(DES MOINES, Iowa) — The Iowa Firearms Coalition (IFC) applauds the passage of House File 654, also known as the Safer Families Act, which will significantly reduce the number of phony and dangerous “No Guns Zones” in Iowa.
As IFC has pointed out for years, signs and rules alone do not create “gun-free zones,” but rather free-fire zones for criminals who wish to harm innocent people. The Safer Families Act takes an important step forward in protecting Iowans’ right to self-defense.
The bill also includes provisions that enhance the ability of schools to provide armed security for their students and staff and eliminates obsolete and confusing language from Iowa Code. Additionally, the bill prevents Iowa’s public community colleges and universities from prohibiting the otherwise lawful carrying, possession, and transportation of self-defense tools in private vehicles on the grounds of those institutions.
While the bill originally included a provision preventing private employers from firing employees who stored self-defense tools out of sight in a locked private vehicle while at work, IFC recognizes that insisting on that mandSafeate at this time would put the entire bill at risk. The amended bill continues to protect the right and ability of government employees, or others who use state and local government parking lots, to choose to carry a defensive tool.
“IFC applauds the members of the Iowa House for their leadership in passing this important legislation and urges the Senate to take up the companion bill, SF543, at the earliest opportunity,” said Dave Funk, IFC President. “The Safer Families Act is an important step forward for the protection of Second Amendment rights in Iowa. IFC thanks all those who worked to pass this bill and we look forward to its swift passage in the Senate.”
The Iowa Firearms Coalition, an NRA state association, is a 501(c4) nonprofit and is Iowa’s only effective pro-Second Amendment rights organization.
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