Iowa: Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment Under Attack in the House Public Safety Committee

Please Contact the Members of the House Public Safety Committee Today! 

Tomorrow at 2 p.m., the NRA’s proposed Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment—House Study Bill 17 (HSB 17)—will be heard before the House Public Safety Committee.  Anti-gun lawmakers may try to remove or alter parts of this important legislation, so it is important that we strongly voice our support for HSB 17 as introduced.

HSB 17 contains the following language: 

“The right of an individual to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, and use arms to defend life and liberty and for all other legitimate purposes is fundamental and inviolable. Licensure, registration, special taxation, or any other measure that suppresses or discourages the free exercise of this right is forbidden.”

HSB 17 would make Iowa the 45th state to provide state protection of the right to “keep and bear arms.”  Four justices—out of nine—on the U.S. Supreme Court did not agree that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms. If the landmark Second Amendment Supreme Court cases—Heller and McDonald—were ever overturned, having your rights protected in Iowa Constitution is essential.

The terms enshrined in the Second Amendment “keep” and “bear” are also captured in the above provision: acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, and use arms.  Anti-gun members of the House Public Safety Committee are trying to weaken the provision by removing the term “carry.”  By doing so, the provision provides less protection from infringement in Iowa than Americans are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Please contact the following members of the House Public Safety Committee and tell them to respect your constitutional rights and keep “carry” in the provision.

House Public Safety Committee

Representative Clel Baudler (R-58)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Tom Shaw (R-8)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Bob Kressig (D-19)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Dwayne Alons (R-4)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Mark Brandenburg (R-100)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Joel Fry (R-95)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Chris Hagenow (R-59)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Jarad Klein (R-89)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Steven Olson (R-83)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Henry Rayhons (R-11)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Thomas Sands (R-87)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Kurt Swaim (D-94)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative David Tjepkes (R-50)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Matt Windschitl (R-56)
[email protected]
515.281.3221

Representative Gary Worthan (R-52)
[email protected]
515.281.3221