<![CDATA[Iowa]]>

Iowa teen violated probation 50+ times before arrest on drive-by shooting charges

March 30, 2023 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

A 19-year old on probation for sex acts with a 13-year-old managed to violate the terms of his probation dozens of times over the past couple of years with little-to-no consequences, even when he was arrested and charged with other violent crimes. Now Bryant Wallace is accused of taking part in a drive-by shooting in rural Johnson County; allegedly firing shots into an occupied RV and narrowly missing the person inside.

Probation officials have tried to explain their soft approach to Wallace’s repeated violations of his probation agreement, but I don’t find their excuses to be all that persuasive.

Drew Konicek, who is the division manager within the Department of Correctional Services for the 6th District – the state agency overseeing probation and parole for Linn and Johnson County, said in an email there is no number of violations that will result in a recommendation to revoke a client’s probation. However, he said the agency considers both the volume and severity of the violations along with the circumstances to protect the individual and the community.
“There was evidence to suggest that Mr. Wallace had protective factors in place and our goal is to work with clients to build off those areas of stability,” Konicke said. “Revoking a teenager to prison is guaranteed to diminish, if not completely eliminate, those protective factors.”

Any evidence that those “protective factors” were in place should have disappeared after the first, say, half-dozen probation violations. And while Wallace was eventually ordered to spend 90 days in jail, it took far too long for that to happen.

Most of Wallace’s violations occurred from August 2021 to July 2022, which were mostly related to issues around his location, missing sexual abuse treatment programs and the battery on the GPS around his ankle to die.
An official with the Department of Correctional Services for the 6th District said Wallace was arrested in July 2022 for not following the terms of his probation but was released on bond.
About two months later, court documents show Wallace was charged with robbery, theft and assault. Prosecutors said Wallace along with another man assaulted a man and then took his shoes, cell phone, a pink vape pen and two ounces of marijuana. Then, Wallace was arrested again after his GPS monitor placed him at the location of a shots fired call in November 2022.
Court documents show he served 90 days in jail after his arrest in November for violating probation.

That’s right. Even after being arrested and charged with robbery and assault Wallace’s probation wasn’t revoked. Only after his GPS monitor showed him at the scene of yet another crime in November 2022 did authorities move to hold him in jail for a few months, but they still kept his probationary status intact.

Wallace’s other probation violations weren’t really minor infractions either. He pled guilty to charges related to sex acts with a 13-year-old, yet he was repeatedly allowed to skip out on his court-mandated treatment. He was supposed to be monitored at all times, yet when his GPS device died there was little concern from the part of probation officials.

I’m all in favor of second chances, especially when an individual has demonstrated they’re willing to work to improve their circumstances, but 50 second chances is utterly ridiculous, especially since young Mr. Wallace doesn’t appear to have put in much effort to stay on the straight and narrow path. Sadly, almost every time he strayed the probation department turned a blind eye or excused away his infractions, and honestly this pattern may very well continue in the future.

Anti-gun advocates would undoubtably prefer to blame Wallace’s actions on Iowa’s status as a constitutional carry state or voters’ decision to enshrine the right to keep and bear arms in the state constitution, but those protections have no bearing whatsoever on his ability to shrug off the terms of his probation on dozens of occasions over the past couple of years. Ultimately it’s Wallace himself who’s responsible for his actions, just as the state of Iowa is responsible for its inaction when Wallace failed to live up to the terms of his plea deal. Iowa doesn’t need any more gun control laws, but sounds like its probation system is in serious need of an overhaul.

Georgia and Iowa Become Latest States to Ban Child Sex Changes

March 23, 2023 by Ben Kew Leave a Comment

Georgia and Iowa have become the latest states to ban child sex changes as Republicans across the country move to stop the surge in demand for what they argue is a form of child mutilation.

Georgia Senate Bill 140, which was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on Thursday, will “prohibit certain surgical procedures for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors from being performed in hospitals and other licensed healthcare facilities… so as to prohibit certain surgical procedures for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors.”

The move was celebrated by conservative activists, including the group Moms for America, whose founder and president Kimberly Fletcher said in a press release:

“We’re glad that policymakers across America are taking a careful look at what these harmful procedures can do to children. This new measure will give Georgia children the legal protections they desperately need.
While the Georgia bill and others like it mark a turning point in the debate over child protection, there is still much work to be done. Too many states continue to defend sexual mutilation of children by refusing to implement laws that would properly protect them. This must change.

