Iowa House passes sweeping gun legislation

With no debate, the Iowa House passed legislation Tuesday that would make sweeping changes to the state's gun laws.

"It's not often that you can bring a bill of this enormity to the floor of the Iowa House and have no debate on it," said Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley. "So I'll take this as a compliment that this is a well-crafted piece of legislation that everybody in this chamber can get behind, hopefully, that does right by 3 million Iowans and advances our Second Amendment rights."

House File 527 passed 75-24. All House Republicans voted in favor of the bills, as well as a number of Democrats.

The bill would prohibit the public from accessing the names of those who hold permits to carry guns and purchase some weapons — records that are currently open to the public.

It also would allow Iowans to purchase gun suppressors, which limit the noise created by firing the weapon. Under current law, possession of a suppressor is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Other provisions would allow children younger than 14 to possess handguns with adult supervision; allow anyone with a professional permit to carry a weapon to do so on school grounds; allow handgun safety training courses to be completed online; and streamline the process of administering gun permits.

Rep. Jo Oldson, D-Des Moines, said there was no decision made ahead of time by House Democrats to stay silent during debate.

"I think everyone just knew where they stood," she said.

Oldson voted against the bill, which will now be sent to the Senate.