Gazette Daily News Briefing, January 22
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, Jan. 22.
It will be sunny Friday, but quite cold. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high of 17 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area with wind chill values near 5 degrees below zero. Friday night it will be mostly clear, with a low of 1 degree. The wind will settle during the course of the day from 10 to 5 mph.
Hundreds of thousands more Iowans are about to become eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting in February, but demand for the shots will outweigh supply early in the process, state officials said Thursday.
Iowa intends to begin the second phase of its vaccination program the week of Feb. 1, at which time Iowans who work in law enforcement, emergency response, K-12 education and childcare will become eligible to receive the doses — as will any Iowans ages 65 or older, not just 75 and older as the state had announced earlier.
However, the number of newly eligible Iowans — more than 660,000 people — will outnumber the supply of vaccine doses available, according to state officials, who asked for patience from the public.
Iowa House Republicans on Thursday continued to refuse to initiate a mask mandate for lawmakers or visitors to congress. In addition, House Republicans, unlike their Republican comrades in the Iowa Senate, have balked at allowing lawmakers concerned about their health to attend meetings virtually. Republicans in the House insist that social distancing guidelines are sufficient to protect people in the Capitol.
Speaking of protection, Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate are working to amend the Iowa Constitution to protect the right to bear arms against the threat of future restriction. If they are successful in passing the legislation that has passed both houses in a previous session, the constitutional amendment could go before Iowa voters in the 2022 general election. If adopted by voters, the state constitution would be amended by adding: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
The joint resolution made progress in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate Thursday. Republicans also are proposing bills to eliminate background checks from gun permits, remove the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed handgun and allow guns in schools, hospitals, child care centers and courthouses. The “strict scrutiny” portion of the constitutional amendment would mean any challenge to these or other gun laws would face a steep legal hill, regardless of the strength of the case.
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