House Study Bill 254, a bill proposal introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives in February, was recommended for passage with a 2-1 vote following a Tuesday Public Safety subcommittee meeting.
Under the proposed legislation, private citizens would no longer have to obtain a PCW before they purchase their first firearm. However, a licensed merchant could be slapped with a class 'D' felony if found to have sold, rented or loaned a firearm to someone they know, "or reasonably should know" should not own a firearm, according to the bill.
If convicted, the gun dealer would face up to five years in prison.
Reps. Steven Holt and Jarad Klein, both Republican members of the larger Public Safety Committee, voted in favor of the bill while Democratic Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell opposed recommending the legislation for passage.
"Those who cannot legally possess a firearm, I will say again, will still not be able to legally possess a firearm under the provisions of this bill," Holt, chair of the state's House Public Safety Committee, told The Des Moines Register. "And those practicing their Second Amendment rights will no longer have to get a permission slip to practice their basic fundamental rights."
Wessel-Kroeschell told the outlet the law is just one of several politically polarizing bills brought before the state lawmaking body.
"Repealing Iowa’s bedrock public safety laws such as the background check law and the permitting requirement for carrying a concealed gun is extreme and it’s unpopular and a threat to public safety," she stated. "Iowans strongly support permit to carry and background checks for the purchase of a firearm."
While background checks would still be required for those seeking to buy a firearm from a licensed merchant, House File 223 - another state bill proposal up for consideration - would theoretically make more individuals eligible for gun ownership by expunging those who have nonviolent class 'D' felonies following a 10-year period.
According to Iowa Mental Health Advocacy lobbyist Leslie Carpenter, it would benefit the state in the long-run to keep its permit system for firearm ownership.
"Iowa’s current background checks and permits do reduce gun violence and they reduce the public’s fear of guns being in the hands of those who we all agree shouldn’t have guns," she told the Register.
At the same time, Iowa Firearms Coalition lobbyist Richard Rogers argued the proposed legislation could be a lifesaver in self-defense situations.
"The principal benefit of this change, removing the requirement for a permit to carry, will fall to those who suddenly find themselves seriously threatened and need and want a gun now," he said. "A young mother in an abusive relationship or a shop owner being stalked by an angry former, ex-employee, for instance."
