Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law allowing Iowans 18 and older to own and carry a handgun, lowering the minimum age from 21.
While Iowans 18 years or older can already purchase long guns, this bill follows recent court decisions across the country that have ruled against federal law, which requires Americans to be 21 to buy handguns.
These rulings, notably in New Orleans, Virginia, and Minnesota, serve as a test of the United States Supreme Court’s 2022 landmark ruling that expanded Second Amendment law in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen.
House File 924, which was signed into law on April 18 and goes into effect on July 1, effectively changes the Iowa age requirement to possess pistols and revolvers, allowing 18 to 21-year-olds to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms. Having passed the state Senate on April 7 by a vote of 33-14, the bill became one of a dozen signed into law by Reynolds this month.
Iowa voters should know that all Republican representatives voted for the bill, aside from Senators Charlie McClintock and Ken Rozenboom, in case you have a conservative challenger coming up in their districts. Democrats largely opposed the bill, save for two holdouts, Senators Tony Bisignano and Bill Dotzler.
Representative Steven Holt, HF 924’s House sponsor and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, shared his concerns last month regarding constituents between the ages of 18 and 21 who currently raise and protect families in Iowa.
“I joined the Marines when I was 18, I graduated from boot camp when I was 18. I was carrying firearms in the military, ready to defend my country when I was 18, along with hundreds of thousands of other young men and women… So the idea that an 18-year-old, a 19-year-old, a 20-year-old, doesn’t have a right to own a firearm in protection of their families — which is really what the Second Amendment is about, right?” Holt says.
Democrats, as if right on cue, shared their usual fake concern for public safety along with their ever-present irreverence for the Second Amendment through more of their predictable hyperbole.
“Lowering the age to purchase handguns won’t save any lives… It will cost lives. Let’s keep this common sense safeguard in Iowa in place. Let’s keep the age at 21,” said Democrat shill and Senator from Cedar Rapids, Art Staed.
Even though Iowans aged 18 through 20 will be able to own and carry handguns under the law, they will not be able to receive a permit to acquire handguns or to buy a gun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL). However, legislation signed into law by Reynolds in 2021 allowed Iowans 21 years old and older to acquire or carry a handgun openly or concealed without a permit.
Additionally, the bill makes it a serious misdemeanor for anyone 18 years or older to make available a pistol, revolver, or ammunition to a minor under the age of 18 unless that person is the child’s adult parent or guardian, at which time they would be permitted to allow the minor to possess the firearm under direct supervision or during lessons with an instructor. Lastly, liability for damages that come as a result of a minor 14 years of age or under coming into possession of a handgun or ammunition falls squarely on the parent, guardian, or spouse.
While it may be encouraging to see current developments unfolding from the federal government, especially as the Department of Justice investigates leftist states whose gun control laws violate Americans’ Constitutional rights, this particular situation highlights a sense that many of us who live in Free America struggle with, which is that the federal government themselves are the Second Amendment bottleneck. It is the federal government that still restricts American adults ages 18-20 from owning handguns, and it is the federal government that restricts suppressors and holds on tightly to the arbitrary regulation of short-barrelled rifles and shotguns. It is also the federal government that has used the Hughes Amendment to price Americans out of their right to own machine guns through purposeful manipulation of the market. So, while the federal government is out there trying to make it look like they are turning a new leaf with the Second Amendment, just keep these major hurdles in mind, and let’s see how much really changes.
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