The minimum age for Iowans to possess and carry handguns would change from 21 to 18 under a bill that is on its way to the governor’s desk, after Republicans in the Iowa Senate passed the bill Monday.
Current law allows 18- through 20-year-olds to have long guns but not handguns, unless they’re on military duty or are working as a security guard or law enforcement officer.
Republican supporters of the bill have said 18-year-olds can join the military, get married and vote, so they should be able to carry handguns to defend themselves, too.
“As a father of an 18-year-old — almost 19, couple weeks — I believe that my daughter has the constitutional right to be able to defend herself, no different than anybody else,” said Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf. “She’s 18 years old. She’s an adult. She can vote. She has that right.”
Sen. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said those who have served in the military understand what it takes to be proficient with a handgun.
“It’s not simply about owning a firearm. It’s about rigorous, ongoing training,” he said. “Do we truly expect an average 18-year-old civilian to exercise that same level of military responsibility and discipline, without being required to? That’s just not realistic. It’s fundamentally dangerous.”
Staed said young adults have the highest rate of gun deaths, and he said the bill will cost lives.
Webster said the Iowa Legislature is making this change because a federal appeals court ruled that an 18-year-old’s right to carry a handgun is no different from that of other adults.
But a different federal appeals court concluded that people under the age of 21 could be barred from buying or carrying guns, and the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if it will consider this issue.
According to Republican lawmakers, federal law would still prohibit people under the age of 21 from buying handguns. And Iowans would still have to be 21 to get a permit to acquire or a permit to carry a handgun, though Iowa law no longer requires permits to buy or carry a handgun.
If Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signs the bill into law, it will take effect on July 1.
