Gun group proposes looser regulations

    The National Rifle Association (NRA) has released its goals for the 2011 Iowa Legislative session. One of the organization?s goals is to rescind the ability of county and municipal governments to control firearms. Under the NRA?s proposed legislation, the state government would have sole authority to regulate guns.

    Local city councils, such as the Riverside council, have inquired about the possibility of banning guns in public buildings. City and county governments can ban guns from their buildings provided the body has passed an ordinance to that effect and has posted a ?no gun? sign in the building. A person who enters a public building with a gun under those circumstances can be charged with trespassing. The NRA has stated its intention to change this law to prevent local governments from enacting their own gun regulations.

    Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar said local governments cannot simply post signs where they don?t want guns. When restricting gun use in a public place, such as a public building, the city or county government must pass an ordinance before posting the ?no gun? sign.

    Iowa has a ?firearm preemption law? which prevents county and city governments from passing gun regulations stricter than the state?s. In a 2003 opinion, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said the state?s law still allows local governments to ban guns from publicly owned buildings. Some counties are now considering banning guns from all publicly owned property, including parks. Dunbar said such wide-ranging ordinances may be challenged in court for running afoul of the preemption law.

    Dunbar is vice president of the Iowa State Sheriffs? and Deputies? Association, as well as the chairman for the group?s legislative committee. Dunbar said he is worried that Iowa may become a ?constitutional carry? state, which means that once a person turns 21 years old, he or she can carry a gun without a permit, background check or training. Alaska adopted a constitutional carry statute in 2003. The NRA lists as one of its goals making Iowa a constitutional carry state in 2011. As of press time, NRA lobbyist Chris Rager had not responded to a message seeking comment on the issue.

    Dunbar said that a constitutional carry law would make sense for Alaska.

    ?In Alaska, you can see why they would want a law like that given the wildlife, open areas, bears and stuff like that,? he said. ?In Iowa, I don?t see that.?

    Dunbar spent the last year educating people about the new gun laws to take effect in 2011, as well as others up for consideration.

    ?Very few people I talked to thought that the Alaska carry law makes sense for Iowa,? he said. ?I talked to NRA members from Iowa who said we?ve pushed this way too far, and that there needs to be training and background checks.?

    The NRA is also asking for a change to laws dictating a person?s responsibility when under attack. The change would remove the ?duty to retreat? in current law, which allows the use of force when there is no alternative. Under the NRA?s proposed changes, a person who used ?justifiable force? could not be held civilly or criminally liable.

For more, see our Dec. 13 print edition.