Iowa Republican lawmakers advance bills loosening gun restrictions

DES MOINES — Iowans previously ineligible to carry firearms would be allowed to possess or acquire them under measures advanced Tuesday by Republican lawmakers that would further loosen gun restrictions in the state.

House Study Bill 280 would repeal sections of Iowa Code that make it a crime for certain ineligible people to carry dangerous weapons, including those addicted to alcohol, those where there is probable cause to believe they’re a danger to themselves or others and those who have been convicted within the last three years of a serious or aggravated misdemeanor, which would include assaults and domestic violence.

Lawmakers also advanced separate legislation that would lower the minimum age to purchase a handgun from 21 to 18.

“What I've heard from sheriffs and deputies is that those are useful tools for them — that they have used those as prohibitors from those to possess a permit to carry, and they would like to see those remain in the code,” Tony Phillips, a lobbyist representing the Iowa State Sheriffs’ & Deputies’ Association, told lawmakers Tuesday during a legislative hearing on the proposal. The group was registered as undecided on the bill.

Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa & Action Fund, opposed HSB 280, citing alcohol as a strong risk factor for gun violence.

“This bill would take Iowa backwards,” Ryan told lawmakers. “ … We often hear about mental illness, which is a really small contributor to interpersonal violence. Alcohol is a much bigger contributor.”

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The bill would also remove provisions contained in state law that prohibit an individual from being able to receive a permit to carry weapons if probable cause exists to believe — based upon documented specific actions of the person, when at least one of the actions occurred within two years of applying for a permit to carry a firearm — that they’re a danger to themselves or others.

“Past behavior is a predictor of future behavior. Why would we remove language that helps to protect the public and the person themselves?” Ryan asked. “ … When someone has violently assaulted another person, it shows a propensity to commit violence. Allowing the person to then have a gun lacks any common sense or commitment to the public safety. Again, why would we move language that helps to protect the public?”

Richard Rogers, a lobbyist with the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said the legislation fixes errors in previous legislation and aligns with Iowa’s permitless carry law.

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When gun permits were required, a person addicted to alcohol could not qualify for a permit. However, there was no standard for what addicted to alcohol meant, leading to subjective judgments, Rogers argued.

He raised similar concerns to the provision in Iowa law allowing sheriffs to deny a gun permit to individuals they believe are a danger to themselves and others.

However, if a person is adjudicated as being addicted to alcohol, or being a danger to themselves or others, they still would not be allowed to possess a firearm, according to an analysis by House Republican staffers of similar legislation that passed the House in 2023 but was not taken up in the Senate.

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Bill will allow Iowans previously ineligible to carry

Now that gun permits are no longer required, neither of those sections are needed in the Iowa Code and should be removed, Rogers told lawmakers.

“I will grant that the other section on serious and aggravated misdemeanors, if those are strictly assault related, those do indicate a propensity for” violence, Rogers said, adding the Firearms Coalition “might assent to having that remain in the code.”

The bill also changes references in Iowa Code prohibiting the possession of dangerous weapons to carrying firearms specifically. Rusty Ringler, who oversees the weapons permit bureau at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said the change could create the potential for felons to legally carry dangerous weapons like knives.

“Under current legislation, an individual that's prohibited from obtaining a permit to carry (a firearm) is also prohibited from carrying a dangerous weapon,” Ringler said. “We just had a concern … an individual that would otherwise be prohibited from carrying a dangerous weapon … would now potentially be able to carry that legally, where otherwise they would be prohibited.”

Republican members of a three-member subcommittee — Reps. Joshua Meggers, of Grundy Center, and Bill Gustoff, of Des Moines — agreed to move the bill forward for further consideration by the House Public Safety Committee.

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Bill would lower minimum age for handguns

House GOP lawmakers Tuesday also advanced House Study Bill 262 that would lower Iowa's minimum age to purchase and carry handguns from 21 to 18. Those aged 18 and over already are allowed to purchase long guns in Iowa.

Proponents, including the Iowa Firearms Coalition, argued that Iowa's current law infringes on Second Amendment rights by restricting younger adults. They cited federal court decisions that have struck down age-based firearm restrictions.

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A federal appeals court in January ruled a decades-long federal ban on handgun sales to people between the ages of 18 and 20 violates the Second Amendment.

The appeals court previously had upheld that same ban in 2012, before a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that established a new test for assessing modern firearms laws, Reuters reported. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court held that modern gun restrictions were required to be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans this year concluded that the Constitution “includes 18- to 20-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected,” rejecting the federal government’s arguments that firearm sales had been restricted in similar ways in 18th- and 19th-century America.

Opponents to the Iowa bill, including the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, argued that lowering the age could increase gun violence and suicides among young adults, citing statistics showing 18-20-year-olds are disproportionately involved in gun crimes and suicides.

Currently, Iowans must be at least 21 to purchase a handgun or obtain a non-professional permit to carry a weapon. However, there are some exceptions for people between the ages of 18 and 20 who work in certain occupations.

A parent, guardian or spouse who is at least 18 may allow a minor of any age to possess a rifle or shotgun and ammunition for lawful use. And a parent, guardian or spouse who is at least 21 may allow a minor of any age to possess a handgun or handgun ammunition for any lawful purpose while under the “direct supervision” of the parent, guardian or spouse, or while the person receives instruction in the proper use of a handgun from an instructor age 21 or older, with the consent of the parent, guardian or spouse.

Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, noted the second-leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States is firearm-related injuries, and declined to support the bill.

Subcommittee members Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull and Steven Holt, R-Denison, agreed to move the bill forward to the House Judiciary Committee.

“It’s been an ongoing conversation and argument for years on what is the appropriate age. If you're able to go to war, why can’t you also be able to exercise your Second Amendment rights equally?” Wheeler asked.

Holt cited federal court decisions that have challenged age-based firearm restrictions, and emphasized that the Second Amendment applies to all Americans, including 18-20-year-olds, and have the right to own a firearm to protect themselves and their families.

“So this is coming, whether we do it legislatively not. If not, the courts are going to do it for us,” Holt said. “I think this is common sense and respectful of the rights of those under 21 to exercise their right to keep and bear arms and protection of the things that they hold dear.”

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