Demand Full Second Amendment Rights for Iowa’s Young Adults

by Michael Ware | Jan 13, 2025

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:

1. 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.)
2. Missouri (Allows 19-year-olds to carry concealed without a permit, with exceptions for 18-year-olds in the military.)
3. Tennessee (By consent with a court ruling that the law prohibiting issuance of permits to persons 18-20 is unconstitutional.)
4. 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 of the 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.”