The Iowa Independent

MARION — A forum with area lawmakers hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce is typically filled with questions on what can be done at the state level to help local businesses and school districts. While such discussion did take place early Saturday, it was clear that many who packed the Marion Council Chambers were concerned about changes to non-professional weapons permits.

“Because there were inconsistencies within the permitting system, we wanted to put in place one standardized process,” said state Sen. Swati Dandekar (D-Marion).

The law change, which stripped nearly all discretionary power from local sheriffs, was approved by the legislature during 2010 and was signed into law by former Gov. Chet Culver. The passage and Culver’s subsequent signing of the law was highlighted by Randy Kozuch of the NRA Political Victory Fund in September 2010 when the organization endorsed his unsuccessful re-election campaign.

Prior to the new law, county sheriffs were given a final say in who could and could not obtain a weapon permit. In addition, the county sheriff could choose to issue a permit with specific limits. For instance, the sheriff could dictate that the person could only carry concealed or was banned from carrying a weapon while in a drinking establishment or a bank.

Under the new law, a sheriff must issue a permit to anyone who completes a four-hour training course and who doesn’t have a criminal or behavioral health history that can be documented in writing. There is nothing in Iowa law that mandates the training courses include touching or firing a weapon, and there is nothing within the law to mandate any permit holder be rated. Local law enforcement can no longer limit a carrying permit.

Iowa gun rights advocates have begun distributing business cards like the one above to business owners who ban weapons in their establishments.

While the new legislation succeeded in standardizing the issuance of permits, it did nothing to address absences within the law for clear guidelines for private property owners or employers. Without such guidelines, local government officials and business owners have been left in limbo, many unsure what can and can’t be restricted under current law.

This has especially been true in Marion as local officials first considered a complete ban on weapons in city-owned property, then considered banning only openly carried weapons and ultimately — in front of an audience packed with gun-rights advocates earlier this month — decided to do nothing.

“You are allowed to security at the statehouse that we can’t have at City Hall,” Marion Mayor Pro Tem Kay Lammers told lawmakers at the Saturday forum. “Anyone with a gun can walk into City Hall because we can’t make a stronger ordinance.”

At question in Marion and other cities throughout the state is whether or not “home rule,” which allows local jurisdictions to make public safety policy that is not in conflict with state or federal laws, would allow for the banning of weapons on city-owned property, such as local libraries.

“My concern is that we passed this new law to bring consistency to the process — and we had been working on this bill for a long time,” said state Rep. Nick Wagner (R-Marion). “If we allow cities to do their own thing then we will have 947 different ways, which will completely do away with the standardized process we’ve created.”

Council members at the forum urged both Dandekar and Wagner to push for legislation that would clarify the situation for local governments, and two exclusively pushed for state laws that was specifically allow localities to ban weapons at municipal buildings.

The lawmakers also faced tough questions from local business owners who were also confused as to their right to limit weapons on their property.

“You have the ability to put up signs to ban weapons,” advised Marion Police Chief Harry Dougherty. “If there is a person who then carries on your property, and refuses to leave, that person can be charged with criminal trespass.”

Wagner said that he was “sure we’ll have a discussion” in Des Moines about the problems that have resulted from the new permitting process, but wasn’t ready to predict what might come of it.

2011 Gun Legislation

Thus far in the 2011 Iowa Legislature there have been five bills introduced that impact Iowa’s gun laws. None directly address the ability of municipalities or counties to limit carrying, nor do they address the rights of private property owners including taverns and banks to keep their businesses weapons free.

House File 7 is a bill that has been championed by the NRA and other gun rights advocates throughout the nation. The bill approves the use of force, including deadly force, and also holds those utilizing such force harmless from legal ramifications, civil or criminal. Use of such force, under this bill, is not limited to one’s own property, and does not require that the person utilizing such force be the individual in danger.

House File 104 hopes to legalize the use of “silencers” that are manufactured in Iowa. Silencers or “devices specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired” are currently labeled as “offensive weapons” under Iowa law, their possession considered a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $7,500. Passage of this bill as written would bar the federal government from further regulation or registration of such “silencers.”

House File 121 also seeks to remove all federal regulation and oversight from firearms, ammunition and other firearms accessories that are manufactured and retained within the state on and after Oct. 1.

House File 122 would allow licensed private investigators and private security officers to be in possession of weapons now deemed “offensive weapons” within the Iowa Code. Possession of such weapons currently constitutes a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $7,500.

According to the Code, offensive weapons are “a machine gun, a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun, certain other weapons which fire or can be made to fire a projectile by the explosion of a propellant charge, a bomb, grenade, or mine, any rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, certain rockets, missiles, and other similar devices, a ballistic knife, any part or combination of parts to be used to convert any device into an offensive weapon, certain bullets, projectiles, shotshells, or cartridges, any mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired, an antique firearm or collector’s firearm, any device which is not designed or redesigned for use as a weapon including signaling, pyrotechnic, line-throwing, or safety devices, and unserviceable firearms.”

Senate File 112 establishes procedures that must be used before a property can be developed as a shooting range.

There are also several study bills before the Iowa House Public Safety Committee that would impact gun laws in the state. They are:

House Study Bill 16 — Removes a permitting requirement for those who obtain or transfer ownership of a pistol or a revolver.

House Study Bill 17 — Proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would codify an individual state right to “acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry and use arms to defend life and liberty and for all legitimate purposes.” It would prohibit any future licenses, registration, special taxes related to firearms “or any other measure that suppresses or discourages the free exercise of this right.” Like other amendments to the Iowa Constitution, this bill would need be adopted by both chambers for two consecutive legislative sessions before being placed on the ballot for general consideration.

House Study Bill 18 — Makes it illegal for any level of government to “prohibit, regulate or curtail” possession or use of firearms and ammunition during times of crisis.

House Study Bill 19 — Mandates that regulation of all firearms, accessories and ammunition is matter than is exclusively controlled by state government. If enacted, this bill would make any ordinance or policy that banned weapons, which was passed by county supervisors, city council members or any other governing board, immediately void and unenforceable.

House Study Bill 20 — Requires that a person carrying a dangerous weapon must be proven guilty of intent before he/she could be charged with an aggravated misdemeanor. “The mere carrying or possession of a dangerous weapon shall not give rise to an inference that the person intended to use the dangerous weapon unlawfully against another person.” This legislation would also eliminate a provision that invalidates a person’s permit to carry weapons if the person is intoxicated.

House Study Bill 37 — Modifies the definitions of a machine gun, silencers and short-barreled rifles/shotguns, and clarifies when such weapons, deemed as “offensive weapons,” are allowed by law.

Frequently Asked Questions, Iowa Gun Law