Individual Rights and Gun Control

1148 Words3 Pages

One of the safest yet deadliest tools available to the common man, guns have shown to be protectors in times of need and killers in the hands of wrongdoers. A newly proposed bill, House File 163 aims to limit the ability of criminals to commit crime by limiting the maximum amount of ammunition that a magazine can contain. Due to the gravity of the subject, many Iowans agree that limiting magazine size and gun use is the answer, while others argue that this is unconstitutional and will prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. With the passing of Iowa House File 163, Iowa would no longer allow magazines with a capacity larger than ten rounds of ammunition, which is supported and opposed by nearly equal numbers of Iowans.

In opposition of magazines capable of holding ten or more rounds of ammunition, a bill has been introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives proposing to “prohibit the sale or transfer of large capacity ammunition feeding devices” (House File 163). Viewed as extremely dangerous, large capacity magazines that can hold up to hundreds of rounds of ammunition increase a shooter’s ability to injure and kill large numbers of victims quickly, as they allow the individual to fire continuously without needing to reload (Law Center). In the United States alone, more than half of all public shootings contained the use of a magazine that holds more than ten rounds of ammunition (Follman). During the Sandy Hook school shooting, when Adam Lanza, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and thirty-round magazines stopped to reload his weapon, eleven children were able to run to safety, avoiding the unlucky fate of twenty of their classmates and six of their teachers (Board). Democratic Senator of Connecticut, Christo...

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