Jennifer Jacobs

jejacobs@dmreg.com

Images of kindergartners firing handguns might startle some Iowans, but for Nathan Gibson, it's family tradition and a sport his daughters love.

Gibson, an information security engineer from Johnston, has been taking his two daughters to shooting ranges since they were 5 and gradually teaching them how to tag along on hunting trips.

On weekends at the gun range, the girls put on their safety eyewear and electronic hearing protection ear muffs and take turns with a .22 pistol, as their dad stands behind them, focused on every movement, he told the Register.

But this past Saturday, Gibson and his 8-year-old daughter, Natalie, were politely told to leave the Polk City shooting range because the girl isn't old enough to practice with the Walther P22 handgun she's been using all along.

The range's gunsmith told them a state law "no one knew about" has surfaced: Anyone 20 or younger must be under the direct supervision of a parent or instructor to practice with a pistol or revolver. Youths younger than 14 can't use a handgun at all, even with supervision, Iowa Code states.

Gibson has contacted local and state officials about his belief that his daughters should be able to use handguns under his supervision. Natalie and her sister, Meredith, 10, have posted videos on YouTube advocating the same thing. Today, the Iowa Gun Owners organization plans to publicize the videos as part of its effort to build support for eliminating age restrictions altogether for youths using handguns under a parent's supervision.

The Iowa law barring any handgun use by youths under 14 gained attention earlier this year when a Democratic legislator tried to lower the legal age from 14 to 12.

State law provides no minimum age for long guns. The rationale has been that long guns are used for hunting, and any child should be able to hunt with supervision from a parent.

The bill's intent was to allow more Iowa kids to safely practice shooting handguns, but the effort has backfired. It became mired in controversy and failed to become law, but because of the publicity, more gun ranges are enforcing the existing law.

Youth under 14 who once shot handguns at ranges are now being barred at ranges across the state, lawmakers and gun advocates say. No one representing the Polk City range could be reached for comment.

"It's unfortunate," said the bill's author, state Rep. Joe Riding, D-Altoona, who taught his own daughter how to shoot when she was 9.

"If a parent wants to involve their youngster in an activity they love, there's no reason why they should not involve their 6-year-old daughter or their 9- or 10-year-old daughter," Riding told the Register. "Unfortunately, politics got involved."

Gibson immediately telephoned his state representative about the incident; then Iowa Gun Owners; then the Department of Natural Resources; then the Polk County Sheriff's Department; then other top GOP lawmakers.

Other Iowans say it's a good thing to keep children away from gun ranges.

Kathleen Adams, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Broadlawns Medical Center who specializes in children and adolescents, said she would be less concerned if the issue were simply about target practice or hunting with a parent.

But handguns are not about hunting; they're about personal safety, Adams said.

Teaching kids handgun shooting implies there might be an appropriate time for them to use the gun in a situation they perceive as dangerous, with or without supervision, she said.

"We should teach them ways to solve conflicts that don't involve guns," said Adams, who voiced her objections to House File 2012 during a hearing at the Iowa Capitol in January. "And it's really important for kids to have confidence that their world is safe and that the adults in their world are going to keep them safe."

Gibson said his girls are into dance and cheerleading and softball and basketball, and he does those activities with them, too, even jokingly practicing round-off cartwheels. But shooting is a big part of their father-daughter time, he said.

Natalie was in tears after they packed up their gear and drove away from the gun range Saturday, he said.

"She was upset because she thought she did something wrong," Gibson said. "I had to explain to both my daughters what had happened and why."

Anne Starr, the CEO at Orchard Place, a Des Moines psychiatric medical institute for youths ages 10 to 17, said: "In general, if you can limit access, particularly to kids who are less stable and are in treatment, and make it difficult for them to get any kind of weapon, that's a good thing."

But as far as the general youth population, Starr said she's undecided about supervised handgun access.

"Each kid is different in terms of their development and what they can and can't handle and the culture in a family and whether guns are part of that culture," Starr said.

Riding said the bill to lower the age allowing supervised handgun use would have "sailed through" into law, but Iowa Gun Owners pushed an amendment to remove age restrictions altogether. Iowa Gun Owners' executive director, Aaron Dorr, said he thinks swing-district Democrats supported the modest age change because they hoped to get credit in a tough re-election year for being strong on gun rights.

Dorr didn't want to give them that political cover for "a tiny tweak in the law," he said.

"The real sad thing for us is more and more kids are now being kicked off gun ranges like the Gibson kids," said Dorr, who intends to widely distribute the links to the Gibson girls' videos today. "But it's a simple fix. Take out the age restriction."

Dorr said parents know best when their children are able to shoot a gun, and "any father would be wise to show his daughter how to defend herself."

As Gibson's daughters showed interest in his hunting trips, Gibson said, he allowed them to walk behind him carrying a BB gun so they could get a feel for safety and the hunting environment.

"You teach them guns are a tool just like anything else," he said. "I'm not a revolutionary guy. I'm not trying to overthrow the government. But I'm trying to teach them that guns have a purpose, and why they're important."

Girls state beliefs in videos

Meredith Gibson, who has been learning about government in elementary school, overheard her father's conversations with elected officials about youth handgun use and wanted to take action, too.

Her parents were squeamish about exposing her to inevitable criticism from gun opponents, but decided to let her take a public stand.

In a video now posted on YouTube, the fourth-grader points out a quirk in Iowa law: It's legal for her to shoot her dad's AR-15 .308 deer-hunting rifle.

"(But) I'm unable to shoot my handgun," which fires the same bullets as a .22 rifle, Meredith says in the recorded message to Republican state Rep. Clel Baudler, the chairman of the Iowa House Public Safety Committee.

Without looking at her unloaded pistol, Meredith, 10, performs the steps to ensure no live ammunition can be fired: She locks the slide, ejects the magazine and sets the empty magazine on her family's kitchen table. Then she walks over to her father's .308 rifle.

"I think we can both agree that this gun is way too big for me," she says.

Then Natalie Gibson, 8, wanted to speak out, so the girls created another YouTube video. "It's fun shooting my gun with my daddy," Meredith says in the video, "and I can learn how to safely handle it and protect myself and my family if needed to."

— Jennifer Jacobs