Iowa approves bill to let children aged 14 and under have guns

Lawmakers in the US state of Iowa have passed a bill that would allow children to use lethal weapons under adult supervision.

The bill was passed by 62-36 vote in Iowa’s House of Representatives on Tuesday and is now headed to the state Senate, permitting children aged 14 and under to use “a pistol, revolver or the ammunition” while under direct parental supervision.

The bill sparked an intense debate in the state about the proper balance between gun rights and basic child safety both with Republican and Democratic members.

"What this bill does, the bill before us, allows for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds to operate handguns. We do not need a militia of toddlers. We do not have handguns that I am aware of that fit the hands of a 1- or 2-year-old," said Democratic Representative Kirstin Running-Marquardt.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) supported the bill, while Iowa gun safety groups expressed their dissension, pointing to cases where children have accidentally shot parents or instructors.

“I think children do not have the necessary judgment about using guns and I don’t think they are old enough to understand the consequences,” said Jeremy Brigham, Iowans for Gun Safety's Executive Director.

“Our concern is that the bill doesn’t stipulate where the gun can be used. I’d rather stick with the long guns and have them be supervised on shootings ranges, not simply wherever the parent thinks it’s suitable,” he added.

Republicans in Iowa’s House including the bill's sponsor, Representative Jake Highfill, said the legislation was a matter of the rights of the parents to modify the injustice in Iowa code. "Allowing people to learn at a young age the respect that a gun commands is one of the most important things you can do," Highfill said.

"We want to make sure we turn power back to parents, allow them to make the decision if their children are ready or not. If they don't want to shoot or teach them gun safety that's also their choice," he added.

Research studies conducted by the group Everytown for Gun Safety show gun violence is rife in the US, where a third of children live in a household with at least one weapon.

Based on statistics, seven children and teens are killed with guns in the US on an average day.

Since December 2012 - when twenty children and six adults were fatally shot by a gunman at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut - US President Barack Obama has pushed for gun law reforms, including expanded background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

But, the powerful gun lobby and its supporters in Congress have blocked the proposed measures.

Obama has said that the greatest frustration of his time in the office has been the inability to reduce unparalleled levels of gun violence in the United States.

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