist that doing so would more closely follow the intent of the U.S. Constitution.

"That's where we want to get to — where you can exercise your constitutional rights to keep and bear arms without having to go through a check and balance of your local authorities," said Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, whose family owns a gun shop. "The Constitution doesn't dictate you have to do that. That's someone else's interpretation, and I think it's an unjust interpretation."

And it looks like we are headed in that direction. A few changes that are likely to happen in November will get us closer, but I'm betting the occupant of Terrace Hill will mean more to us.

Iowa lawmakers this year passed a law that requires sheriffs in all counties to follow the same rules for issuing permits to carry a gun. That law, which takes effect Jan. 1, most likely will allow Iowa to sidestep a constitutional challenge, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines.

So they now look at the law as a means to prevent a lawsuit?

Michael Lashbrook, president of the Iowa Police Chiefs Association, expressed concern about the effort to abolish permits. While his group has not taken an official stand on the issue, he believes other members would most likely share some of his concerns.

"I think we still need to have some sort of screening process," Lashbrook said. "And from what I know of the application for those types of permits, I don't see where they're all that invasive."

We are all a bunch of unreliable, Darwin Award wannabes, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting innocent. At least we can be in check so long as the local sheriff keeps an eye on us. Thanks.

Some gun rights supporters say the permit process isn't a deterrent to crime because the process does little to prohibit convicts from obtaining guns.

"If a person wants a firearm of any type to do some bad things, they're going to get it," said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield.

Regarding the ruling:

"It will assist us in passing good pro-gun bills here in Iowa," said Aaron Dorr

Mislabeling Aaron as a lobbyist and not as the executive director of Iowa Gun Owners.

And I have to ask, where is a quote from Iowa Carry? I suppose the writer only had room for one advocacy group and not both? Lazy reporting, I say.

The rest is at Iowa's handgun permit opponents applaud Supreme Court ruling along with the typical comments and attacks from the gun ban crowd.