by Jason Noble, DesMoinesRegister.com
A coalition of community advocates and activists challenged Iowa’s Republican members of Congress to support gun control efforts during a press conference in the Statehouse on Monday.
The advocates, representing Iowans for Gun Safety, One Million Moms for Gun Control and the Iowa Interfaith Alliance of Iowa challenged U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Clive, specifically to support measures requiring universal background checks for firearms purchases and restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The event was timed ahead of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, which is expected to include a call for gun control. The issue has been pushed to the top of the political agenda after the mass shooting last December at a Connecticut elementary school in which 20 children were killed.
“We call upon our congressional representatives and senators to listen carefully with an open mind to the president’s plan,” said Connie Ryan Terrell, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. “We ask in particular Reps. Latham and King and Sen. Grassley to set aside partisan politics and do what’s right for our nation, our state and our children.”
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