Seen at the NRA Annual Meetings - Young Iowa Shooters Turn Legislative Activists

One of the things I noticed at the NRA Annual Meetings this year were the number of young shooters running around in their competitive team shooting shirts.  Two that caught my eye regularly were young ladies with the Iowa Firearms Coalition.  When I would stop by the Press Office to check email or transfer videos from my phone to my laptop, I would sometimes see Meredith and Natalie Gibson, and their father, along with other members of the Iowa Firearms Coalition.  I didn't know it at the time but Meredith and Natalie have an interesting story.  They shoot 3-Gun and have been shooting in the backyard and at the range with their father for years.  Then they learned it was against Iowa law for youth under the age of 14 to use handguns, even under the supervision of a parent or guardian.  That means they can't practice the pistol part of the 3-Gun sport in their home state.  So, Meredith and Natalie have turned activist and are trying to pass House File 2281 - The Youth Safety and Parental Rights Act.

During the NRAAM, they had the opportunity to talk more about their plight with NRANews' Cam Edwards. Due to their testimony and lobbying, the bill passed a House subcommittee, the full committee and the full House. PJMedia reports though that the Senate has a two vote Democrat majority and while the bill passed a subcommittee and a full committee, 4 anti-gun senators will not allow the bill to be brought up for a vote. Meredith and Natalie have begun an email campaign, and will spend the summer knocking on doors to ask voters not to re-elect Senator Steve Sodders, the key legislator blocking the bill from a vote.