Bill to lift gun silencer ban moving through Legislature

DES MOINES - A proposal to allow Iowans to possess gun silencers is moving swiftly through legislative channels.

With neither fanfare nor debate, a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday advanced the bill. Its lead Senate sponsor said he plans to give it a hearing in the full committee today.

'I think it's a fine bill,” said Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, who chairs the Senate's Judiciary Committee and is a deputy sheriff in Marshall County.

Iowa is one of nine states where the use of gun silencers, or suppressors, is not permitted, according to the American Suppressor Association.

The bill would require anyone purchasing a suppressor to meet federal standards, including a background check, fingerprints, a $200 transfer tax and an application to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Opponents of the proposal cite safety concerns. Supporters say it is an expansion of Second Amendment rights.

'We are reasonable, responsible people,” said Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, who led the bill through the House. 'Iowans should be allowed to go through the arduous federal process in order to be able to obtain a suppressor if they so choose.”

Sodders said the suppressor ban in Iowa was enacted after the shooting of President Ronald Reagan, even though a suppressor was not used in that shooting.

The bill passed the Iowa House with bipartisan support, 74-24.

If approved by the Senate committee today, it would be eligible for Senate debate next week.

Both chambers in 2015 passed similar proposals to lift the state's suppressor ban but could not reach consensus.