Conservative, Republican run states are realizing that their citizens will need to defend themselves. In the Hawkeye state of Iowa, under the snows of Des Moines the state House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing open carry and purchase of firearms without permits. The bill House File 756 passed in a 60-37 vote Wednesday day night and is headed to the state Senate. Every Republican Representative and a single gutsy Democrat Rep. Wes Breckenridge supported the bill while all other Democrats opposed it. Corresponding legislature in the Iowa Senate has passed committee but did not move to the floor yet.
House File 756‘s Sponsor Rep. Steven Holt said,
“These proposals recognize that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right, not a privilege, and that Iowans should not be required to get a permission slip and pay a fee in order to purchase a firearm and practice their fundamental Second Amendment rights,”
Dems Say Eliminating Gun Permits Eliminates Background Checks, GOP Destroy Their Argument
The main crux of Iowa Democrats argument against open carry and no permit requirement is that under the law, private sales do not require a permit and that would supposedly eliminate background checks.
“The bill makes permits to carry optional,” said Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames. “And where do you get a background check? You get a background check when you go to get a permit.”
Rep. Holt struck back with a devastating weapon: basic logic. According to The Hawk Eye he believes the bill would actually INCREASE background checks. This is because anyone who chooses not to get a permit will need to get a background check every time they buy from a federally licensed firearms dealer rather than just once when they get their permit which is valid for five years.
Furthermore Rep. Holt explained,
“Every single time they go to purchase a firearm, they have to get another background check,” he said. “I believe this absolutely will increase background checks when you put that with the fact that, for the private sales, we’re saying, ‘Hey, you better really know who that person is you’re selling to because, if you don’t, you’re committing a Class D felony if you reasonably should have known.’ ”
This is because the bill actually INCREASES THE PENALTY for selling a gun to someone who cannot possess one knowingly. It’s a law that actually requires personal responsibility on the part of the seller to know their buyer.. gee imagine that. Of course the Democrats like Mary Wolfe are still wailing that it’s going to be very difficult to convict anyone of ‘knowingly’ selling a gun to someone who they “know or reasonably should know” couldn’t legally possess one. Darn that reasonability standard right Mary? Wouldn’t want any ‘reasonability’ in law would we?
Republican Matt Windschitl ditched the idea that the bill ‘eliminates’ background checks as well saying, “It doesn’t,” he said. “And anybody who thinks that that’s House Republicans’ motives, you’re incorrect. That’s wrong. We’re not trying to make Iowa less safe. We’re not trying to eliminate background checks. What we’re doing with this piece of legislation is advancing Iowans’ freedoms.”
Iowa GOP Are Also Going After Backdoor 2A Assaults
Many in the Biden-Harris regime and Democratic-Socialist back-rooms are working on allowing lawsuits against firearm manufacturers for the use of their products. Iowa Republicans are having none of that either. Iowa House Republicans have also passed House File 621 a bill that would narrowly limit the types of lawsuits which could be filed against gun and ammo makers. The bill is designed to prevent frivolous lawsuits against the “lawful design, manufacture, marketing or sale of firearms and firearms accessories.” However, it would allow suits from breach of contract or where the gun or accessory is defective.
Holt said the bill would protect manufacturers from frivolous litigation,
“Backdoor attempts to destroy the Second Amendment by putting gun and ammunition manufacturers out of business through endless and costly lawsuits could make the Second Amendment a right that exists only on paper,” Holt said. “This legislation would not allow that to happen in Iowa.”
Affirming State Sovereignty and Upholding the Second Amendment
It doesn’t stop with permits either. Iowa isn’t messing around with protecting the Second Amendment, they even passed a proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution to protect the right to keep and bear arms, the bill goes to the public for approval in 2022. The new amendment would place Des Moines at odds with the Federal Congress’ unlawful Gun Control agenda in a brilliant strategic move: teeing up a Supreme Court battle or possible justification for secession.
The proposed amendment directly affirms the State of Iowa’s sovereignty stating :
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
