I own, I shoot, I carry.
Any questions?
Education
Children learn best when they have great teachers
I own, I shoot, I carry.
Any questions?
Children learn best when they have great teachers
Voters prefer Ranked Choice Voting
Everyone needs good mental health, why don’t we have it?
Does Iowa need to clean up its act?
26 Responses
You’re a moron. We need a new second amendment, one for the 21st century.
Well, you’re not the first person who has called me a moron, so perhaps you are right.
Do you have a suggested text for your improved second amendment?
Will you work the repeal laws and regulations that restrict the 2nd amendment? What is your plan to protect Iowans 2nd amendment rights from an ever increasing anti rights Federal Government?
I am a firm 2nd Amendment advocate and recommend a yes vote on the 2nd Amendment question which will be on the Iowa ballot on November 8th. This amendment to the Iowa Constitution will protect our rights even if the gun banners destroy our national 2nd Amendment.
There may be a law or regulation in Iowa that restricts our 2nd Amendment rights, but I am not aware of it. Until I am I can only say this – I am probably against that law and/or regulation and will work to repeal it.
Typical! Name calling without ideas! Anything factual to offer? Or is it all knee-jerk reactions based on feelings!
you’re an idiot. there are already existing laws that already cover “common sense” gun laws. So with that said what is there left to do?
A moron is one who old act like a spoiled name calling child. Let’s address the real issues on the 2nd amendment right to bare arms… shall we? 1st of all it was written for the citizens to protect life, liberty, and property… and to defend against tyrannical government, such as what we are faced with now regarding the current administration in the Whitehouse.
So Rick I also carry own and shoot, but does this mean you have no issue with the firearms laws in place or is there maybe something or a lot of things we can do to keep gun rights for Iowans while also making things safer as a whole? Like I dunno prevent the sale of fire arms from individuals to others, last I checked there is no way for me to check if the person I’m selling to is legal, simple solution to this problem is require all firearms sales to be conducted through a licensed dealer. I mean that’s just one thing off the top of my head
Couple of ideas for reducing firearm deaths. First – legalize suicide. Most gun deaths are suicides, I suspect many of these people would choose to end their lives in a less unpleasant way for the survivors if it were easy to do so, but laws against suicide prevent this. [I may be wrong, but I believe if you tell a medical professional you are feeling suicidal that kicks off an entire bureaucratic process, including forced confinement, so people who are feeling suicidal have a reason not to interact with the medical profession.] Legalizing suicide would also provide a path for people to change their mind, whereas keeping it illegal does not.
Second – end the Drug War. The Drug War is the original cause of much gun violence in the areas where there is a lot of it (gun violence is very localized across America, check out Wikipedia’s list of US cities by crime rate). End the Drug War and you will eliminate a fair amount of gun violence.
With respect to not knowing whether someone you are selling a gun to is legally allowed to buy it, I would suggest not selling to them except through a licensed dealer. If they aren’t legal, they won’t get their hands on your gun(s). They may find someone else to buy guns illegally from, but that’s what criminals do – buy guns illegally – and there is no law I can imagine that will put an end to that.
Hello Rick it is nice to be able to chat with you. I am a strong believer in the second amendment. My only question is could you explain more on the legalization of suicide? I do believe we need to help the people how are having thoughts about ending their lives, I want the people that are having these issue to feel safe to talk about it and not get put into forced confinement. I really believe there a horrible issue in this country with mental illness and would like to have a little better idea of your thoughts on this issue ( I truly believe that as a community we could help the individuals). Thank you for your time and your ideas. Also good luck!
I think you’re on the wrong track for legalizing some one murdering their self… Taking a life, unless it’s in defense of one’s life, or to stop some nut job who is intent on murdering some one or people, or even suicide ( self murder ) is wrong.
I’m not endorsing suicide, in fact I think legalizing it would save lives, in other words fewer people would commit suicide.
Of course I could be wrong.
How about no? You can conduct a background check or go to a store and have them run the FBI background check if you want, but absolutely dont force me to go thru a corrupt crappy government system to conduct my business as O see fit.
How do you plan to fight against the unconstitutional laws against firearms that are already in place?
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, it just slipped off my plate.
The best way to get rid of unconstitutional laws of all stripes is to simply have a public meeting. Anyone who knows of an unconstitutional law could attend that meeting, or send in their comments. The assembled people (I imagine first come first served, it wouldn’t be by invitation only) could state their case and the most learned among us would be invited to engage in the discussion.
If a large majority of the people, perhaps 75%, agreed that the law was in fact constitutional, we would keep it. Otherwise we would start the process of getting rid of it, which would require legislative action.
Personally I would prefer no laws were ever passed without a consensus. A consensus does not require voting, it requires reasonable people to realize they are a tiny minority and therefore voluntarily agree that a consensus has been reached, even if they disagree with the results of the consensus.
Sound fantastic? I trust people to be conscientious when they are fairly dealt with. If, on the other hand, the government is just kicking them around, I trust them to be cantankerous.
Mass shootings ,School shootings 😶
USA is the only country where mass shootings happen regularly because of their loose gun control.
Now please don’t bark about {lawful ownership} and {self defence} Any religious,race,political extremist ,Anyone with mental illness and violent behaviour easily buy a gun and shooting inconnect people.
please 🙏 think about it
You lost me when you said ‘because of’.
