Navigating the complex web of state gun laws

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

I did not grow up around guns, but I've been a Second Amendment activist since 1976. As a 15-year-old high school freshman, I entered the Iowa High School Speech Association district and state speech contests with a speech opposing gun control. At that time, I hadn't even fired a gun yet. In fact, it would be another 42 years before I bought my first gun. Despite not being a gun owner, I remained a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment throughout those years.

I believe in natural or universal rights, which are granted by God. Even if you disagree with the concept of natural rights, the right to bear arms is an enumerated right. By that, I mean it is one of the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, which the federal government has agreed to preserve. In the landmark 2008 decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms.

I am also a big believer in states' rights. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The phrase ‘shall not be infringed’ in the Second Amendment indicates that restricting gun rights is a power ‘prohibited by it (the U.S. Constitution) to the states’. Despite this constitutional guarantee, states have imposed various restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms. Like the other rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, the right to keep and bear arms is sacrosanct. Fortunately, in Iowa, our Republican legislature has done a good job removing these unconstitutional restrictions.

Iowa used to be a ‘may issue’ state, meaning that local sheriffs could reject applications for permits to carry weapons for any (or no) reason. The result was that your ability to exercise the right to keep and bear arms depended on the county in which you resided. Each sheriff established their own criteria for approving or denying permit requests.

In 2011, Iowa became a ‘shall issue’ state, which required sheriffs to issue permits to applicants who were not specifically disqualified. Federal law (18 U.S.C §922(g)) prohibits certain categories of people from possessing firearms. For instance, Hunter Biden (as an illegal drug user) or Donald Trump (as a convicted felon) would have been denied a permit under Iowa’s “shall issue” rules. This change marked a significant shift in the right direction. In 2010, Iowa sheriffs issued about 44,000 permits. Following the law change in 2011, the number of permits issued soared to over 100,000. I even obtained a permit myself, despite not owning a gun at the time!

Adopting “shall issue” was a good start but I was still bothered that a permit was required at all. A permit is permission to do something, yet we do not need permits to exercise the other rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment is my permit!

In 2021, Gov. Reynolds signed a constitutional carry bill, HF 756, into law. The law removed Iowa’s permit requirement altogether. Federal background checks are still required to purchase firearms in Iowa, but Iowans (and out-of-staters) may carry weapons (concealed or not) without a permit.

Iowa has done a good job recognizing the right to bear and keep arms, but not every state has. In the last several years, I have traveled all over the U.S. by car and plane. Even though permits are not required, Iowa still issues them. I have one because several states allow non-residents to carry if they have a permit from another state, but it’s not that simple. My Iowa permit allows me to carry in Wisconsin but not Minnesota or Virginia. I spend a lot of time in Minnesota, so I also have a Minnesota permit. The Minnesota permit required a class and a shooting test. So, I can carry in Minnesota! My Minnesota permit also allows me to carry in Virginia because Minnesota has reciprocity with Virginia but Iowa does not.

The specifics are even more confusing. With my Iowa and Minnesota permits, I can carry in Indiana. However, Illinois does not recognize either of my permits. If I were a resident of Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, or Virginia, I could apply for a non-resident permit in Illinois, but as a resident of Iowa, I cannot. On the other hand, since I hold a valid Iowa permit, I can carry a concealed weapon in my car as I drive across Illinois. However, If I have to leave my vehicle, I am required to lock my gun in it. Fortunately the law allows carrying briefly outside the vehicle to lock it in a trunk.

But wait, there’s more! Several states also restrict magazine capacity. Some have a 10-round limit; Illinois limits pistol magazines to 15 rounds. One of my guns is the most popular full-sized handgun sold in the US. This handgun is the standard issue handgun for the military, widely used by law enforcement agencies, and popular in competitive shooting. The standard magazine for this pistol holds 17 rounds. In Illinois, it is illegal even to possess a pistol magazine that holds over 15 rounds.

So, I can drive across Illinois with a concealed pistol, but If I stop to use the restroom, I have to lock it in my trunk without walking too far from my car to do so, and I have to make sure the magazines I have (even unloaded) do not hold more than 15 rounds. Are you confused yet?

Iowa went from being a "may issue" to a "shall issue" state and then implemented constitutional carry. United States firearms laws need to evolve in the same way. The first step should be universal reciprocity, for all states to recognize carry permits issued by other states. For example, we have reciprocity for driver's licenses; when I drive from Iowa to Indiana, I do not need separate licenses for Illinois and Indiana. All 50 states recognize my Iowa license. The next step would be constitutional, permitless, carry across the 50 states.

Last year, a Massachusetts judge handed down an important ruling in Commonwealth vs. Dean F. Donnell. Donnell was a New Hampshire resident and was licensed to carry in his home state. Donnell was being charged because he was carrying in Massachusetts without a permit. The court found in favor of Donnell writing:

“A law-abiding resident of New Hampshire who is exercising his constitutional right to carry a firearm should not become a felon while traveling through Massachusetts merely because he has not obtained a Massachusetts license to carry. … This Court can think of no other constitutional right which a person loses simply by traveling between his home state’s border into another state continuing to exercise that right and instantaneously becomes a felon …”

It's time to treat the right to keep and bear arms like our other constitutional rights. Iowa’s motto states it well:

“Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.”

David Chung is a Gazette editorial fellow. david.chung@thegazette.com