By: Ashleigh Meyer
With the Iowa caucuses less than a month away, presidential hopeful Joe Biden has invested $4 million in ad campaigns in the state, many of which focus on school shootings and his gun control platform.
One advertisement, entitled “Troubled Soul,” features a video clip of a Biden speech in which he laments that children are being taught to “duck and cover” in school.
In another, called “Classroom,” a teacher shares how she prepares her fourth-grade students for an active shooter emergency. The ads are heavily targeted toward educators, parents, and voters with an interest in gun control.
Biden’s support for gun control is well established, and he has pushed for such measures throughout his long political career. As a presidential candidate, he has vowed to secure enhanced background checks and a renewal of the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. His entire gun plan, released last year, can be read at https://joebiden.com/gunsafety/.
With the threat of gun ownership restrictions looming, and with sanctuary cities and movements popping up all across the nation, the issue of Second Amendment freedom is likely to draw a larger crowd to the polls this coming election cycle.
The former vice president has struggled to gain ground in the critical state of Iowa and has been consistently slipping in the polls. Recent reports, however, have shown his favor climbing after intensive bus tours, the acquisition of a few very influential endorsements, and, of course, the infusion of cash into advertising. Even still, Trump support in Iowa runs deep, and the president won the battleground state in a landslide in the 2016 election. Trump has maintained a lead over top Democratic candidates and is planning a rally just ahead of the Democratic caucuses.
Ashleigh Meyer is a professional writer and political correspondent from rural Virginia.