Nodaway FFA kids visit state lawmakers on somber anniversary

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Rep. Ray Sorensen of Greenfield, right, meets Wednesday with members of the Nodaway Valley FFA chapter.

Rep. Ray Sorensen (R-Greenfield) welcomed members of the Nodaway Valley Community School District Future Farmers of America (FFA) group to the Iowa House of Representatives Thursday. The students were visiting the capitol to attend the 34th Annual FFA Legislative Symposium and to talk with legislators during their day in Des Moines.

The youngsters’ Feb. 14 visit coincided with the one-year anniversary of the mass muders in Parkland, Fla., where a teen gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 students and staff members and injuring 17 others.

A bill now working its way through the Iowa Senate would eliminate the requirement to obtain a permit to buy or carry a gun in Iowa. The bill has the support of 15 senators, the National Rifle Association, the Iowa Firearms Coalition and Iowa Gun Owners groups.

Sorensen, who represents the people of Perry in his first terms as the Iowa House District 20 representative, has not taken a position on the proposed legislation.

“Currently, there are at least three different bills dealing with this in the Senate and House, and all three are different,” Sorensen told ThePerryNews.com. “I will wait to take a position until I’ve read the bill that makes its way to the house floor, if it even does. Beyond that, as I stated in my campaign, I will defend the right of Iowans to keep and bear arms.”

State Sen. Jake Chapman (R-Adel), who represents the people of Perry as the Iowa Senate District 10 representative, joined 14 other Republican state senators Monday in sponsoring the bill to eleminate gun permits.

“As a co-sponsor of SF165, I am supporter of legislation that would allow constitutional carry in Iowa,” Chapman said. “This has been done in numerous states and is not a new concept. The mere notion that a law-abiding citizen of Iowa is forced to pay the government to get a permit to exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear arms is simply wrong.”

Other sponsors were Republicans Brad Zaun, Randy Feenstra, Jason Schultz, Zach Whiting, Craig Johnson, Tom Shipley, Dennis Guth, Jeff Elder, Waylon Brown, Roby Smith, Mark Segebart, Tim Kraayenbrink, Tim Kapucian and Annette Sweeney.

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