I agree the USA has too many mass shootings. Even one is too many.
Your claim that we have mass shootings ‘because of’ loose gun control is more problematic. For example, based on this week’s news, you might equally claim Canada has too many mass stabbings ‘because of’ tight gun control.
My observation is people who want to kill a lot of other people will always find a way to do it. Guns, knives, hatchets (in China), arson (in Australia), machetes (in Rwanda), cyanide (in Guyana), airplanes (9.11), bombs (Afghanistan), trucks (France), poison gas (Japan), you see my point?
Therefore the question I find most valuable to pose is – how do we stop people from wanting to kill other people? My answer would be – give people more freedom. Economic freedom, by letting our free market economy rip, rather than hobbling it with taxes and government regulations. Personal freedom, by ending the Drug War. Freedom from politics, by reducing Washington to the size of a key lime, and Des Moines to the size of a key lime seed.
When people get annoyed, a tiny fraction of them resort to violence. Good first move – quit annoying them.
I fully recognize we will never live in an ideal world where murder is eliminated. But how about we work to minimize it?
I am actually from India, I can’t imagine school shootings or frequent mass shootings in my country.
Of course, knives can be used instead of guns but guns are 25x more dangerous than knives.(Mass stabbing doesn’t happen in schools in countries where there is strict gun control)
At least support gun control by thinking of kids in the USA.
Jeffin – you may be interested in this Wikipedia page regarding mass stabbings.
Compare it with mass shootings happening in usa monthly
Rick, Wikipedia is not a reliable soure. Anyone one can edit, add, remove info on Wikipedia, I’ve done it myself. Please site credible sources.
I agree with you, to some extent. There are people who post unreliable information on Wikipedia.
However, there are also people who see this unreliable information, and edit it.
Of course the second group may be more unreliable than the first …
That said, I think a judicious Wikipedia reader can tell the difference between good information and bad information on Wikipedia. In the first place, check the footnotes. If you see suspicious info, read the footnotes to find the source. While everything isn’t footnoted, many times editors will add a note requesting a source for the info that isn’t. If this request has been made, but the poster doesn’t provide sources, tread with caution.
Generally, as a place to start my research, I go to Wikipedia because it is fast and easy and provides far more good info than it does bad. If I need to dig deeper, I check the Wikipedia footnotes. If I still need to dig deeper I Google. In general I look for original research. Then I look at where that original research was published. Is it a peer-reviewed journal? Is it one of the top tier journals? Generally the top tier journals are highly incentivized to keep bad research out, because it lowers their reputation, which is all they really have to keep them in business. I also look for replies to the original research. If you read the arguments on both sides of a question you can frequently find out where the disagreement really falls, and decide for yourself whose arguments are more persuasive.
One always has to be willing to accept an answer of ‘it depends’ or ‘we don’t really know yet’. I try to keep my personal biases out of my opinions, but of course that is impossible for anybody to do. If we can assume everyone involved in a discussion is looking for real answers, and not just justifications for what they already believe, we can usually narrow down our areas of disagreement, and agree that ‘more research’ is needed before reaching a strong decision. People who disagree can then go back to the drawing board and conduct their own original research to bolster their beliefs.
It’s a great process, scientific research, and it has brought us to where we are today. That doesn’t mean all issues are resolved, it just means we can advance step by step, forever, if all of us are genuinely interested in finding answers that satisfy everyone.
One must also consider the nature of the info you are looking for on Wikipedia. It is designed to be an encyclopedia, a general overview of a question, not fully into the minutia and the weeds. Many times that is all I am looking for, too. If I want to dive deeper it is up to me.
One additional note. In any given subject area there is usually a very small group of people who know more about it than any of the rest of us ever will. Usually they have devoted major portions of their lives to the subject. That doesn’t mean they are right, it just means they are much more likely to be right than the people who are not that closely connected to the subject matter. Find this small group and see what they have to say about it. They are seldom in total agreement, but their discussion is the one to watch, if you want to get as close to ‘truth’ as it is possible to be in this uncertain world.
We don’t need any more laws! We need to enforce the ones we have! Federal law restricts a felon from owning a gun, but daily the news reports them having guns. Allow law abiding citizens to build their own guns.
I have read all the issues what about the veterans the ones that have not completely come home. Being one of those guys Operation 22 is the only group around that is a for us by us group that’s not about the money and is for the vets. The help is not words from another man or woman, but action is what we need. Access to immediate mental and physical care not the promise of an appointment or just another time stamp on someone’s paper
Thank you for your comment and your link, which can be found here. I see they are in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Hopefully you have heard I am asking Kim Reynolds for an emergency special session of the Iowa legislature, for the purpose of legalizing MDMA assisted therapy for Iowa veterans. MDMA-assisted therapy is 65% effective in eliminating PTSD, but because of Nixon’s Drug War it is illegal. Changing this immediately, as opposed to bureaucratic/political delay, may save as many as 92 Iowa veteran suicides every year.
Think about it – 1 or 2 more Iowa veteran suicides every week, if we don’t take action.
Please call your Iowa legislators and let them know you expect action. Find their names, phone numbers, and addresses here. Call or write them and demand action today.
I stand with you Ricky