Iowa's new gun law is shielding gun owners with revoked or suspended permits, sheriffs say

Iowa’s new gun law prevents law enforcement from notifying gun sellers when someone's permit to buy a handgun or carry a gun has been suspended or revoked, Polk County sheriff's officials say.

The state is finalizing a Department of Public Safety database needed to track and audit the issuance of five-year permits to acquire handguns or carry guns statewide.

But gun sellers, including retailers, pawn shops and gun show vendors, will have no access to that database or permit-holder information under changes made this year to Iowa law.

Confidentiality provisions in the far-reaching firearms act passed in the last legislative session prohibit the state or sheriffs from releasing the identities of gun permit holders.

That’s a particularly big problem in a county that has 40,000 active five-year gun permits, according to Chief Tim Krum of the Polk County Sheriff’s Department.

Polk revoked 107 permits in the past year, and those people should not be buying guns, he said. Krum said the new law prohibits sheriff's officials from notifying gun dealers when permits have been revoked after annual background checks.

“I’ve been a cop long enough to know that if there’s a loophole, someone will exploit it,” said Krum, who raised the problem with Reader's Watchdog.

The head of the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association says the inability to notify sellers about revoked permits is an issue in rural counties as well.

Josh Hammen, a deputy with the Pocahontas County Sheriff's Department, said his county issues about 894 gun permits and revokes about five every year, mostly for domestic violence.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Hammen said. “A gun dealer should have a way of checking if a permit is revoked.”

Iowa's new firearms act was hailed as the biggest pro-Second Amendment bill ever passed in the state.

It provided for a standardized statewide gun permit, included a “stand your ground” provision that no longer requires gun owners to retreat first if they feel threatened and allowed children younger than 14 to handle pistols or revolvers under adult supervision.

It also restricted the use and disclosure of the names of those who receive permits to carry and acquire firearms. Iowa doesn't require a license or permit to buy a hunting rifle.

Under the law, the commissioner of public safety and sheriff’s departments must keep confidential all personally identifiable information, except in cases where the permit-holder expressly authorizes such a disclosure.

Legislators made confidential the identifying information of permit-holders out of concern about potential crime, a state official said.

Ross Loder, a manager at Iowa’s Department of Public Safety, said legislators worried that someone who obtained a database of permit-holders could target gun owners' homes to steal their weapons or target non-permit holders because there's a good chance they are unarmed.

State and federal laws also disqualify some citizens from possessing and buying firearms for reasons such as felony convictions, drug and domestic violence convictions and "mental defectiveness."

Federal law requires licensed firearms sellers to conduct a background check to screen for those circumstances before making a sale.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is used to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms.

But some retailers in Iowa don’t run that check because it isn't needed for those who can show they have a valid Iowa gun permit to carry or acquire, sheriff's officials say.

Krystal Waters, who manages A to Z Pawn in Des Moines' Highland Park neighborhood, said she doesn't understand why the state would not share information about people who have lost their gun-buying privileges.

"That just seems weird, doesn't it?" she asked.

Jeff Pocock, who owns The Pawn Store on Douglas Avenue in Des Moines, said he does instant background checks when people buy firearms at his store.

He believes retailers should be notified when carry or acquire permits are suspended or revoked in between the five-year renewal periods for those permits.

"But the public would be better served if it was out of my hands," he said.

Iowa’s gun-carry permits are recognized in 32 states across the country — from Alabama and Alaska to Wyoming and Wisconsin. Iowans still have to abide by local firearms laws when they are in other states.

Krum said the Polk County sheriff’s department has gotten calls from Chicago after gun owners have been arrested there and claim they have an Iowa carry permit.

But there’s no public database for officials to check, he said.

"My big thing is there’s no way for another agency to get online and put that name in and say what’s valid and not valid," he said.

Database a massive undertaking

The implementation of a uniform state-issued gun permit system has been a massive undertaking that has required lots of training and communication between local sheriffs departments and the state, Loder said.

Before the change, carry and acquire permits were on paper and varied from county to county.

Under the new act, county sheriffs take permit applications online, collect license information establishing state residency and gather gun-training certificates. Then they submit approved applications to Iowa’s Department of Public Safety, Krum said.

The state uses a private vendor to send out uniform, wallet-sized permits, which have holographic features that make them harder to forge.

A database that includes real-time permit data is nearly complete and will be used for auditing and statistical purposes.

But not all counties are exchanging accurate, real-time data yet with the state, Loder said.

Every year, sheriff’s departments check the backgrounds and criminal histories of those holding five-year permits.

But under the new law, Loder said, there is no way to alert retailers when a permit has been invalidated.

“The data is there,” Loder said. “But they can’t share it with those who sell guns.”

Instead, sheriff's departments are required to try to retrieve permits that have been suspended or revoked.

But if an officer or deputy goes to a permit-holder's house and the holder claims the permit was thrown away, lost or destroyed, there’s no way to know if that is true, Krum said.

Lawmaker: Use a licensed dealer

Matt Windschitl, a Missouri Valley Republican instrumental in crafting the new act, said licensed gun dealers can still call the FBI and ask for a background check when someone purchases a gun.

While federal authorities can’t release identifying information, they can tell gun sellers whether to proceed, delay or deny a sale.

Private sellers also can go to gun dealers about potential buyers and ask for background checks, paying a transfer fee, he said.

Windschitl said he doesn’t believe anything in the new law prohibits sheriffs from notifying dealers they shouldn’t sell to certain individuals whose permits have been revoked.

“Because if I have been denied, I’m no longer a permit holder. … I don’t think that’s in breach of the new law,” he said.

It’s also a felony to purchase a firearm illegally, he said.

However, if others disagree and the law is not clear enough, Windschitl said, law enforcement officials should get in touch with him.

"We’re in session now, and I’ve got no problem in tweaking,” he said. “If people have concerns, and they are legit concerns, we’re more than willing to hear those concerns.”

Richard Rogers, a spokesman and lobbyist for the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said Iowa's permit to acquire was instituted before there was a real-time federal database for point-of-sale background checks.

If the Legislature did away with permits to acquire, everyone who purchased a firearm at a licensed dealer would undergo an instant background check.

"I'm not advocating that, but that's an option," he said.

One reason some don't like that idea, however, is that auctioneers and individuals can't run background checks, so they ask to see a permit instead.

Permit to acquire vs. permit to carry

Iowa law requires individuals to obtain a five-year permit to acquire before purchasing handguns from a dealer or private party.

The permit-holders must undergo a federal background check when applying for the permit online from their local county sheriff.

Iowans who wish to carry their guns must obtain a five-year "permit to carry," which requires them to pass a federal background check and complete firearms safety training.

Some retailers and pawnshops also do instant background checks using the federal database. But others don’t if the gun buyer already has an Iowa permit to acquire or carry.

Iowa will honor any valid permit issued by any other state. People do not have to be a resident of the state from which the permit was issued.

However, an Iowa resident must have an Iowa Permit To Carry to lawfully carry a firearm on his or her person in Iowa, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com, 515-284-8549 on Twitter @leerood or at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.