Democratic House candidates in Story County discussed gun safety, abortion and more amongst each other and one Libertarian candidate at a forum Tuesday night at the Ames Public Library.

None of the three Republican candidates attended the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County.

“The League is a non-partisan but political organization dedicated to encouraging citizens to be informed participants in their government on the local, state and nation level,” said Linda Hagedorn, the forum moderator and a member of the organization’s board of directors.

The forum was intended for all of the candidates in the following races:

• Chad Behn (R) and Penny Vossler (D) in District 48, which represents Boone
• Incumbent Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschein (D) and Doug Cooper (Libertarian) in District 49, which primarily represents Ames
• Incumbent Rep. Ross Wilburn (D) in District 50, which represents Ames
• Brett Barker (R) and Ryan Condon (D) in District 51, which represents Nevada, Gilbert, Huxley and Maxwell
• Incumbent Rep. Shannon Latham (R) in District 55, which represents Story City, Webster City and Jewell

Behn, Latham and Barker, who is also the Story County GOP chair, did not attend the forum.

Gun safety

Vossler was the first to address gun safety.

“As a gun owner, I believe that responsible people have a right to own guns,” Vossler said. “I do not believe that every person should be in possession of a firearm. We require everyone who drives a car to learn how to do so safely and to pass a test showing that they had mastered those necessary skills. I think something similar should be required for guns.”

Vossler added that military weapons are designed to “kill as many people as possible, as fast as possible,” and she supports a “logical” limit on them.

Wessel-Kroeschell expressed her support for red flag laws and gun permits. She also agreed with Vossler on limiting military weapons.

“Semi-automatic rifles should not be in public hands, and we should limit the size of magazines,” Wessel-Kroeschell said. “Unfortunately, we have passed permitless carry in this state, and there is a constitutional amendment which has definitely restricted our ability as a state legislature to make laws restricting any gun use.”

Cooper, who earlier said he aimed to answer questions “the way Thomas Jefferson would have,” took a different stance.

“Contrary to the Democrats that you’ve heard now, the founding fathers would say you definitely need the average citizen to be able to own military weapons because, ultimately, the purpose is to revolt against the government if it starts trampling on their ranks,” Cooper said.

Wilburn said that while he supports the Second Amendment, “the times and the context matter.” 

“We can decide whether or not we want to help keep each other safe, in particular, our children,” he said. “We all can decide whether we want law enforcement to assist us in keeping ourselves safe. I am not willing to watch another mass shooting and go, ‘Oh, well, we can’t do anything.’”

Condon also supports the Second Amendment but calls for universal background checks.

“My brother, who is active military, has a background check done every six months for his [weapon], so if it’s good enough for our military, it should be good enough for us,” Condon said.

Abortion

Wilburn was the first to make an abortion argument. He said he would vote against the effort to make it illegal.

“In the House, Democrats introduced last session putting a right to reproductive health care abortion in the Iowa constitution,” Wilburn said.

Condon agreed with Wilburn, stating the government has “no business” telling families when or where they can start a family or what they “choose to do with their own bodies.”

Vossler said the matter of abortion is “way too complicated to legislate” and expressed support for removing the bill that bans abortion after six weeks.

“If you are considering passing a bill that deals with health care, one would think you would consult a doctor,” Vossler said.

Wessel-Kroeschell said she would support overturning the bill “without a doubt” and supported the constitutional amendment proposed by the Iowa House Democrats.

“We also need to expand access to reproductive healthcare,” Wessel-Kroeschell said. “We are dead last in the number of OBGYNs to our population, dead last in the country. And we need to protect access to infertility treatments, in particular, IVF and hormonal birth control.”

Cooper said that opinions on abortion vary within the libertarian community. 

“I favor abortion to be legal up to the development of the thalamus, which is the part of the brain you need to feel pain, which is about 24 weeks,” Cooper said. “If it were to come up with legislature, that would be the cutoff that I would propose.”

Affordable childcare

Cooper had the first response and emphasized the role of stay-at-home parents in making child care more affordable. He supports cutting the “regulatory burden” on those providing child care and letting “market forces work.”

“The state doesn’t have any role in subsidizing child care but does have a role in getting out of the way so that people can provide child care affordably,” he said.

Wilburn suggested incorporating a tax break for corporations willing to provide on-site childcare for their employees.

“This is an area where the state can try and work in partnership with the private sector, to have those public-private partnerships, to try to provide an effective tax credit,” Wilburn said. 

Condon agreed with Wilburn and proposed startup grants to encourage new childcare centers to open.

Vossler stated she would like to take the voucher system used for private schools and use it for daycares.

“This would encourage a lot of development of daycares,” Vossler said. “It would benefit a huge number of Iowans, whereas the private school vouchers benefit a small number.” 

Wessel-Kroeschell said that childcare is one of the issues “we need to address as a state.”

“We have some grants and some money that can go to corporations and businesses to help them provide child care within their structure,” she said. “What we have found is that it’s a very difficult business to be in, and most businesses don’t want a new [childcare] business.”

The League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County will host a forum for the candidates running for Iowa Senate at 7 p.m. October 8 at the Ames Public Library.