Brad Zaun
A bill that would have done away with the requirement that Iowans get a permit to carry a concealed weapon has been shelved in the Iowa Senate.
It happened about 24 hours after the mass shooting at a Florida high school. Senator Brad Zaun told reporters he pulled the bill from committee consideration this afternoon after a colleague told him Governor Kim Reynolds was opposed to it.
“It makes me sick what happened down in Florida, but with that said, I did have the votes to move this thing forward and decided after the communication from the governor…to pull it off the agenda,” Zaun said. The bill would not have removed requirements that those who buy a gun go through a background check, but it would have done away from the state law that requires those who wish to carry a concealed weapon to obtain a permit from their county sheriff’s office.
“I thought it was a very logical, first step based on our constitution. There was definitely safeguards in place that people that should not have guns would not be able to get guns,” Zaun told reporters. “I’m very disappointed.”
Legislators set this week as a deadline for policy bills to advance out of a committee. Bills, like this one, that failed to do so are no longer eligible for debate this year. However, proposals are sometimes added to other legislation brought up for debate.
A spokeswoman for Governor Kim Reynolds issued a written statement late this afternoon. “Gov. Reynolds is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment,” Brenna Smith said, “and she supports maintaining current permitting requirements.”
(This post was updated at 5:57 p.m. with additional information.)