Iowans are voting on a gun rights amendment this election. Here's what you need to know
Stephen Gruber-MillerIowans are voting this election on whether to add the right "to keep and bear arms" to the state's constitution — adding language that would go beyond the protections contained in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
Supporters say the amendment is necessary to protect Iowans' rights from infringement, while opponents say passing the amendment would make it easier to strike down existing gun laws and make it harder to pass new regulations.
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have worked for years to place the measure on the 2022 ballot, where it must be approved by a majority of Iowa voters in the Nov. 8 election in order to be added to the state's constitution.
Iowa is one of six states without protections in its constitution for the right to keep and bear arms.
In recent years, Republicans also have used their legislative majorities to significantly loosen Iowa's laws for possessing and carrying firearms. Most recently, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law last year allowing Iowans to purchase and carry handguns without first getting a permit.
Here's what to know about the proposed amendment.
What does the amendment say?
The language of the proposed amendment states: "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."
How does the Iowa amendment differ from the Second Amendment?
The language Iowans will vote on is not the same as the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. The Iowa amendment describes the right to keep and bear arms as "a fundamental individual right" and requires any restrictions on gun rights to survive "strict scrutiny."
Strict scrutiny is the highest legal hurdle for legislation to clear. It requires any restrictions on gun rights to be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling state interest.
"That's a very heavy burden and it's very hard for a law to satisfy that," said Mark Kende, director of the Drake Constitutional Law Center. "And so what that means is attempts to regulate guns will have a large hurdle to jump over in order to be OK."
What do opponents say the amendment would mean?
Opponents of the amendment say it would make it harder to pass new gun laws as well as put existing gun laws at risk of being overturned.
"We believe that the way that the gun amendment is worded is reckless," said Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. "It is irresponsible. It will put common sense gun safety laws in harm's way, which then will have a direct impact on Iowans and our own safety."
What do supporters say the amendment would mean?
Richard Rogers, a board member of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, a gun rights advocacy group, said courts in Second Amendment cases have not been protective enough of the right to keep and bear arms over the years, which is why his group supports the different wording in Iowa's amendment.
"Those who oppose the free exercise of the right to keep and bear arms have been trying for over 100 years to get around — we view it as they’re trying to get around the language of the Second Amendment," he said. "And frankly they’ve been pretty successful."
"We wanted to protect the right," he said. "So that’s why the strict scrutiny is in there."
How does a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision change the landscape?
If the amendment passes, Iowa would be the fourth state with "strict scrutiny" language to protect gun rights in its state constitution.
Rogers said he believes a U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer has made the strict scrutiny language almost moot. That's because Justice Clarence Thomas' majority opinion in that case requires any restrictions on guns to demonstrate some connection to the nation's "historical tradition of firearm regulation." That effectively creates a standard even higher than strict scrutiny, he said, although he still believes it is important to approve the Iowa amendment.
Kende said the U.S. Supreme Court decision sets a baseline for how far states can go when regulating guns, but the new standard is still untested so there's uncertainty in how it will be applied.
More:Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision demands courts look to history, tradition
What kinds of gun regulations would be at risk if the amendment passes?
There are several kinds of gun regulations that could be vulnerable if the amendment is passed, Kende said.
Those could include measures like stronger background checks and restrictions on certain people owning firearms and on certain kinds of weapons, he said. If any of those laws were to be challenged in court, he said, those defending them will have to show that they would make a significant difference in reducing shootings and deaths.
"I think it means that those several kinds of things will be much harder to justify for the gun control advocates," he said.
People convicted of felonies are currently banned from owning firearms in Iowa, as are those convicted of certain misdemeanor domestic violence offenses and people with certain mental health concerns.
Ryan said she's worried approving the amendment could mean future lawmakers would be unsuccessful in passing gun regulations like strengthened background checks or extreme risk protection orders, which are often known as "red flag" laws.
"Our concern is both for what’s left of the gun safety common-sense gun laws in our state but also future laws that could be passed by the Legislature," she said.
Rogers, of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said passing the amendment would make it more difficult to pass laws banning firearms or that are in common use, like AR-15s, and accessories like high-capacity magazines.
How is the Iowa Constitution amended?
This fall's vote on the proposed amendment is the final step in the process before the language can be added to the Iowa Constitution.
In Iowa, the process of amending the state constitution typically begins with the Iowa Legislature. Proposed constitutional amendments must pass in two consecutive two-year sessions of the Legislature before they can be placed on the ballot for a statewide up-or-down vote.
More:Iowa Legislature approves putting pro-gun constitutional amendment in front of voters
Republican lawmakers originally began the process before the 2018 election, but had to start over after Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate failed to publish notice of the amendment in Iowa newspapers as required by law. Lawmakers passed the language again in 2019 and 2021, allowing it to appear on the ballot this year.
The language needs approval by a simple majority of voters in order to be added to the Iowa Constitution.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.