On April 27th, the Iowa General Assembly adjourned sine die from the 2019 Legislative Session. During this session, both chambers passed Senate Joint Resolution 18 to propose an amendment to the state Constitution affirming and recognizing the right of Iowans’ to keep and bear arms as a fundamental individual right. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives missed an opportunity to ensure that law-abiding citizens are able to defend themselves and their loved ones when they failed to bring up House File 636, the Family Defense Act, for debate.
Authored by Senator Brad Zaun (R-20), Senate Joint Resolution 18 passed the Senate by a vote of 33-16 and the House by a vote of 53-46. It will need to pass again during the 2021-2022 General Assembly before a constitutional amendment is put on the ballot for Iowa voters to decide in 2022. Currently, Iowa is one of six states that do not have a right to keep and bear arms amendment in its state Constitution, including California, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.
House File 636, introduced by Representative Matt Windschitl (R-17), would have allowed Iowa PCW holders to go onto school grounds to pick up and drop off students without having to first unload and lock up their firearms in their vehicles. In addition, it would have also prevented employers from prohibiting employees to store firearms in their locked personal vehicles while on the employer’s parking lot. So called “gun-free-zones” are arbitrary boundaries that only disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless while doing nothing to affect criminals.
Thank you to all of the legislators who worked hard this legislative session to protect Second Amendment rights in Iowa.
Your NRA-ILA will be back at the Capitol for the 2020 session, and in the meantime, please stay tuned to your email inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates on Second Amendment issues in the Hawkeye State.
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