Gun-carry law needs repair

By The Gazette Editorial Board

---

Iowa sheriffs are seeing a surge in applications for permits to carry firearms, after a change in Iowa law makes it easier to obtain them.

We've supported Iowa's new “shall issue” law all along. It only makes sense for all of Iowa's 99 counties to hold would-be permit holders to the same standards.

But in revising the law, state legislators went beyond creating consistency - they went too far.

Lawmakers should review and revise again. Most important, they should establish stronger mandatory training standards and bar licensed handgun carriers from consuming alcohol while carrying, or from bringing weapons into bars.

Guns and alcohol don't mix - especially when it's unsure just how thoroughly some permit holders have been trained.

As much as we respect citizens' right to bear arms, it's just as important to take reasonable steps to reduce public safety risks.

Iowa's county sheriffs now must issue permits to anyone who isn't specifically prohibited from doing so by law - for example, if they have a felony on their record.

The change was in response to critics who said the old “may issue” law gave sheriffs too much discretion in deciding whether to approve or deny an application to carry.

But in removing that discretion, lawmakers also removed some common public safety standards that many sheriffs routinely required.

Standards such as range qualification as part of training and requiring permit holders to carry weapons concealed - all gone.

We're troubled that the new law only requires permit applicants to complete “any handgun safety training course available to the general public.”

We disagree with Iowa Firearms Coalition President Sean McClanahan, who recently told a Gazette reporter his group recommends that permit applicants get “as much training as they can afford,” but believes they shouldn't be required to prove their shooting skills on a firing range.

As for carrying and drinking, the new permit becomes invalid only when the person's blood alcohol level reaches Iowa's intoxication threshold of 0.08 percent. But inhibitions are lifted and judgment clouded with even a drink or two.

Allowing people to drink and carry is inviting accidents - or worse.