Gun law needs fine tuning

State legislators made the right move in standardizing rules for gun permits.

But we agree with local sheriffs who say the “shall issue” law, which will take effect on Jan. 1, needs some fine tuning.

The old “may issue” system of 99 counties and 99 rules left too much discretion to individual county sheriffs - resulting in vastly different requirements in different counties.

But as it's written, the new law misses the target, going far beyond the purpose of leveling the field for permit applicants across the state.

We're especially concerned that the law's training requirements are too vague.

State leaders should waste no time in refining it. It's not only a matter of fairness, it's a matter of public safety.

Starting Jan. 1, Iowa's county sheriffs will be required to issue concealed weapons permits to anyone who asks, unless they are specifically ineligible - if, for example, they've got a felony on their record.

It's a dramatic shift from the law now, which gives sheriffs discretion in deciding whether or not to deny a person's application for permission to carry a concealed weapon.

Critics of the current law rightly point out that it can result in dramatically different standards between counties, or when a new sheriff is elected to office.

In Linn County, for example, former Sheriff Don Zeller used to require that permit-seekers have a documented need for protection - such as routinely carrying large amounts of cash - before he approved concealed weapons permits. Current Sheriff Brian Gardner has been much more liberal in approving permits. But even he has said he's concerned by how broadly the new law is sketched. “This whole thing's open to too much interpretation,” he recently told a Gazette reporter.

Perhaps most significantly, the new law doesn't lay out specific training requirements for gun owners to complete before they're issued a permit to carry a concealed weapon, only that they complete “any handgun safety training course available to the general public” offered by law enforcement, community colleges or other agencies.

Sheriffs say that means an online training course could be enough to meet the requirements. The law doesn't even require that permit applicants fire a weapon - let alone qualify on a range. That's not enough.

We support the reasoning behind the “shall issue” law. If licensees are thoroughly vetted and trained, and they're responsible with their weapons, we see no reason to deny them the right to carry a weapon.

But the law must set strict standards to make sure that's the case with all permit holders.

Carriers have only a moment to decide whether to use deadly force in an incident.

That's a serious responsibility, and one they must be appropriately trained to bear.