Once again the Iowa House of Representatives has proven the Omnibus Gun Bill enjoys wide support from both Republicans and Democrats. Today it passed yet another vote, this time it was 73 votes in favor to just 25 against. We’ll be sharing the breakdown of who voted for against the bill on our website as soon that information is made available.

Senate File 427, the latest version of the Omnibus Gun Bill now goes back to the Senate. The Senate has essentially been given a do-over. They now have a very rare opportunity to pass a solid pro-Second Amendment bill for a second time this session. The entire Senate must vote on whether or not to approve of the Omnibus Gun Bill language that passed the House today. If the Senate approves it, the bill then goes to Governor Terry Branstad’s desk to be signed into law, but first thing’s first, the Senate leadership has to schedule SF427 for a vote.

In a sense we find ourselves in familiar territory, waiting for the Senate leadership to bring a gun bill to a vote. Once again we’d caution you to take everything the media says with a grain of salt. Reports are already circulating that SF427 is all but dead. We’ve heard the media say this before, and we’ve proven them wrong – more than once. The Senate leadership has said they’d like to pass a “pro-gun” bill this session, they monkeyed around with the Omnibus Gun Bill earlier and it came back to bite them. Now they’ve been given a rare second chance to listen to the people of Iowa and live up to their word about wanting to pass a pro-gun owner bill. Time will tell what their true intentions are.

As it stands right now the earliest the Senate could take up SF427 is next Monday. We also know that there are other non-Second Amendment issues the Senate is dealing with (most notably mandatory deadlines for education funding). Because of this we believe it may be a week and a half to two weeks before we see any public movement on the Omnibus Gun Bill.

Do not lose sight of the fact that we still have the votes to get this bill passed. We still have support of the people of Iowa, and the support of Iowa’s law enforcement community. What we need is for the Senate leadership to take a long hard look at these facts and reflect on who they’re in Des Moines to serve, the people of Iowa or their own personal prejudices.

For now we need you to remain patient. Our volunteer lobbyists continue to work daily to get the Omnibus Gun Bill the vote it deserves. Right now they’re telling us they need time to do their thing and as soon as it’s time to turn up the pressure on the Senate they’ll put out the signal and we’ll relay the message that it’s time to go to work. We’ve had a few bumps in the road recently, but we’re still sitting in a very good spot (this is politics after all, and things rarely ever go smoothly).

Standby for more updates. Take all media reports about the Omnibus Gun Bill with a grain of salt. And for now stand ready to do more work when the appropriate time comes.

Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, Second Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Concealed Weapons Permitting process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance Second Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on Second Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.