DES MOINES, Iowa — Nearly 200 Iowans turned out the Iowa State Capitol to show their support for what's come to be know as "Second Amendment Day."
"What's important, and what I want to press today is that the Second Amendment is for everyone," said Paige Roux, a firearms instructor and advocate for Second Amendment rights.
This year, much of the focus was on a constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot.
"We call it the Freedom Amendment, and we all must work to ensure that it passes. We have to get this done," said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison.
Voters will get to decide whether to add the "right to keep and bear arms" to Iowa's constitution this year.
"It also adds a 'strict scrutiny language' to the amendment, which basically codifies in permanence, the rights in the Iowa constitution," said Dave Funk, president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition.
That "strict scrutiny" language is part of why the amendment is so controversial.
"It goes far beyond what the Second Amendment does," said Connie Ryan the executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.
Ryan also heads a newly formed group called Iowans for Responsible Gun Laws, which was organized to defeat the amendment.
"It really would do great potential damage to the laws that we have in the state that responsible gun owners want to have to keep that balance of rights and public health and safety," she said.
Opponents also argue pending state legislation is taking Iowa in the wrong direction.
"We are exceedingly concerned about the extreme nature and just a general sense of loss of touch with what we know is the vast majority of Iowans who believe in things like background checks and red flag laws and just simple steps that can really make a difference in saving lives," said Traci Kennedy, chapter leader for Iowa Moms Demand Action.
At the rally, advocates shared first-hand accounts of why they feel the Second Amendment is so important.
"Without my second amendment right to own that very AR-15, I would have probably ended up one of the one of the victims," said Stephen Williford, who helped stop a shooter at a Sutherland Springs, Texas church in 2017.
WATCH | Pro-gun Iowans say 2nd Amendment sanctuaries can keep rights from being ‘chipped away at’