Iowa constitutional carry proposal advances

The state Senate Judiciary Sub-Committee last week recommended passage of a measure to recognize the Second Amendment as all the concealed carry permit a law-abiding Iowan needs.

The committee gave a 2-1 thumbs up to SF 2106, proposed by Republican Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City, which would make it optional to obtain an Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons before going out in public with a concealed handgun.

“There is a growing body of support across the country and here in Iowa included that you shouldn’t have to ask permission of the government if you are a law-abiding citizen to bear arms,” said Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, chairman of the subcommittee. “Regulations and laws only regulate good people.”

The measure wouldn’t do away with Iowa’s “shall-issue” permitting scheme that charges $50 for a five-year nonprofessional PCW issued by county sheriffs. What it would do is strike the sections of state law that make it a crime to carry a concealed weapon without one.

The Iowa County Attorneys Association and gun control groups such as Everytown and Giffords oppose the legislation.

Gun rights groups to include the Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa Gun Owners, and the National Rifle Association have joined to support the current bill.

The measure now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee as a whole.

The law in more than a dozen states, permitless carry legislation is also tracking in Alabama and elsewhere.

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