Senate Judiciary Committee
The Iowa Senate Judiciary committee passed HF 517, a firearms omnibus bill on Thursday. This was after a subcommittee hearing chaired by Senator Dan Dawson (R, Council Bluffs) with Senator Brad Zaun (R, Urbandale) and Senator Janet Petersen (D, Des Moines) on Tuesday.
In his opening remarks, Senator Dawson said that “HF 517 is a piece of firearms legislation brought to us by the voters of Iowa, and Iowans have waited many years for this.”
Senator Julian Garrett (R, Indianola) expressed his support for the bill, saying “The vast majority of parents are going to be responsible when training their children. Irresponsible parents aren’t going to pay attention to laws that we write here. Before age restriction laws, injuries and deaths were rare. Responsible parents will do the right thing”.
Senator Garrett also addressed the confidentiality of Permit to Carry records portion of the bill.
“If a social worker or public safety officer goes to a home, they shouldn’t rely on public records to know if someone has a gun because people could still have guns illegally. Instead, they should assume that they have one.”
The bill was passed by a vote of 10-2. All Republican Senators on the committee voted in favor with two additional Aye votes from Democrat Senators Kevin Kinney (Oxford) and Rich Taylor (Mount Pleasant). Senator Tony Bisignano (D, Des Moines) abstained. HF 517 will next advance to the Senate floor for debate.
MacKenzie Dreeszen is a legislative assistant in the Iowa House and a political consultant specializing in fundraising.
Follow Us