HF2586, the Students First Safety Act, passes Iowa House! Yesterday, the Iowa House passed the Students First Safety Act (now HF2586) with 61% affirmative vote, sending the bill to the Senate for action. (Look HERE to see how your Representative voted on the bill in the House.) Today, the bill was assigned to the 19-member Senate Education Committee for review and action.
HF2586 provides important additional safety measures and protection for students in Iowa schools. The recent shooting in Perry, Iowa painfully demonstrates that nowhere is immune from evil. We must do everything in our power to protect our school children. Read the full text of the bill HERE.
IFC wishes to thank the 61 House members who voted in favor of this bill to provide additional tools to protect Iowa’s students.
PRESS RELEASE
Iowa House passes the Students First Safety Act
WHO: The Iowa Firearms Coalition and the Iowa House
WHAT: The Students First Safety Act passes the Iowa House
WHERE: Iowa State Capitol Building
WHY: To increase school safety
(DES MOINES, Iowa) – The Iowa Firearms Coalition (IFC) is pleased the Iowa House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted to pass the “Students First Safety Act,” HF 2586.
The bill, which allows for specially trained armed staff to carry firearms on school grounds, passed on Wednesday with 61 legislators voting in support of the pro-school safety legislation.
“Allowing for those who love their children enough to protect them is a win for school safety and all of Iowa’s students,” said IFC President Dave Funk. “IFC is grateful to have partnered with lawmakers on moving this bill of critical importance forward and we look forward to working with the Senate and Governor Kim Reynolds to make it law.”
While state and federal law currently allow for Iowa school districts to arm school staff, in practice, insurance companies have denied coverage to districts that have attempted to do this.
Two school districts in northwest Iowa had worked to implement armed staff in 2023 but cancelled plans once Des Moines based EMC insurance notified the districts that their insurance policies would not be renewed if their plans went into effect.
Under this new legislation, school staff and school districts that comply with the training requirements will receive qualified immunity from civil or criminal damages should they need to stop a threat. This language is designed to allow school districts who protect their students the ability to maintain insurance coverage.
“In the wake of the recent act of evil at Perry High School, it’s clear no school district, large or small, is immune from being a target by someone who wishes to commit an act of evil,” said Funk. “The Students First Safety Act will force a would-be attacker to think twice before attempting to harm our kids, and should they still move forward with their plans, they’ll be stopped and lives will be saved.”
IFC is calling on Iowans to contact their state Senator and demand they pass HF 2586 immediately.
The Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa’s official NRA State Association, is a 501(c4) nonprofit and is Iowa’s only effective pro-Second Amendment rights organization.
For further comment, please contact: John McLaughlin, IFC Chair 515-724-4164 jmclaughlin@iowafc.org
WHAT BILLS HAS IFC HELPED TO KILL SO FAR THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION?
What bills has IFC helped to kill so far this legislative session you ask? Here’s the shortlist:
HF2297 – Gun confiscation (“Red Flag”) bill
HF2129 – Money for a study on “Prevention of Weapons Violence”
HF488 – State registration requirement for personally made Firearms and “unfinished frames and receivers”
SF2085 – Required private transfers of pistols and revolvers to go through FFLs and NICS
SF2080 – Ban on standard capacity magazines
SF2253 – Would have created a “Mental Health Firearm Safety Fund”
This is just a sprinkling of what the anti-gun Dangerous Quacks on the left have introduced this session, reminding people that the other side is continually trying this stuff — and we’re continually working to stop it. The anti-gun Dangerous Quacks also forgot to read the Iowa Constitution and its newest Amendment: #49 – The Freedom Amendment, which prohibits any of the proposals outlined above. That Amendment would not have happened if it were not for the combined efforts of IFC, our members, and ultimately over 65% of Iowa voters.
Students First Safety Act update
IFC is hard at work trying to bring some urgency and economic reality improvements to the Students First Safety Act, Iowa HSB 675. Although its introduction is a step in the right direction, Iowa does not need another government empire-building program, which will take years to implement, to create an armed defense for all Iowa schools. Instead, as you know, Time and Math mandate an immediate response to an armed attacker to minimize the casualties.
Brownells’ National 2A Day — 2/22/2024!
National 2A Day is coming up rapidly and Iowa’s own Brownells.com/2ADay is not just hosting events around the country, but is donating 4% of all sales the week of February 20-25th to several organizations, including IFC!
#2ADAY IFC interviews Cody Hinton, from Brownells, about National 2A Day! Join us on 2A Day, February 22, 2024, to Celebrate. Advocate. Join®. Enjoy freedom with a free firearm rental or limited free ammo at select ranges. Plus, a portion of sales supports pro-2A organizations ALL THIS WEEK. Embrace your rights!
If you buy from Brownells.com this week a portion of those profits go to IFC, GOA, and SAF!
Christopher Gadsden was a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and it is thought he designed the flag around 1775. Gadsden likely drew on the idea Ben Franklin had put forth in the original 13 colonies with his timber rattlesnake flag as a symbol of unity 20 years earlier. Franklin knew his “Join or Die” mantra was the pure and simple truth. If the states hadn’t banded together, they would have been crushed. I’ve read many people believe this flag was the official symbol of the American Revolution, and I’d agree something as simple as “Don’t Tread On Me” was and is a simple and apt description of what not to do to any American. Ever.
Over the years the Gadsden flag has come to be a universal symbol of opposition to government overreach. And I believe I can posit to anyone anywhere that our government on every level has become intrusive – Federal, State, County, City, and Local. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting some silly regulation that was poorly conceived, doesn’t do what was intended when enacted or authored, and ultimately hurts, rather than helps, the individual American Citizens. Iowa House File 2424 (HF2424) finally brings us this coveted plate.
As of the time of this blog, many other states have Gadsden flag license plate options. Iowa is leading the nation as one of the best 2A states – a tremendous change over the last 15 years. But, we don’t advertise it. I think we should. If Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia have these options, why doesn’t Iowa?
The featured image you see is a rendition the DOT offered after liaising with Senate President, Amy Sinclair in the previous year. We love it! After speaking with the Senator, she essentially said, “Run with it!” She very much wanted to see this become reality, as do we. Iowa House Public Safety Chair, Phil Thompson was enthusiastic to run the bill, and Representative Jeff Shipley and Representative Bil Gustoff walked it through the committee process.
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