Earlier this week, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds also signed off on bill SF538 ruling that medical professionals “shall not knowingly engage in or cause any [treatments] for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or affirm the minor’s perception of, the minor’s gender or sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”

As well as the child sex change legislation, Reynolds also signed SF482, a law preventing transgender-identifying students from using the opposite sex’s public school bathrooms.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Matt Sharp also released a statement celebrating the passage of the Iowa law:

Denying the truth that we are either male or female hurts real people, especially vulnerable children. By enacting this legislation, Iowa has taken critical steps to protect children from radical activists that peddle gender ideology and pressure children into life-altering, experimental procedures and drugs.
Young people deserve to live in a society that doesn’t subject them to risky experiments to which they cannot effectively consent. That’s why other countries—like Sweden, England, and Finland—are adopting policies that better protect children from the bad science that has already devastated countless lives. We commend Gov. Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature for standing for truth by enacting these vital protections for our children.

The move to outlaw child sex changes comes after a surge in demand that conservatives say is a result of both parental and societal pressure and influence. In an analysis published late last year, Reuters found that in 2021, around 42,000 minors across the U.S. received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, nearly triple the number in 2017.

Critics of the child sex laws claim that it involves denying “gender-affirming care” to those who need it, although polling data indicates that public opinion is strongly on the side of those seeking to ban it.

Georgia and Iowa now become the ninth and tenth states to pass such legislation, following in the footsteps of Mississippi, Florida, Utah, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, South Dakota, and Tennessee. State legislatures in Missouri and Kentucky’s legislatures have also passed similar bills that are awaiting signoff from the governor’s mansion.

Past failures don’t justify future gun control

March 22, 2023 by Tom Knighton Leave a Comment

It shouldn’t work like this, but anecdotes tend to move us more than facts.

From the earliest days of humanity, we’ve used stories to share information, pass on history, and learn about the world, so it stands to reason that stories also move us to support various laws and regulations, such as gun control.

Just like Uncle Tom’s Cabin swayed many people to become abolitionists, stories can sell us on an awful lot.

But the problem is that there shouldn’t be holes in those stories. While reality doesn’t have to make sense like a good piece of fiction must, some plot holes are just too big to miss.

Take this one trying to push red flag laws in Iowa.

Temple Hiatt’s nephew showed signs of mental illness the day of his death. A Red flag gun safety law could have saved his life.
Hiatt, a volunteer with Iowa Moms Demand Action, said legislation should be put in place to minimize harm from firearms. But until that happens, it’s up to the community to know how to stay safe. Phillip Travis, Hiatt’s nephew, died by suicide from a gun in 2014. This loss has influenced her advocacy by showing her firsthand how gun safety can save lives.

Now, understand that I’m sorry for Hiatt’s loss. Suicide is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

However, she says her nephew showed signs beforehand. If that’s the case, why didn’t she and her family get a 5150 hold for him? That would have put him in a psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours and, unlike with a red flag law, would have gotten him some much-needed treatment.

Further, such a hold removes the individual not just from the possibility of shooting themselves, but killing themselves through pretty much any other means.

Hiatt, like so many others, is trying to use their own failures to justify gun control.

“But 5150 holds deprive people of their freedom,” some might argue, and they wouldn’t be wrong. However, let’s also remember that when you’re trying to take away someone’s civil liberties because you say you’re concerned about them, that argument isn’t going to hold a lot of water.

Opposing both this and red flag laws makes sense. Supporting both, while I can’t say it makes sense, it’s at least consistent.

So I find Hiatt’s tale less than moving because of the holes. She and her family failed to get the nephew the help he needed, so we should all put our freedom at risk so they can feel less guilty about their own mistakes.

Sorry, not interested.

I get feeling the need to do something after losing him. That’s normal. You don’t want anyone else to go through that. Yet gun control isn’t the answer.

She could instead be advocating for more involvement with those suffering from mental illness. She could be advocating for more resources for those suffering.

Instead, she wants gun control, which likely wouldn’t have done what she’s claiming it would have for her nephew.

Sorry, but I’m going to call ’em like I see ’em. Especially since all those alternatives I suggested would do far more to reduce suicides–all causes of suicide, even, not just with guns–than gun control ever could.

Iowa is one of the safer states in the nation. It doesn’t need more gun control and it damn sure doesn’t need a red flag law.