Iowa Gun Owners has authored and promoted House File 596, popularly known as the REAL Right-to-Carry. Of course since this is our bill we are a bit biased in favor of it. Allow us a chance to explain it to you.

This bill is patterned after the common sense gun laws of Vermont and Alaska. In those states, law abiding citizens do not have to obtain a permit to carry a weapon for self-defense.

Our bill does the following:

1. Allows law abiding citizens to carry weapons for self-defense without having to beg permission from a government official. That’s right - no permits! When this becomes law no more will anti-gun sheriffs, who are hostile to your right to keep and bear arms, be able to deny you this constitutionally guaranteed right. This is a 2nd Amendment issue and shouldn’t be subject to the whims of a government official.

2. Allows law abiding citizens the option to ‘open carry.’ Currently in Iowa, you can ‘open carry’ in rural areas but you may not do so in any city. This is not freedom and the police should not have to be wasting limited municipal resources chasing down these types of ‘violations.’

3. Allows an applicant the option of obtaining a permit should he or she want one. This would be useful when traveling out of state. Should you desire a permit and seek one from the sheriff this will be a ‘shall issue’ permit. That is, the sheriff will have to grant you the permit unless you are a felon or legally unable to be issued a permit.

4. Should you seek a permit the training class that you have to take will be modified too. While we don’t agree with needing a training class or a permit, should you want them they should not be unattainable. In that context, the training class will be required to be conducted to NRA style standards. That is so that the requirements can’t be so high that only a small number of people can pass. This also prevents a certain group of people making money on what should be a basic freedom.

This is what a No Compromise gun bill looks like and this is why we are sponsoring it. While anti-gun politicians of both political stripes may find this too aggressive, too impossible, we don’t agree. By conceding any ground up front to anti-gun politicians gun owners are already left arguing over the crumbs that the anti-gun crowd is willing to give us. Iowa Gun Owners does not find that acceptable.