A few weeks ago, we had a discussion about the right in the Iowa Bill of Rights that protects your right to Keep and Bear Arms. On March 25th, the House passed a bill that lowers the legal age for possessing firearms from 21 to 18 and sent it to the Senate. This is in response to rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts, which have declared age restrictions on firearm possession unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the House Republicans voted to uphold this unconstitutional prohibition, and, sadly, most Democrats in the House voted to maintain the restriction, despite knowing it was unconstitutional.
When I swore an oath to serve in the military 40 years ago, and again when I took my oath to serve in the Iowa legislature, I vowed to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of Iowa. I have never wavered from that vow, and I never will. One of the justifications for voting “no” on this bill was the claim that over 300 deaths in Iowa each year are caused by guns, with firearms being the second leading cause of death for young people. However, as legislators, we cannot simply choose which Constitutional Rights we want to give or take away based on statistics. Those rights are the supreme law of the land and are intended to restrict the government’s ability to infringe on the freedoms of the people. Once we start picking and choosing which rights to uphold, it becomes easier to justify taking away all of them. For example, if we don’t like the speech being used against the government, we could label it treasonous.
We must uphold our Constitution at the highest level to preserve the God-given rights that our Founding Fathers, and many others throughout history, fought for and paid for with blood and sacrifice. This week, let’s once again discuss the Iowa Constitution’s Bill of Rights. In our previous discussion, we covered several sections of the Bill of Rights. Today, I want to focus on Sections 7 and 8. As you know, the U.S. Bill of Rights contains ten rights, while the Iowa Bill of Rights includes even more, though many overlap with those in the federal document.
Section 7 of the Iowa Bill of Rights protects the Liberty of Speech and the Press. It states that every person may speak, write, and publish their sentiments on all subjects, with responsibility for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In cases of libel, the truth may be presented to the jury, and if it is determined that the statement was true, published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted.
Section 8 deals with Personal Security – Searches and Seizures. It guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It further stipulates that no warrant shall be issued without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and that it must specifically describe the place to be searched and the items or persons to be seized.
These rights, which we’ve discussed over the past few weeks, are absolutely vital to our Republic and our state. Without them, our state would be less free and more burdened. You may have noticed that each of these rights serves to limit the power of government. Next week, we may discuss the only right in the Iowa Bill of Rights that grants power to the government—eminent domain.
Let’s continue to protect and uphold the rights that are foundational to our freedom.
