Pro-firearm lobbyists and legislators pushing their agenda with renewed vigor this session

DES MOINES - Pro-firearm lobbyists and legislators who scored big on the “shall issue” legislation last year are pushing their agenda with renewed vigor this session.

More than a dozen bills related to firearms have been filed, covering issues as varied as the types of firearms security guards and private investigators can carry to allowing agencies that seize weapons the ability to sell them and excess ammunition to the public.

Some - such as the one that lets police agencies sell seized ammunition - aren't expected to even make it to a full committee hearing this session. But others have some juice behind them and will make it to the floor.

Critics say firearm advocates are asking for too much too fast, but those advocates say they're only asking to bring Iowa to the same level as most other states in the nation. The “shall issue” law, which obligated county sheriffs to give concealed carry permits to any person who met the requirements, the advocates say, was just the first step in the right direction.

“The gun bills are popping now because of the successful bipartisan support on the ‘shall issue,'” said state Sen. Shawn Hamerlinck, R-Dixon. “That one bill sprouted debate for the next two years of figuring out how to define the Second Amendment in Iowa.”

Until recently, barely more than 1 percent of Iowans had exercised their right to carry firearms, but that number has climbed steadily since 2008, according to Sam Knowles, the Iowa Department of Public Safety bureau chief.

At the end of 2008, Knowles said, 29,997 Iowans had been issued permits to carry. By the end of 2009, that number had jumped to 36,246, and at the end of 2010 it stood at a37,523, according to preliminary figures.

Based on an assessment of permits issued in January, the first month of the new law that changed Iowa from a “may issue” to a “shall issue” state, an almost exponential jump will be recorded this year.

In Linn, Johnson and Polk counties, for example, nearly as many permits had been issued in January as had been issued in the entire preceding year.

In the mix

State Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, is an ex-Marine and gunsmith by trade. At 27, he's among the younger members of the House and certainly the youngest member who has garnered a leadership position in the Republican majority.

He also introduces a lot of the firearm legislation, including one bill that was the subject of contentious debates last week.

Known as the “castle doctrine” or “stand your ground bill,” the legislation allows a person to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves or another person if they or the third party is in danger. It also makes the person immune to civil lawsuits if they use that force and are not found criminally guilty of being excessive.

It's a change from current Iowa law that says a person can use deadly force to protect themselves or another person in their home, place of business or place of employment. Current law is silent on civil immunity.

“The intent of the legislation is to make sure that law-abiding citizens can protect their life and liberty from threat of force, and the life or liberty of a third party, without the fear of prosecution or losing the farm defending themselves when they did use force in a reasonable fashion,” Windschitl said.

The legislation has 28 co-sponsors.

Susan Cameron, a lobbyist who represents the Iowa Sheriff's and Deputies Association as well as the Iowa County Attorney's Association, looks at the bill and fears shootouts in the streets. She thinks the legislation encourages escalation of volatile situations, and she's pushed for training provisions that haven't made it into the bill.

“I think what most people want to do if there is a problem is have someone call 911, not pull out a weapon,” she said.

She also sees the bill as typical of the gun lobby this session.

“The NRA led the effort on the shall permit issue,” Cameron said. “I think they were emboldened in the last election cycle to pass a lot of gun rights legislation this time around.”

A national push

Scott Pope, a lobbyist with the Iowa Sportsman Federation, said the gun legislation moving this session isn't about pushing a new agenda as much as it is about leveling the playing field between the states.

“In a sense, this is Iowa catching up to the rest of the country,” he said. “We're no where near some of the states like Alaska, Arizona or Vermont … what we're looking at is very middle-of-the-road.”

The Sportsman Federation, which is affiliated with the National Rifle Association, is in favor of the castle doctrine legislation but remains undecided on another measure that also has Windschitl's sponsorship.

It is called the Firearm Freedom Act. It says that a firearm that is manufactured in Iowa, sold in Iowa and stays in Iowa does not have to abide by federal regulations.

The Iowa version of the bill is modeled on similar legislation that has been introduced in several states and met with varying degrees of success. It passed the Montana Legislature, which caught the attention of the federal authorities with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“It is being litigated. The federal government is saying, ‘States, you can't be outside the scope of federal law,' and the states are saying, ‘Yes, we can,” said Ross Loder, a legislative liaison with the Department of Public Safety. The department is registered as “undecided” as on both the Firearm Freedom and castle doctrine bills.

Loder said figuring out the effect of the Firearm Freedom Act will take some time. Iowa has laws that mirror some federal regulations. For example, both state and federal law make it illegal to own fully automatic weapons. He said the practical effect would likely be less paperwork between buyers and sellers and less of a paper trail to follow, but there was still a lot of research that needed to be done.

Asked about the Iowa bill, Trista Frederick, public information officer for ATF regional office in Kansas City, Mo., said the bureau “does not comment on pending legislation, per policy.”

Economic development

During committee debates on the Firearm Freedom Act, Windschitl often refers to LeClaire-based firearm manufacturer Les Baer Custom Inc. as the kind of company that could benefit from passage of the law.

“They could make an Iowa Special,” Windschitl said during one subcommittee hearing. “A gun by Iowans, for Iowans.”

Les Baer Sr. moved his namesake company from Illinois to Iowa two years ago when the Illinois General Assembly moved a bill that banned the manufacture of large-capacity gun clips. For Baer, it was the final straw in state he sees as anti-firearm. He's grown his business since he moved across the Mississippi and now employs 30 people. He said he follows what's happening at the Statehouse when time permits.

“We do a lot of our business across state lines, I'd say at least 99 percent,” Baer said. “I think if there were other manufacturers that wanted to move to Iowa, they would have moved years ago.”

Terry Williams is co-owner of Superior Arms Inc. in Wapello. He said he's heard about the Firearm Freedom Act in Montana but wasn't sure of what effect, if any, it would have on his seven-employee shop.

“The majority of our sales are out-of-state,” Williams said. “I think before we would know if it was a boon to our business, we'd have to figure out what exactly it would do. I do think that increased awareness usually helps the business.”

Windschitl, meanwhile, said both the castle doctrine and the Firearm Freedom Act legislation, at their core, are about personal liberty.

“This is about reasserting our rights under the Second Amendment and the 10th Amendment,” he said. “Time and time again, the federal government has overstepped its bounds.You can see it on health care, and this is reasserting our legal protections under the Constitution.”

By Mike Wiser, Gazette Des Moines Bureau

Orlan Love of The Gazette also contributed to this story.