State standards vs. 99 sets of rules

This year's surge in the number of Linn County residents licensed to carry concealed weapons isn't reason enough in itself for alarm.

So long as the licensees have been thoroughly vetted and trained, and they're responsible with their weapons, we don't object to residents carrying concealed firearms. We'd also like to see refresher training required periodically.

But the Linn County spike does remind us that the state has a real need for more consistency in issuing concealed weapons permits.

Under current law, sheriffs decide which applications to approve and why, resulting in 99 different sets of rules - rules that can change when a new sheriff is elected. Sheriffs should have some discretion, but some standardization is in order, too.

State legislators should review the law and create a more uniform, statewide policy regarding concealed weapons permits.

Iowa law now states that sheriffs “may issue” concealed weapons permits if they are so inclined, but it doesn't require them to. As a result, requirements for permit applicants vary widely between counties and under different sheriffs.

One effect of that local control is playing out now in Linn County, where former Sheriff Don Zeller required permit applicants to show they had a routine need to carry a concealed firearm - for example, if they often carried large amounts of money.

Current Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner has no such requirement. That's much of the reason for the explosion of permits that have been issued during his first term in office.

During the first three months of last year, Zeller issued 24 concealed-weapons permits. During the same time this year, Gardner issued 103. He's approved an average of 87 permits per month in every month since then.

Earlier this year, Gardner told us most applicants say they want to carry weapons for personal protection. He doesn't require applicants to show they're at risk in order to issue a permit for that purpose.

Applicants do have to complete an application, pass a criminal-background check, complete an approved handgun training program and qualify on a firing range - a standard that Gazette reporter Orlan Love recently met during his first time shooting a handgun.

Gardner and NRA-certified instructors Rex Glasgow and Bob Godlove told Love they didn't know of a time when a Linn County concealed weapons permit holder had used a firearm in a real-life situation.

In an incident, gun carriers have only a moment to decide whether deadly force is warranted. That's a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

And state lawmakers should set uniform, meaningful standards of screening and training to guide sheriffs in deciding who among us should be allowed to shoulder that responsibility.