All three members of an Iowa Senate subcommittee voted to advance a bill that allows adults 18-20 years old to possess a handgun. House File 924 already advanced through the Iowa House and is scheduled for committee on Wednesday.
Richard Rogers of Iowa Firearms Coalition said the change to Iowa law is long overdue. Both the state and federal constitutions, he said, guarantee a right of the people to keep and bear arms and state that right shall not be infringed.
“There is no age limit there,” he said.
Court precedent has indicated that young adults 18-20 are included in “the people.” He cited a number of court rulings from federal district and circuit courts that rule state laws prohibiting the carrying of weapons for 18-20-year-olds are unconstitutional.
The same young adults are sometimes starting families at that age and are “morally and legally” responsible for the care and safety of that family.
“So denying these persons the ability to have the most effective portable tool for self defense is not right,” Rogers said.
Connie Ryan, who represents the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund, expressed opposition to the bill as she said laws imposing minimum age requirements fore firearms help reduce the number of suicides, homicides and unintentional shootings by young people.
Ryan said the human brain continues to develop and is not fully developed until “well past” age 21. She said impulse control and judgement are among the last areas of the brain to fully mature. Developing brains in adolescents and young adults place an increased risk on making risky decisions, she added.
She finished by reminding members of the subcommittee that guns remain the number one cause of death for young people.
Republican State Sen. Scott Webster asked how an 18-year-old can carry a firearm if they cannot purchase it. Rogers explained that while a young adult cannot purchase a handgun from a federal dealer, those young adults may inherit a handgun, have one gifted or obtain one through private transfer.
Democrat State Sen. Tony Bisignano said the bill is a situation where the reality is possession a weapon is a constitutional right and young adults should be afforded all of the rights.
“I try to reconcile this,” he said. “I don’t want more guns on the street, well, that’s not my place to decide. What is my place to decide is what’s fair and what’s fair is if we set the adult age at 18 and you become 18 then you get adult rights. That’s hard to swallow in some cases.”
Bisignano said he agreed with both Rogers and Ryan. While he said he was “torn” on the bill and doesn’t want it, he supports it because “it is what it is.”
“I mean, you gotta decide at what age you want people to have their rights and what age you don’t,” he said. “We have to deal with the facts.”
Republican State Sen. Jason Schultz said he would support the bill. Webster, who managed the bill, said his daughter is in the young adult range and recently became a realtor. In her situation, she has to go into areas of town she feels uncomfortable with.
“The oddity behind that is she can carry a long rifle but she can’t carry a handgun to protect herself,” he said. “In that particular case, her carrying around a long rifle will make her a target.”
He said he is supporting the bill on behalf of his daughter so she can protect herself.
