(This story has been updated to reflect the most current information.)
House lawmakers will not advance a bill that would have allowed Iowans with a permit to carry firearms to bring their loaded guns with them in their vehicles when picking up or dropping off students or staff at schools.
The bill would also have allowed school districts to authorize people, including bus drivers, to carry firearms while driving or riding with students in a school vehicle.
A three-member House subcommittee voted 2-1 on Wednesday morning to advance the bill, but the full House Education Committee did not take up the bill Wednesday afternoon.
That means the bill will fail to clear Friday’s legislative “funnel” deadline, which requires most bills to pass a full committee by the end of the week in order to remain eligible for consideration this year.
Who would be allowed to bring a gun with them onto school property?
Current law generally bans people from having firearms on school property, with the exception of law enforcement officers. Schools are also allowed to designate staff members to be armed on campus, although no public schools currently do so.
The bill would have allowed anyone with a permit to carry to bring their concealed handgun with them in school driveways and parking lots, as long as the weapon remained in the vehicle.
The bill would have applied “while the person is dropping off or picking up from a school a student, staff member or other person having business at the school, or while the person is making a delivery or pickup at the school.”
If the person with the gun left their vehicle, the bill would have required the car to remain locked.
Richard Rogers, a lobbyist for the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said there are hundreds of thousands of Iowans with permits to carry handguns who go armed during their daily routines.
“And under current law, if they’re to go to a school, whether they’re picking or dropping off somebody or maybe they’re a delivery driver who has to deliver something to the school during the day, they have to stop before they reach school property and access their firearm, unload it, put it in a closed container or in the trunk of their car where passengers can’t get it, then enter the school property,” he said.
Rogers said the provision is designed for momentary visits to school grounds.
“So if you’re going to a PTA meeting or a basketball game or a caucus and the school’s not even in session you’re still going to have to abide by the current law and have the gun empty before you go on campus and have it secured,” he said.
Iowa Republicans have voted to relax gun laws
Iowa’s Republican-controlled Legislature has relaxed the state’s gun laws in recent years, including with a 2021 law that eliminated the requirement that Iowans get a permit to carry handguns.
However, the bill still would have required a person to have a permit in order to have their gun with them in their car on school grounds.
Rep. Henry Stone, R-Forest City, called himself “a Second Amendment guy.”
“I think that this bill is crafted in a way that to me makes sense,” he said. “So we will be supporting it and moving it forward for further discussion.”
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, read a list of groups who have registered in opposition to the bill, including the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, Iowa State Education Association, Urban Education Network and League of Women Voters of Iowa.
“I think the general consensus is students would be safer if there were no guns in school, and I concur with that,” she said. “I think the more guns you have, the more violence you’re going to have and the more deaths you’re going to have.”
The bill also would have allowed law enforcement officers who retired in good standing and who maintain certification to carry guns on school grounds. Current law already allows currently serving law enforcement officers to carry guns on school grounds.
The legislation would have taken effect immediately.
Lawmakers are also considering a bill this year that would lower the age to purchase or carry a handgun to 18 years old, down from 21.
Last year, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law allowing school employees to obtain a professional permit to carry guns on school grounds. The law also required large school districts to employ school resource officers in high schools and gave school districts and armed employees qualified immunity for the use of force.
Rogers said Wednesday that he’s not aware of any public school districts in Iowa that have chosen to arm staff, despite the new law. Two districts who tried failed to get insurance and abandoned the idea.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bill allowing Iowans to have guns in school parking lots won’t advance
