Sen. Jake Chapman (R-Adel) spoke in support of House File 2502 during a committee meeting on Monday in the Iowa Senate. The bill simply reinforces a law that has been in existence for 30 years.
Political subdivisions are not supposed to be able to limit the Second Amendment more than the state does, but they are. So, the Republican-controlled legislature is working on a bill that would require political subdivisions to provide screening and armed security in any building they own and declare a gun-free zone.
“I just want to point out one thing that I think is being overlooked,” Chapman said. “We’ve heard about costs — what this is going to cost our cities and counties and we’ve got 24 buildings that this could impact in Des Moines — who owns those buildings? I mean, it makes it sound like it’s the mayor that owns it or the city council who own it or the county supervisors.
“It’s the people. The people pay for it. We own those buildings. We own this building. We have governments instituted at the local level who are restricting a fundamental constitutional right to keep and bear arms in their buildings. No different than your home.”
Chapman said he’d just like to see a ban altogether on a political subdivision’s ability to institute a gun-free zone.
“But hey, we’re going to allow some local control,” he said. “If you want to do it, you’re going to have to provide the security. If you’re going to restrict my ability to self-preservation, to protect myself from some other lunatic that’s in the building, then you’d better be prepared to protect me. I think that’s absolutely reasonable.”
