Hanson: gun permit law needs tweaking

Iowa House Rep. Curt Hanson set out to ?level the table? when he voted in favor of Iowa?s ?shall issue? gun permit law during the last legislative session.

?It was a not a perfect bill, but a bill that should be passed at that point in time,? said Hanson, who sat on the public safety committee out of which the bill came.

The legislation, Hanson said, was spurred by a large group of constituents upset with the hodgepodge of regulations in Iowa?s 99 counties. While some counties hardly issued any permits to carry, others issued permits to almost anyone who applied, Hanson said.

?Some correctly thought that was unfair,? he said.

Like most legislation, the ?shall issue? legislation wasn?t perfect on first attempt, Hanson said. He acknowledged the law needs tweaking, but he feels it?s prudent to give it some time in action to evaluate the good and bad.

At this point, Hanson said the full impact of the various interpretations has yet to be seen, and legislative action would be premature.

In the meantime, Hanson feels limiting the ability to carry at specific locations is within local governments? power. Still, he said Iowans need to see what comes through the courts.

For the complete article, see the Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.