Demand Full Second Amendment Rights for Iowa’s Young Adults
Fact: Iowa significantly restricts the right to keep and bear pistols and revolvers for (most) adults aged 18 to 20.
Fact: Both the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Bill of Rights, 1791) and Section 1A of the Iowa Constitution (Freedom Amendment, 2022), guarantee the right shall not be infringed upon (hindered or destroyed) by government.
Question: Are Iowa’s current weapons laws restricting adults aged 18 to 20 unconstitutional?
In the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court of the United States definitively ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right of the people to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.
Furthermore, the decision clarified that all inferior courts must use the methodology the Supreme Court employed in Heller v. D.C. (2008) for challenges brought under the Second Amendment. That is,
Step One: Determine if the conduct regulated by the law is covered by the Second Amendment’s plain text. If the conduct is covered, then the challenged regulation is presumed to be unconstitutional and the burden shifts to the government:
Step Two: The government may only justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. This means the government must show that the regulation is analogous to historical laws that were common at the time of the Founding or shortly thereafter.
It is obvious that laws restricting the possession or carrying of pistol and revolvers – such as Iowa Code 724.8 and 724.22 – do involve conduct covered by the text (“keep and bear”) of the Second Amendment. It is also apparent that persons aged 18-20 are members of “the people” to whom those rights are guaranteed. Therefore, Iowa’s relevant laws must be presumed to be unconstitutional. The burden is thus on the government to rebut the presumption by showing that the laws are not infringements because they are the same as or appropriately analogous to regulations dating to the founding era. (If a law restricting the right to keep and bears arms was commonplace at the time of the adoption of the Second Amendment, it could not have been considered an infringement by those who drafted and adopted the amendment. There were few, if any, such laws.)
Iowa will be unable to justify the current restrictions, in that there were no comparable laws in the relevant time period of American history. In fact, the Militia Act of 1792 compelled males aged 18-44 to be enrolled in the militia and to bring their privately obtained firearms with them when mustered. Both Iowa and federal law consider persons to be adults upon reaching age 18. Iowans aged 18 to 20 can marry, enter into contracts, enlist in the military, be employed as sworn law enforcement officers, etc. There can be no constitutional or moral justification for denying this group of adults full access to fundamental rights necessary to defend themselves, their families, and their communities.
Yet Iowa is one of only ten states, plus the District of Columbia, that enforce a minimum age for handgun possession that is more strict than federal law, which is 18 years.
It is well past time that Iowa legislators must fully recognize these fundamental rights of young Iowa adults. This is especially true because a quirk in current Iowa law actually allows young adults visiting or moving here from other states to fully exercise their 2A rights, while denying that ability to native Iowans. You see, Iowa law does not actually prohibit persons aged 18 to 10 from possessing handguns. Instead, it makes it a crime for “any person” to “make available” a handgun or handgun ammunition to any person under the age of 21, with certain limited exceptions. So, a young adult who obtained a handgun while living in another state may possess and carry it while visiting or living in Iowa.
IFC will be vigorously pursuing the repeal of these unconstitutional statutes in the current legislative session. Watch for IFC updates and action alerts on this issue and then contact your legislators to urge their support.
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NOTES:
The following 18 states permit individuals under the age of 21 to carry a concealed firearm:
Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota1, Mississippi, Missouri2, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee3, Texas4, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia
These 18 states allow individuals under the age of 21 to obtain a permit to carry weapons or allow constitutional carry without a permit for this age group. In addition, Oklahoma allows 18-year-olds in the military to carry concealed without a permit.
Notes:
Minnesota (By order of federal district court and the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals, both of which ruled that Minnesota’s law prohibiting permits to adults aged 18-20 is unconstitutional.)
Missouri (Allows 19-year-olds to carry concealed without a permit, with exceptions for 18-year-olds in the military.)
Tennessee (By consent with a court ruling that the law prohibiting issuance of permits to persons 18-20 is unconstitutional.)
Texas (Federal district and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals have enjoined Texas from enforcing current Texas laws restricting the right to bear arms of persons aged 18-10.)
It must be noted that in addition to the court cases referred to above, there are several other such age-related cases moving through the federal court system. Significant cases in PA and FL appear to be near resolution. It is likely that the Supreme Court will consider such a case this year or next. It seems almost certain that SCOTUS will fully affirm the 2A rights of young adults.
States with Stricter Minimum Age Requirements for Possession of Handguns than Federal Law
Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Washington, and the District of Columbia impose minimum age requirements for the possession of handguns which are stricter than the federal minimum of 18.
The text of Section 1A of the Iowa Constitution reads:
“The right ofthe people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Net Neutrality and the Second Amendment — what do they have to do with each other, you might ask? A lot it turns out. Think about the continued increases in both the size and scope of the Federal Government during the last 100 years.
NET NEUTRALITY
First, what is Net Neutrality? “Net neutrality” was a term coined by Columbia University law professor Tim Wu in a 2003 paper titled “Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination.” I first heard of it from the tech guys when I entered the political candidate realm in 2009-2010. To sum it up, it was and is the concept that Internet Service Providers should not be allowed to throttle content to only those that they wanted, thereby stifling the free exchange of ideas and free speech. But in practice, it was a poorly disguised power grab by the Leftists in the Administrative State.
