Safer Families Act Explained

by Michael Ware | Apr 17, 2023

As the Safer Families Act moves toward final consideration by the Iowa Senate, some Iowans are contacting their legislators to oppose the bill. Influenced by misinformation (and even some blatant lies) about what the HF654/SF543 will do, they typically call for the passage instead of “common sense gun safety reforms” – which is simply code for “pile more severe restrictions on owning and using a firearm.” They completely ignore the burden this would place on the ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise vital and constitutionally protected rights while holding a childlike belief that adding a few more rules to the lawbooks will end the scourge of criminal violence. This is completely wrongheaded!

In order to properly serve their constituents, Iowa’s legislators must first honor their oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa.” Each of those constitutions was adopted in order to ensure the security, liberties, and well-being of the people by forming a government of expressly limited powers. It is crucial that we the people – especially through our elected representatives – hold those governments within the constitutionally imposed constraints, for once liberty is lost, it may be impossible to regain.

Both our state and federal constitutions recognize and seek to protect the natural, fundamental, and individual right to keep and bear arms. This right is derived directly from the natural right to defend one’s own life, which right extends also to the defense of family and community. It is not, as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has frequently pointed out, “a second-class civil right.” It is due the same regard and protections as other fundamental rights.

The Supreme Court has strongly affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the possession and use of weapons that are “in common use at the time” and that the Second and 14th Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside of the home. Hundreds of thousands of Iowans have made the lawful, moral, and responsible choice to own and carry firearms for the defense of themselves and their families. The Supreme Court has now made crystal clear – and the inferior courts are finally grasping – that nearly all attempts at “gun control” are unconstitutional infringements on basic and protected human rights.

Justice Thomas wrote, “We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need. That is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. It is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. And it is not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public carry for self-defense.”

In fact, there is no “common-sense” nor is there a benefit to be gained in making it difficult for law-abiding citizens to possess and use firearms. It is a small, criminally-minded fraction of our population that commits violence against others with guns. Such violence is a cultural problem and requires cultural solutions, not restrictions on common, useful, and constitutionally protected tools.

Unfortunately, federal and state governments have in the past far too often treated Second Amendment rights as second – or even third–class rights. Any legislator who takes their oath of office seriously must be committed to protecting the rights of responsible citizens, while seeking the swift apprehension and sure prosecution of those who commit crimes of violence.

Please use this link to IFC’s Action Center to send your Senator a letter urging the Senate to swiftly pass SF543 and send it to the Governor’s desk for her signature.

Some Truths About SF543/HF654, the Safer Families Act

The bill DOES NOT:

• Allow students to have guns at school. (Iowa law requires expulsion for a minimum of one year for students found to have brought any weapon to school. Furthermore, a Permit to Carry is required under the new provision and no one under the age of 21 is eligible.)
• Allow, as absurdly claimed by some, machine guns, grenades, or other “offensive weapons” to be possessed – even if concealed in a vehicle – at schools, community colleges, or state universities. Iowa law makes it a felony to possess any operable “offensive weapon”, except for peace officers and military personnel in the pursuit of their duties, and certain specially licensed manufacturers and dealers.

The bill WILL:

• Reduce the number of phony “gun-free zones” in Iowa. In the absence of proper screening for weapons and the presence of armed security personnel, “No Guns Allowed” signs and rules merely announce the presence of a “free-fire zone” for those who would maim and murder innocents.
• Enhance the ability of Iowans to make the lawful, moral, and responsible choice to have effective tools at hand with which to defend themselves and their families.
• Allow Iowans age 21 or older with a Permit to Carry Weapons to drive onto school property while picking up or dropping off at the school while armed with a concealed handgun that must remain in their vehicle. These Iowans are often routinely armed throughout their day, but current law requires that they access, unload, and case (or place in the trunk) their firearm before driving up to a school. Then, after leaving the school property, they need to retrieve their gun, reload it, and secure it for carrying. This unnecessary manipulation, repeated many times a day throughout the state in the confines of a vehicle, invites an eventual unintentional discharge – for no benefit.
• Assist Iowa schools if they make the choice to install trained, armed staff to protect students, including when traveling on school-provided transportation.
• Eliminate some obsolete and confusing language from the Code and make necessary clarification of certain rules on possessing or carrying weapons in the wake of other recent changes to Iowa law.