IFC Victories & Disappointments – 90th General Assembly – Part 2

by Michael Ware | Apr 26, 2024

IFC Victories and Disappointments in the 90th Iowa General Assembly

We covered the IFC Victories yesterday.  Take a quick peek if you missed it.

Part II – Disappointments

HF2639 – Gadsden Flag license plate bill

This bill would have created a distinctive vehicle license plate featuring the famous “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. During the War for Independence, the Gadsen flag became the first ensign of the Continental Navy. It has always been an icon of Liberty. Such a license plate would be a great complement to Iowa’s own flag, with its motto, “Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain”.

As the Gadsden Flag is frequently associated with Second Amendment rights, the introduction of this license plate would have been an appropriate recognition that nearly two-thirds of Iowa voters recently approved the Freedom Amendment, adding strong protections of the right to keep and bear arms to Iowa’s Constitution.

The bill provided that the fees for this specialty plate would have funded grants for education and training on these fundamental rights. In the awarding of these grants, the bill specified that “first consideration” would go to the official state association of the National Rifle Association and similar organizations. Iowa Firearms Coalition is, of course, the official state association of the NRA.

This bill was important to the future of IFC. It passed the House with bipartisan support and we had expected the Senate to approve it and send it to the Governor. It is not entirely clear why it failed in the Senate, but this is a severe blow to IFC’s plans to use those potentially significant grant monies for important educational initiatives, scholarships, and the like. It is too early to determine if it will be feasible for IFC to try to revive this effort in the next legislature.

Finally, we need to discuss the death of HF654 – the Safer Families Act.

Provisions of this failed bill included:

• A much-needed correction to an erroneous word introduced into Chapter 724.15 in 2021. The error has resulted in the Iowa Courts wrongly prohibiting persons sentenced for certain misdemeanors from possessing firearms for two or three years.
• “Cleanup” language (Chapters 724, 483A, 321G) in the wake of changes made in 2021, including:
  • Repeal of the obsolete “Manner of Conveyance” hunting statute that prohibits having a long gun in a vehicle on a public highway unless it and its magazines are unloaded and the gun is broken down or cased
  • Repeal of obsolete and confusing statutory language regarding carrying firearms on ATVs/snowmobiles
• Elimination of several of the few phony “No Guns” zones remaining in Iowa law:
  • Publicly accessible and non-secure state and local government parking lots
  • Correctional facility parking lots (in locked vehicles in non-secure lots)
  • Regents’ university and community colleges (weapons in locked private vehicles)
  • Vehicles transporting children in foster care
  • Repeals the prohibition on casino management approving lawful carry of guns
• Firearm Safety and Hunter Safety Instruction Programs in Schools
• Allowed certain qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry firearms on school grounds
• Persons with a Permit to Carry Weapons may have a concealed pistol or revolver in their vehicle while picking up or dropping off at a school

After a strenuous multi-year effort by IFC to craft and champion this important bill, it passed the House during the first session of the 90^th General Assembly last year. The bill in its final form had dropped several provisions IFC had sought, but it included the most critical ones and laid the groundwork for more advancements in the future. Unfortunately, due to several other controversial issues taking up much of the Representatives’ time and attention last year, the bill was passed and sent to the Senate very late in the session. It also contained a provision regarding insurance coverage for schools that choose to train and arm staff members that turned out to be too problematic and needed to be modified or removed. For this and other reasons, the Senate failed to take up the Safer Families Act, but IFC worked to ensure that it was put on the unfinished business calendar. IFC fully expected that the Senate would take it up this year, amend it as necessary and send it back to the House.

Unfortunately, various circumstances combined to prevent that from happening. IFC worked until the very last days of the session to overcome the obstacles but were ultimately unsuccessful. Therefore, we begin now to plan how to revive these important legislative initiatives in the 91^st General Assembly, most likely in a different form.

The Safer Families Act was an omnibus bill, meaning that it had several divisions dealing with separate parts of the Iowa Code. Such bills have both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that if you can get such a multi-part bill through the committee process and to the floor, there need be only one debate and final vote, whereas separate bills with the same provisions each have to pass through the committee process and then require separate debate and votes on the floor of the legislative chamber. Of course, an obvious disadvantage of a multi-part bill is that various parts may find different legislators in opposition, often making it difficult to gather sufficient support for the whole. IFC has had some great successes with omnibus bills, including the massive and momentous one in 2017. The permitless carry bill in 2021 was a mini-omnibus. However, it is IFC’s sense that going forward, we will need to focus on multiple smaller bills, each with a narrower scope. It certainly seems that tactic will bring a greater chance of success in the Senate.

Iowa Firearms Coalition intends to continue to build on our record of success in ensuring that the Iowa government recognizes, protects, and respects our fundamental right to keep and bear arms. We will continue to work to maximize individual liberty by streamlining and clarifying Iowa’s laws on weapons and use of force, and by eliminating unnecessary, obsolete, or unconstitutional regulations whenever possible.

To do this, we need your help! We need our current members to renew or upgrade their memberships and to encourage their friends, family, and acquaintances to join as well. IFC’s mission is to protect the civil rights of all – and there is strength in numbers.

Additionally, especially throughout the primary and general election campaign seasons, contact your Representative and Senator. Let them get to know you and your concerns, especially regarding Second Amendment-related issues. If you want to eliminate phony “No Guns” zones, TELL them. If you think that schools should offer elementary students vital firearm safety instruction, TELL them. If you want to be able to voluntarily contribute to important education and training on the right to keep and bear arms by buying a “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden license plate, TELL them! Seek them out at events in your community or when you see them at the store or on the street. Let them get to know YOU and what you expect of them.

Together we can continue the restoration of essential liberty that is represented – and ultimately protected by – our natural and fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

-Richard Rogers – IFC Board Member and Chief Lobbyist