NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action is seeking help from Iowa gun owners to ensure that five important pro-gun bills currently under consideration in the state legislature are approved and signed into law this session.
Last week, all five of the measures were passed by the Iowa House of Representatives with bipartisan support. And the work done by gun-rights activists across Iowa made the difference in having these bills move successfully through the House.
However, as NRA-ILA points out, work in the Hawkeye State is just beginning. Getting the bills approved in Senate committees is the next critical item on the agenda.
Four of the measures have been to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration, including:Getting the bills approved in Senate committees is the next critical item on the agenda.
House File 2279 —Hearing Protection Act, which would allow for the sale, use and possession of firearm suppressors in Iowa;
House File 2280 — Freedom Protection Act, which would prevent gun and ammunition confiscation during a state of emergency;
House File 2281 — Youth Safety & Parental Rights Act, which would correct a discrepancy in current law that prevents individuals under 14 years of age from learning gun safety and target shooting with a handgun under their parents' permission and supervision; and
House File 2314 — Carry Permit Reform & Personal Information Protection, which would provide clarification to Iowa’s current carry permit law and respect law-abiding gun owner’s right to privacy by keeping all personally identifiable information of applicants and holders of permits to carry weapons and permits to acquire pistols/revolvers, confidential.
House File 2281 has come under particularly harsh attacks, with anti-gun advocates lying and misleading the public about the measure. State law already permits youngsters to handle rifles and shotguns under parental supervision, and this measure simply extends that treatment to handguns.
Gun-banners, however, are telling a different story. Democratic Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, in order to build opposition to the measure, misleadingly proclaimed on the floor of the legislature: “We do not need a militia of toddlers.” And Time magazine mischaracterized the measure in a grossly inaccurate headline: “Iowa May Allow Children to Carry Handguns.”
The fifth bill, House File 2283, was referred to the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee for further consideration. That measure would allow for law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm while riding in an ATV or snowmobile.
Now is the time for Iowa residents to double their efforts and prove to Iowa’s senators that law-abiding gun owners are watching their actions and demanding these bills be passed. NRA-ILA urges Iowa gun owners to contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee in support of these measures.
Your personal contact will go a long way in ensuring these pieces of legislation are given the attention and consideration they deserve. Please also forward this information to friends, family and fellow Second Amendment supporters in Iowa and encourage them to do the same.
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