Not surprisingly, Obama seized the opportunity to use the Federal Communications Commission to silence his opposition. He tried to expand the power of the FCC to regulate ISPs in 2015 by imposing Net Neutrality rules. President Trump’s FCC Commissioner quickly rolled back those regulations. However, Biden’s minions reimposed those restrictive rules in April of 2024. Remember, the FCC only has authority over the airwaves, like radio and television, in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Sixth Circuit Decision
Those Biden rules were quickly challenged in multiple Federal District Courts. The challenges were ultimately consolidated to the Sixth Judicial District. Correctly, Circuit Judge Richard Griffin, writing for a unanimous panel, just slapped them down:
“That brings us to today. The Safeguarding Order once more imposes net-neutrality policies on Broadband Internet Service Providers by reclassifying broadband Internet as a telecommunications service subject to common-carrier regulation under Title II. 89 Fed. Reg. at 45404.3 This order—issued during the Biden administration—undoes the order issued during the first Trump administration, which undid the order issued during the Obama administration, which undid orders issued during the Bush and Clinton administrations. Cf. Loper Bright, 144 S. Ct. at 2288 (Gorsuch, J., concurring) (lamenting that “Chevron deference engender[ed] constant uncertainty and convulsive change even when the statute at issue itself remains unchanged”). Applying Loper Bright means we can end the FCC’s vacillations.”
Google, Facebook, and NetFlix were all in on those rules, looking to further monopolize the marketplace and stifle competition. However, unless appealed to the Supreme Court (or unless Congress acts to impose these bad ideas), it looks like the final nail is in the coffin of expanding the FCC’s power to regulate the internet.
This is an important decision and a major win for the First Amendment. This decision further reins in the Administrative State and protects our fundamental human rights. Think of FaceBook’s anti-gun content policies, or the Blue States attempting to outlaw 3D Printing file-sharing to stop the private production of personal firearms or other accessories.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IN 2025
As Iowans, we need to ask ourselves if we want to emulate New York City, (or nearly all Blue cities) where people are afraid to protect strangers and cower in fear over doing the right thing. Or will we stay true to our Iowa motto: “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain”?
Iowans proved in 2022 that we have courage when we overwhelmingly passed The Freedom Amendment. Let’s remain a Free State where courage is celebrated, and not prosecuted like in New York.
2A LOBBY DAY AND THE IFC-PAC DINNER
2A Day on February 18th at the State Capitol is fast approaching! Don’t forget to get your tickets for the IFC-PAC BBQ Dinner that evening with Iowa Hero, Major Jeff Streucker of Black Hawk Down Fame.
This week’s IFC Warrior Wednesday features Cody Hinton of Brownells. We talk industry trends, buying power, best practices, and even got a scoop on the new Brownells BRN-180 Gen 3!!!! This week IFC’s trusted partner feature is POM Industries – pepper spray and more! IFC’s trusted partner page on the site will provide discount codes and ordering information.
IFC is active on X and you should be also… FOLLOW US and ENGAGE! Here are a few that dropped the first few days of January in case you missed them. Do yourself, IFC, and the movement a favor by liking and sharing these posts. It truly helps more than you may realize.
“The state has no constitutional or moral authority to regulate the weapons that the people may possess or carry. The law’s proper purpose is to restrain or punish actual bad (criminal) behavior. The Supreme Court has now repeatedly affirmed that Second Amendment rights are fundamental, not second class, rights. A new resolve to strike down government overreach is spreading across the nation and the world. Iowa’s legislators need to take this opportunity and amend or repeal our state’s laws accordingly.” -Richard Rogers – Iowa Firearms Coalition Board Member, Chief Lobbyist, and NRA Distinguished Advocate Award Winner
Gun Owners Radio: Episode 438 with the Iowa Firearms Coalition – IFC’s Michael Ware was a guest and was interviewed by Michael Schwartz and Alisha Curtin. Fun interview and vital discussion. IFC is featured around 1hr 11mins, but the entire discussion is a fundamental dive into questions that need to be asked and answered. We highly recommend listening to the entire episode.
Michael A. Schwartz is the Executive Director of San Diego County Gun Owners PAC (SDCGO). SDCGO is a political organization that focuses on Second Amendment issues at the local level. SDCGO is changing the face of gun ownership by getting volunteers involved in local level activism and outreach. Michael is passionate about Second Amendment rights, and a true leader in preserving gun rights through action. He has helped launch Orange County Gun Owners, Riverside County Gun Owners, and San Bernardino County Gun Owners. Get involved, have some fun, and make a difference.
Alisha Curtin is the multi-talented host of Gun Owners Radio and one of the most sought-after firearms trainers in San Diego! Alisha is a passionate defender of the Second Amendment and a true firearms expert, with years of experience in shooting and training. With her engaging personality and no-nonsense approach, Alisha has quickly become the go-to source for all things gun-related. Whether she’s sharing tips on the latest training techniques or diving into the hot-button issues facing gun owners, Alisha’s unique perspective and insight make Gun Owners Radio a must-listen for anyone interested in guns and the rights of gun owners.
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