Iowans could soon carry guns into more places around county courthouses in the state under a bill at the Capitol that explicitly prohibits the judicial branch from enacting a weapons ban.

The measure, which is moving through the House, would also expand the presence of guns around schools and outside workplaces, though under limited circumstances like in parking lots and locked vehicles.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Matt Windschitl, said the proposal is aimed at removing "arbitrary restrictions" on legal gun owners who go about their daily lives.

"You got your mom dropping her child at school, going to the county courthouse to pay taxes, going to work, coming back to pick up their child from school," the Missouri Valley Republican said. "In all those instances, they have to disarm themselves."

The legislation's courthouse provision is in response to a 2017 order from Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady that banned all weapons in court-controlled spaces and public areas of county courthouses.

At the time, gun rights activists criticized the order and questioned whether the judicial branch had the authority to regulate the presence of guns in other parts of courthouses where local government activities take place. Cady revised the ban later that year to allow guns under certain restrictions.

A House subcommittee approved the bill Wednesday, among the first steps in the legislative process. It now heads to a full committee of lawmakers for another vote.

Emily Piper, a lobbyist for the Iowa Association of School Boards, said if the bill is enacted into law it would raise insurance costs for school districts. She reiterated the point when she testified against another bill that would expand the presence of guns on school grounds.

Piper said this new bill would be more expansive than that one because it would allow limited scenarios when a person could carry a weapon on school grounds outside of a vehicle.

"The potential for accidents to happen, I'm not talking about criminal activity, are what concerns us," she said.

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Richard Rogers, a lobbyist for the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said the bill tackles several issues that are important to the organization's membership.

"We think this is a good step," he said.

The proposed law would state that any order from the Supreme Court or others in the judicial branch that prohibits a person from carrying, possessing, or transporting a weapon in a county courthouse or other joint-use public facility — other than in a courtroom or court office —is unenforceable if the carrying, possession, or transportation of such a weapon is otherwise lawful.

It would also allow someone to carry a concealed pistol or revolver onto public and private school grounds if the person remains on the school’s driveways, parking lots and sidewalks. Current law makes such an action a class D felony. Under the proposal, the person must have a valid permit to carry weapons.

The law would also prohibit an employer from banning an employee from carrying, possessing or transporting a firearm or ammunition to work if the weapon or ammunition is “out of sight” and inside a locked motor vehicle.

A political subdivision, like local governments, would be able to prohibit guns at an entertainment venue if the regulation is requested by a performer, speaker, lecturer or event sponsor, and if provisions are made to screen attendees for firearms if it becomes law.

The Iowa Association of Business and Industries — a powerful lobbying group — is registered against the bill. Nicole Crain, the association's senior vice president of public policy, raised concerns about the liabilities of an employee bringing a weapon to work, even if limited to a parking lot.

"This is a private property right," she said. "We do believe that the employer should have the ability to choose what policy they have for the employees when they are at work."