DES MOINES, Iowa – Eleven county sheriffs publicly endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot that would codify gun rights in Iowa’s constitution.
They are Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes, Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt, Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante, Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Warren County Sheriff Joe Carico, Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington, Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Tredrow, Muscatine County Sheriff Quinn Riess, Wayne County Sheriff Keith Davis, Washington County Sheriff Jared Schneider, and Iowa County Sheriff Robert Rotter.
“Iowans should know their peace officers support the civil rights of those they serve,” Wethington said in a released statement. “The right to keep and bear arms is a pillar of the rights our country and state were founded on and the time to have this right protected in Iowa’s state constitution is long overdue.”
The proposed amendment, if approved by voters, will add the right to keep and bear arms to Iowa’s state constitution and require strict scrutiny for court challenges. Only six states, which includes Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, California, New York and New Jersey, have not already adopted Second Amendment language in their respective state constitutions.
“We would like to thank all of Iowa’s peace officers who’ve had the courage to share that they are putting the interests of their citizens ahead of out-of-state political groups wishing to create new government mandates and influence our elections in Iowa,” said Iowa Firearms Coalition President Dave Funk.
A recent poll released this week by The Des Moines Register and Mediacom found that 58 percent of Iowans support the proposed amendment.
