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Gov. Reynolds OKs law to lower handgun possession age to 18
Also in the Capital Notebook: Application period opens for private tuition aid
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DES MOINES — The minimum age for Iowans to possess a handgun will be lowered from 21 to 18 under legislation signed into law Friday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The bill was among a dozen signed into law Friday by Reynolds.
The new law lowers Iowa’s minimum age to purchase and carry a pistol or revolver from 21 to 18. Those 18 and over already are allowed to purchase rifles or shotguns in Iowa.
Due to federal restrictions, 18- to 20-year-olds still would be prohibited from buying a handgun from a federally licensed firearm dealer in Iowa, but would be allowed to own and carry handguns through private transfers and inheritance.
Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison and the bill’s House floor manager, said Republicans added the language to stay in compliance with the federal government's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS. Current federal law prohibits dealers from selling or transferring handguns to those under 21.
The NICS system “has not yet caught up with the realities” of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that created a new test for courts to evaluate gun restrictions, “and the fact that many states allow young adults to possess a handgun,” Holt said. “This is a solution to respect the rights of young adults to practice their Second Amendment rights while also working within the current restrictions in the NICS system.”
Republican majorities in the Iowa Legislature have loosened the state’s gun laws in recent years, including with a 2022 amendment approved by Iowa voters that added the right to keep and bear arms to the Iowa Constitution.
A 2021 law removed the requirement for Iowans to have a permit to carry or acquire handguns.
Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, mentioned his 18-year-old daughter in voicing support for the bill during a subcommittee hearing earlier this month. He said his daughter recently became a Realtor, requiring her “to go into different areas of different parts of town that maybe she feels uncomfortable with” to show a property.
Currently, Iowa law allows her to carry a rifle or shotgun, “but she can’t carry a handgun to protect herself, and in that particular case her carrying around a long rifle is going to make her a target for that particular situation,” Webster said.
“I’m signing this bill out on behalf of Ella Webster, who I believe after this bill will be able to protect herself, and I think she will be proud to know that she’s an adult that can vote, that can do all the things she’s supposed to do — pay taxes — and now we’re going to tell her today that she can protect herself in those particular situations,” he said.
Among the other bills signed into law Friday by Reynolds was Senate File 397, which increases penalties for assaults against first responders, law enforcement, correctional officers and health care workers.
Education Savings Account applications open
The annual application period for Iowa’s Students First Education Savings Accounts — the taxpayer-funded scholarships for K-12 private education — began this week and remains open through June 30.
This is the program’s third year overall, and first in which all Iowa K-12 students are eligible for ESAs. Previous enrollment was limited by household incomes.
The scholarships will be roughly $7,800 for the 2025-2026 school year. The money can be used to pay for a student’s private school tuition, fees and other approved, education-related expenses.
Links to the ESA program applications can be found on the state’s website at educate.iowa.gov. The link will take users to the application managed by Odyssey, which oversees the program for the state. New applicants will be required to make an account, and returning program members will be asked to log in.
A total of 27,866 students use the program in the 2024-2025 school year, according to the state. Reynolds’ proposed budget for the 2025-2026 state budget year included $314 million for the Students First ESA program.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
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