Concealed Carry Shall Issue Passes in Iowa

Concealed Carry Shall Issue Passes in Iowa
But this is not good news for anyone under 20, returning veterans and includes forced training for life.

Iowa –-(AmmoLand.com)- As you may have heard in the media, on April 29 Governor Culver signed into law a bill that makes Iowa a ‘shall issue’ state in regards to concealed carry.

This is, in some regards, good news for Iowans in certain counties where it was impossible to obtain permits to carry.

For many Iowans, however, this is a major step backwards.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 20 you will no longer be able to carry. If you are a military veteran, recently home from military service, and you speak to a counselor and confide in that person that you’re having trouble sleeping or eating, etc., you will likely not be able to carry ever again. If you have certain misdemeanor offenses on your record – even misdemeanors that involve no physical contact – these misdemeanors will now be grounds to deny you your gun rights for life. Also, you’ll have to get re-trained to carry your weapon every time you renew your permit for the rest of your life. You can do your own math regarding the costs associated with that.

In our last email update we provided you with an analysis of this bill and the way it came about being passed and so we’ll not do that again here.

But it’s important to remember that this bill passed only because the anti-gunners at the Capitol are scared about their re-election chances and they now know that the gun issue will be a force to reckon with this November. This only happened because you’ve made this into an issue.

But more to the point, this bill was passed because it was seen as more ‘reasonable’ than the REAL Right-to-Carry bill which was being pushed by Iowa Gun Owners with your constant help. (Note: when an anti-gunner talks about ‘reasonable’ gun bills they are referring to the bill that allows for the least amount of freedom.) But don’t take our word for it.

In their recent legislative year end report the Iowa State Sheriff’s and Deputies Association (ISSDA) lobbyists, trying to explain how the ‘shall issue’ bill passed said, “Lobbyist Susan Cameron and her team of sheriffs did all they could to defeat SF2379 (the ‘Shall Issue’ bill.) However, with the Republicans in the legislature locked up in support of SF2379, and supporting even stronger versions of the concept, it didn’t take many Democrats to pass the bill.”

Did you catch that, the comment at the end about many Republicans supporting even stronger versions of the concept?

This is a direct reference to the REAL Right-to-Carry bill. As we’ve said all along: the extremes always dictate the middle in politics. Your calls, emails, and presence at the Capitol for the last two sessions is what made the anti-gunners sit up and take notice. They’ve given us this crumb from their table – they are trying to make you go away. It’s important that they realize that we are not satisfied and are coming back for more.

Because don’t forget, your sheriff can still deny you the right to carry a weapon. In fact, they can deny you a permit for something that they think you may do in the future. That’s right, if the sheriff thinks you are likely to commit a crime or negligent act in the future he can deny your permit – under this new law!

As if to make our point, CedarCounty Sheriff Warren Wethington said last week on WHO radio regarding the new gun bill, “We still have discretion [to deny permits], really the only difference is we have to put it in writing [why we are denying] and show the person…”

Great, that’s great, all the anti-gunners who voted for this bill get to claim to be pro-gun when this bill still gives the sheriff’s discretion to deny you your right to keep and bear arms!

This is exactly what Iowa Gun Owners said was going to happen and the very thing we tried to stop – and with your help we came close – falling just 6 votes short in the House and Senate from passing REAL Right-to-Carry.

It’ll be important now to make sure everyone knows that we are not satisfied and are going to come back for more next session. Stay tuned for more on that later.

About:
Iowa Gun Owners (IGO) was formed in January of 2009 to combat the oppressive gun laws in the State of Iowa. IGO does not believe that you, as a law abiding citizen, should have to beg permission from the government to be able to defend yourself and your family. That’s why we are working so hard to get a Vermont/Alaska style carry law passed in Iowa. In these states, unless you are a convicted felon or otherwise barred from possessing weapons, you don’t need a permit to carry a gun for self-defense! Join us now! Visit: www.iowagunowners.org