Senator Chris Cournoyer
Member
- Deleted by Senator Chris Cournoyer
Thanks for the emails everyone - I wanted to address a few things:
1) The Republicans that I serve with on the Senate Natural Resources are all Conservationists. We care deeply about the environment and our natural resources and we are all on this committee because we wanted to be. Not all of the members are hunters, several are farmers and some are from Southern Iowa or have property there and we have had many conversations about the deer population. It is possible to be pro-2A and someone who cares about the environment. To say those things are mutually exclusive is unfair.
2) There is a reason this bill came over from the House and was assigned to the Natural Resources committee and not the Judiciary committee. If it was a gun bill, it would have gone to Judiciary. Leadership recognized that this bill would affect hunting and DNR rules, so it came to Natural Resources.
3) No one schedules the sub-committee meeting but me. Anyone who tells you there is a sub-committee on this already scheduled is incorrect. I will meet with the Chair of Natural Resources and my other sub-committee member Senator Shipley on Monday to determine whether we will schedule a sub-committee meeting or not. This biggest issue at this point is that since its a House File bill, we wouldn't be able to amend or change it in sub-committee or full committee so we would have to pass it through both bodies "as is". We would only be able to amend it on the Senate floor during debate and I'm not sure that is the direction we want to take as this will be a busy funnel week.
4) The members of the committee are getting your emails. We are not going to rush any bill that needs work so it gets through the funnel. Most bills that are submitted do not get passed "as is" and it is not common for any bill to pass the first year it is introduced.
5) We have had several conversations about Republicans not being able to vote against gun bills. As pro-2A as we all are, we aren't unreasonable. To achieve the intent of this bill, another bill can be created that achieves the purpose without adding things to it that affect safety, the deer population, etc.
Thanks again for the conversation - I have enjoyed reading through this thread and appreciate the spirited and civil debate.
Senator Chris Cournoyer
1) The Republicans that I serve with on the Senate Natural Resources are all Conservationists. We care deeply about the environment and our natural resources and we are all on this committee because we wanted to be. Not all of the members are hunters, several are farmers and some are from Southern Iowa or have property there and we have had many conversations about the deer population. It is possible to be pro-2A and someone who cares about the environment. To say those things are mutually exclusive is unfair.
2) There is a reason this bill came over from the House and was assigned to the Natural Resources committee and not the Judiciary committee. If it was a gun bill, it would have gone to Judiciary. Leadership recognized that this bill would affect hunting and DNR rules, so it came to Natural Resources.
3) No one schedules the sub-committee meeting but me. Anyone who tells you there is a sub-committee on this already scheduled is incorrect. I will meet with the Chair of Natural Resources and my other sub-committee member Senator Shipley on Monday to determine whether we will schedule a sub-committee meeting or not. This biggest issue at this point is that since its a House File bill, we wouldn't be able to amend or change it in sub-committee or full committee so we would have to pass it through both bodies "as is". We would only be able to amend it on the Senate floor during debate and I'm not sure that is the direction we want to take as this will be a busy funnel week.
4) The members of the committee are getting your emails. We are not going to rush any bill that needs work so it gets through the funnel. Most bills that are submitted do not get passed "as is" and it is not common for any bill to pass the first year it is introduced.
5) We have had several conversations about Republicans not being able to vote against gun bills. As pro-2A as we all are, we aren't unreasonable. To achieve the intent of this bill, another bill can be created that achieves the purpose without adding things to it that affect safety, the deer population, etc.
Thanks again for the conversation - I have enjoyed reading through this thread and appreciate the spirited and civil debate.
Senator Chris Cournoyer