Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence (IPGV) is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our mission is to reduce firearm related deaths and injuries in Iowa, and to make Iowa a role model for other states in the area of gun violence prevention. We are concerned with all forms of gun violence – gun homicides, gun suicides, and unintentional shootings.

Nationwide, approximately 30,000 Americans die each year from gunshot wounds. In addition, there are about 80,000 nonfatal injuries, of which about 20,000 result in paralysis of the victim. On average, 193 Iowans are killed each year by firearms, including 18 children and teenagers. The breakdown is: 25 gun homicides, 163 gun suicides, and 5 unintentional shootings. (Three-year average 2001-2003.)

IPGV supports public policies that address gun violence as a public health problem rather than as a crime problem, with an emphasis on prevention rather than punishment. We support:

• Regulating the gun industry by regulating firearms as consumer products. Currently, guns and tobacco are the only two consumer products that are unregulated for health and safety by any federal agency.
• A federal ban on military-style, semiautomatic assault weapons and .50-caliber anti-armor/sniper rifles. In the absence of action by Congress, we support a state assault weapons ban.
• Extending the Brady Law to cover all firearms transactions. (Currently, Brady background checks are only performed on gun sales by licensed firearms dealers.)
• Increasing authority of state and local law enforcement to enforce federal law that prohibits firearms possess to domestic abusers.
• State and local suicide prevention programs. Approximately 84 percent of all gun deaths in Iowa are gun suicides.

Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death for all Americans. But for teenagers and young adults age 15-24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. A firearm is used in 60 percent of all completed suicides. In Iowa, four out of five gun deaths are gun suicides. On average, 15 Iowa teenagers end their life each year with a gun. At the state level, IPGV devotes a significant amount of its resources on gun suicides, with an emphasis on teenage suicide prevention programs. We are also working to pass legislation to require Brady background checks on all firearm sales at gun shows, and to remove firearms from homes with domestic abusers.

IPGV is opposed to:

• “Shall issue” right to carry laws. IPGV supports current Iowa law that gives county sheriffs discretion in issuing permits to carry concealed weapons.
• Giving the gun industry legal immunity from civil lawsuits for reckless and negligent practices in the design, marketing, and distribution of firearms (an NRA priority).

IPGV also collects and analyzes data on gun related deaths in Iowa, including the underlying causes of gun violence. We distribute results of our analyses and studies to lawmakers and policy makers so that they will have facts and accurate information to make decisions. A primary goal of IPGV is to educate the public of the risks of gun ownership in order to reduce the access of firearms to high-risk individuals.