Iowa Supreme Court issues statewide courthouse weapons ban

Grant Rodgers | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Details about the changes to Iowa's gun laws Gov. Terry Branstad signed a comprehensive rewrite that touches nearly every aspect of Iowa's firearms laws

Gun owners are officially banned from bringing weapons into Iowa courthouses and other spaces controlled by the judicial branch under a first-of-its kind statewide policy enacted by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady.

The order signed Monday is intended to bring consistency to a patchwork of differing rules in counties across the state that "have failed to provide uniform protection across the state and throughout every courthouse," Cady wrote in his order. The order does not apply to peace officers who are in courthouses for law enforcement business, but does apply to other people in "courtrooms, court-controlled spaces, and public areas of courthouses and other justice centers occupied by the court system."

The prohibition comes after Gov. Terry Branstad in April signed a wide-ranging gun rights bill that included a provision that allows Iowans to sue counties or cities that try to establish gun-free zones if they can prove they are adversely affected. The bill was criticized by Polk County Attorney John Sarcone, who questioned whether it would open the door to people bringing weapons into the courthouse.

"I think the court’s signaling that this is not the place for weapons," Sarcone said on Tuesday. "We’re going to resolve things in a peaceful fashion and it’s going to be without the use of intimidation or fear or anything like that caused by the use of a weapon.”

The policy was praised by the Iowa Bar Association, which formed a task force to study courthouse security issues in 2006. The association represents approximately 8,000 lawyers across the state.

“We must be proactive to protect public safety, prevent a tragedy from occurring and ensure that justice can be attained in an environment that is safe,” said Skip Kenyon, the bar association president, in a statement.

But Barry Snell, executive director of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, condemned the order, saying that the judicial branch has no authority to regulate whether guns are carried into other parts of courthouses, such as county treasurers' and auditors' offices. Snell said the group plans no immediate legal challenge to the order, but will watch and see how it is implemented in courthouses across the state.

Snell said the group will likely seek legislative changes next year to ensure that people are protected if they carry a firearm into a non-judicial area of a courthouse.

"We saw this coming months and months ago," he said. "The majority of county courthouses already do something like this, regardless of Chief Justice Cady’s little edict. This is not a new problem."

According to the order, 72 counties currently have bans against bringing weapons into courtrooms and 44 have prohibitions against bringing weapons into any area of a courthouse. Eleven counties currently prohibit weapons in all county buildings, according to the order.

The order encourages district court judges to work with county and local officials to implement the new policy in ways that take into account differing designs and historical needs of each individual courthouse.