Governor Culver’s Signature Still Needed to Make Iowa a “Shall Issue” State!

With just two weeks left for Governor Culver (D) to sign Senate File 2379, anti-gun forces are actively urging Governor Culver to VETO the bill.

Senate File 2379 would make Iowa a “shall issue” concealed carry state and would require sheriffs to issue a permit to carry a concealed weapon to all applicants, unless they are subject to certain specific disqualifiers. Senate File 2379 was a huge victory for gun owners in the Hawkeye State but it won’t become law without the Governor’s support.  This legislation would:

• Increase the term of a permit from one year to five years;
• Narrow the disqualifying circumstances for a permit to the federal minimum in most cases, while further narrowing state-specific disqualifiers;
• Prevent the issuing officer from placing limits on or restricting the scope of a carry permit;
• Ensure that denials, suspensions, and revocations of permits would be subject to both administrative and judicial review;
• Grant recognition to all valid out-of-state permits;
• Broaden the types of training that would fulfill the state-mandated training requirement for permit applicants;
• Provide a means for persons who are prohibited from owning firearms under broad mental health-related disqualifiers and who do not pose a public safety risk to regain their rights;
• Limit the information that can be required of a permit applicant and prevent the application process from being used as a de-facto firearm registration scheme; and
• Until the new system goes into effect on January 1, 2011, you will still be able to obtain a one year permit under the old system.    

Please contact Governor Culver TODAY and respectfully urge him to sign this important pro-gun legislation into law.  Contact information can be found below.

Governor Chet Culver (D)
(515) 281- 5211
Email