Success in the Senate!

At approximately 9:30 Thursday morning the Iowa Senate passed House File 2279 by a vote of 46 to 4. HF2279, the Hearing Protection Act, removes suppressors from Iowa’s list of so-called “offensive weapons.” If signed into law this would legalize the civilian ownership of firearm suppressors in the State of Iowa. For years the Iowa Senate has a literal dead-end for most every gun bill introduced in the Iowa legislature.

When given an opportunity to speak out against the legalization of suppressors in Iowa not a single Senator chose to do so. In fact the only Senator who said anything was Senator Julian Garrett of Warren County who noted how long overdue this bill is and long we’ve been working to legalize suppressors in Iowa.

Those voting against the bill were:

Joe Bolkcom

Bob Dvorsky

Rob Hogg

Herman Quirmbach

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What comes next?

There was an amendment attached by the Senate to HF2279. No need to worry though, the bill’s original intent remains intact. The amendment merely cleanup up a few small grammatical errors.

The Hearing Protection Act now goes back to the House of Representatives. The House will have to decide whether or not to approve the amendment. The Iowa Firearms Coalition has been in ongoing discussions with the House leadership and they have indicated they will address the issue in a quick manner. We fully expect the House to approve the amendment and send HF2279 to Governor Branstad’s desk in short order. Tentative indications are the Governor will sign the bill.

Community support

The Iowa Firearms Coalition has been leading the fight to legalize suppressors in Iowa for years. Along the way we’ve been proud to work closely with the National Rifle Association and American Suppressor Association in the Iowa capitol. Other’s claim to have worked on legalizing suppressors, but we assure you they were no where to be found in the capitol during the numerous subcommittee meetings, lobby days, legislator education days, and so on.

If you’re in support of Iowans’ right to own suppressors, you should be supporting those who’ve been fighting to protect and enhance your rights for years. Become an Iowa Firearms Coalition member today!

Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, Second Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Permit to Carry process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance Second Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on Second Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.