William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

Iowa would eliminate a prohibition on possession of machine guns, as well as short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns, under a bill introduced by state Sen. Jason Schultz.

Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig in northwest Iowa, told The Des Moines Register Thursday he simply wants to make Iowa law no stricter on firearms possession than federal law. Senate File 108 would permit Iowans to obtain machine guns and the other specified firearms after undergoing an extensive federal background check, filling out paperwork and obtaining a tax stamp.

"I haven't heard anything but support" from firearms groups and individual law enforcement officers, Schultz said. Under current Iowa law, a person who possesses a machine gun, short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun can be charged with a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

The legislation would be consistent, Schultz said, with a bill signed by Gov. Terry Branstad last year that allows Iowans to legally obtain a firearms suppressor, which reduces the amount of noise and visible muzzle flash generated by firing a weapon.

Ben Hammes, Branstad's spokesman, said Thursday that the governor will reserve judgment on Schultz's proposal until he sees it in its final form.

However, Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, expressed opposition.

"If they believe this is somehow going to make our neighborhoods safer and make our homes safer, it’s not. To me personally, I think that this goes way beyond anything that even the founders recognized when they wrote the Second Amendment," she said.

Under current Iowa law, there is a specific ban on possession of machine guns, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns. Schultz said his bill would only allow Iowans to obtain vintage machine guns manufactured prior to 1986. Machine guns automatically fire one bullet after another when the trigger is pulled, sometimes hundreds of rounds per minute, either from an ammunition belt or a spring-loaded ammunition box.

"These are heavily regulated federally. They are extremely expensive because they have been banned from current manufacture," Schultz said. The legislation is aimed at sportsmen, hobbyists and firearms enthusiasts, he added.

Richard Rogers, legislative liaison for the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said Thursday he wasn't aware Schultz's bill had been introduced, but his organization supports the legislation in concept. He said similar legislation has been approved in other states, adding there is a "huge market" for short-barreled rifles because of their ease of handling and convenience. Such rifles can be used for home defense or carried in a vehicle.

Most Iowans won't be purchasing a machine gun, Rogers said, saying that legal machines guns typically cost in the range of $20,000 to $40,000. "It is a specialty thing," he said.

Schultz said he does not expect opposition to his bill among Republican legislators, who control the Iowa House and Senate, which means his measure should stand a good chance of winning approval. However, his bill could become rolled into an omnibus gun rights proposal that could be considered by lawmakers in the 2017 session.

"The people who have spoken to me the most recently about this are law enforcement firearms enthusiasts who think it is just silly that we have a restriction beyond federal regulations," Schultz said.

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Jochum, who has expressed concerns about weakening restrictions on guns in Iowa, contended that Second Amendment enthusiasts only focus on the part of the amendment related to peoples' right to bear arms.

"They forget to put in the rest of it, which is to allow a well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state," Jochum said. "All of those pieces together form the Second Amendment."