New gun laws need standards

Whether you think guns kill people, people kill people or the truth lies somewhere in between, there's no denying our state historically has been relatively free of the question.

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, there were 154 violence-related firearm deaths in Iowa in 2007 (the most recent figures available); 133 of those were self-inflicted. Only three of we 3 million Iowans died from accidental shooting in that same year.

While each of those deaths is a tragedy - like the recent accidental shooting death of Christopher Durham in Mahaska County - the low totals are something to be proud of, especially given the fact that we've got a pretty high rate of gun ownership in this state.

Surveys show about 40 percent of Iowa households have a firearm. That places Iowa in the top 20 states for gun ownership, but we're in the bottom 10 for firearms-related deaths.

Or at least we have been. I'm with local sheriffs who say they're worried about what will happen to the numbers once new gun licensing rules go into effect next month, especially this “anything goes” training requirement for permits to carry.

The new rules, which go into effect Jan. 1, take away most of sheriffs' discretion in issuing permits to carry weapons and in limiting how and where those weapons can be carried.

More than a few sheriffs are expressing concerns about changes that demand that they sign off on permit applications so long as the applicant meets some minimal requirements, including a vague nod to “training.”

They say they'll have to rubber stamp permit applications for folks who have never fired a gun, so long as they've got some kind of training certificate in hand.

Although I disagree, I can understand critics' complaints about the old “may issue” law - that it gave sheriffs too much discretion in deciding who should have permission to carry a weapon. But legislators did more than change the standard to “shall issue” when they tweaked the law - they opened the floodgates.

I'm fine with legislators setting standard requirements for permits to carry - if they actually set some standards. Being able to shoot and safely handle the weapon you've got strapped to your thigh seems a good place to start.

Most Iowa gun owners are careful - treating guns as the powerful, potentially dangerous tools they are. Used to be, local sheriffs had more authority to protect us from those who don't.

By taking away sheriffs' discretion, legislators have taken that responsibility on themselves.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net