Meeting Public Comments

Traci Kennedy [Moms Demand Action]

Testimony in Opposition to House Study Bill 646Iowa House Public Safety Subcommittee: Reps. Holt, Paustian, and AndersonFebruary 3, 2022Representatives Holt, Paustian, and Anderson,Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to this subcommittee, and for your consideration of these comments. My name is Traci Kennedy, and I am a proud Iowa resident and the Chapter Leader of the Iowa Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement working for commonsense public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment while also protecting Americans from gun violence.Im writing today to urge you not to advance House Study Bill 646, which would allow individuals to travel our states highways with loaded, unsecured firearms. Iowas current standard, which requires that firearms be unloaded and secure when in a car, is reasonable and commonsense and has helped keep our highways safe from gun violence. Two studies from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center found that drivers who have a gun in their car were more likely to engage in aggressive behavior. I know it feels like this kind of violence would not happen in our state, but it is important to acknowledge that we are not immune. Less than 6 months ago, there were two violent road rage incidents in the news in a span of as many days: Iowa City Police sought the publics help in identifying a man who fired a gun in the air during a road rage incident, and Cedar Rapids Police investigated shots fired in a parking lot after a road rage incident.Unfortunately, headlines from across the country bear this pattern out. Incidents of road rage have been steadily increasing. The number of road rage injuries and deaths have been increasing every year since 2018. In 20162019, roughly onethird of road rage incidents involving a gun resulted in injury or death. In 202021, over half of these incidents did. In 2021, a person has been shot and either injured or killed in a road rage incident, on average, every 20 hours. I am deeply concerned that if this law passes, incidents like these will only increase. Our current standard is sensible and helps to prevent everyday confrontations from turning deadly. For the sake of public safety in our state, I encourage you to reject this proposal.Thank you.