Iowa CCW hiccup

Current law: No guns in the state parks. New law: You may have but not use or show.

Generally,  Barney Fife will have a hard time getting hired as an Iowa cop unless he applies to the Department of Natural Resources.* So a guy should be careful about carrying in the parks. The Department  of Public Safety  makes it clear that concealed carry there is legal but refers to the DNR interpretation:

The Department’s position  on state parks, preserves, 

and refuges is as follows: A 

person with a valid permit 

may carry their firearm; 

however the use of that 

firearm is prohibited. Use 

would be brandishing, 

displaying, bartering, 

striking with, and, most 

obviously, firing or 

attempting to fire the 

weapon. 

Parse that. Among other things it seems to require that the gun be absolutely concealed. Carrying openly is displaying, as is sitting on a log with your buddy and letting him examine your Black Hawk over mid-morning coffee. Actually using it to counter a threat also seems to be grounds for prosecution.  Until all this is thrashed out via statute, re-interpretation,  or case law, I'd avoid attracting the attention of the  guy in the Smoky Bear hat.

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The new law bars sheriff's from imposing restrictions on the type of weapon covered by the CCW. One effect of that is also a DNR matter.  Sheriffs have frequently written CCW restrictions to forbid violating game laws which require that rifles and shotguns in vehicles be unloaded and cased,  leading  to this from the DNR:

While a person with a valid permit under Iowa Code § 724.7 may carry their firearm 

uncased and loaded in the vehicle, the Department strongly urges persons with a 

permit to continue to transport their firearms in a carrying case and unloaded for safety purposes. 

The statute was on the books mostly to prevent road hunting, rather widely viewed around here as unethical.  Let your conscience be your guide.   And don't forget that this year's hunting is governed by the old law.

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*Anecdotal evidence of how these guys operate suggests the Barney reference, but that's another post. 

Iowa Concealed Carry Reciprocity

You can whiz through the Hawkeye State on I-80 secure in the knowledge that we'll honor your CCW, even if you're using it to cover that souvenir switchblade you haggled for down in Tampico back in '72. 


The  Iowa DPS FAQ on the new shall-issue law (effective Jan 1, 2011) says:

Iowa will honor any valid carry permit issued by any other state and will grant all privileges to such permit holders as those 

granted to Iowa residents including the concealed or open carrying of a firearm (excluding those classified by Iowa law as offensive 

weapons (federal NFA or Class 3)) and the concealed carrying of other non-firearm dangerous weapons such as knives with blades in 

excess of five inches, switchblade knives, Tasers/stun guns, or any other dangerous weapon. Non-firearm dangerous weapons may be 

carried openly without a permit. Non-firearm dangerous weapons may also be regulated by local ordinance that is more stringent than 

Iowa law. You do not have to be a resident of the state from which your permit was issued. However, an Iowa resident may only carry 

with an Iowa issued permit. 


Now,suppose you get nabbed by a cop charged with assessing the speed tax. You are not required to tell him you are armed, but the DPS thinks you should:

QUESTION: If I am stopped by a law enforcement officer in Iowa, am I required to declare that I am carrying a loaded firearm? 

ANSWER: No, but it is really good idea. Iowa law does not require such a declaration; however, as a safety measure for both the 

permit holder and the officer, making such a declaration voluntarily is recommended and encouraged. 

You handle it your way. Personally I would would make damned sure I was talking to an actual officer rather than a costume shop customer then tell him or her if I had a weapon on my person. If the gun was tucked away in the glove box I probably wouldn't bother. Why extend a conversation you didn't want in the first place?

Iowa Concealed Carry, Open Carry

We're a couple of months away from the  effective date of Iowa's new shall-issue law, and the Department of Public Safety has issued a FAQ on how it will work. For a government publication, it's remarkably straight forward.

Among other things it clarifies the open-carry issue. With a carry permit, you may carry concealed or openly in cities and towns despite any local legislation. The wording is:


QUESTION: Under the new law, do I have to carry my handgun concealed? 

ANSWER: Iowa law has not changed in this regard. You may carry concealed or you may carry openly; however, most permit holders 

carry concealed to avoid making it obvious that the person is armed, thus avoiding unnecessary attention, concern, or alarm. 

The expiring may-issue law did permit open carry in cities for CCW holders, but it held a hemlock dose. Sheriffs could jerk your mother-may-I  for any reason, including offending the sensibilities of your fellow Target shoppers with a visible weapon.

That said, I rather like the FAQ wording. It confirms your right but suggests that you might want to exercise it with a bit of discretion to avoid numerous and monotonous discussions with peace officers summoned by the nervous.   

Which raises the question of businesses' right to ban guns. Iowa law remains silent on the subject, and I expect the issue to be litigated sooner rather than later. Just as it has elsewhere, it pits the right of a business to control things on its own property against your right to defend yourself anywhere.  

(more)

I would be less unchurched  if my clergy person was  the the Reverend Mary Edwards, of Collingbourne Ducis, near Marlborough, on the Plains of Salisbury in Merry Olde.

Something of a scholar, she discovered that her commission included the right to muster her parishioners  for practice with lethal weapons in defense of the realm. And so,  this spring, she did just that.

Mrs Edwards said: "It's an unrepealed law from some time in the middle ages and I can call all the men - but I've extended it to all people - in the parish to archery practice."

And I am here to tell you that this woman knows how to command a militia.

"Residents were rewarded for complying with the law with a bar, a barbecue and live music."


The occasion for the bending of the yew was completion of an indoor loo, the church's first.

The extent of diaper dampening in Parliament is thus far unreported.


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As a descendant of Fearghael of Longford in Leinster, or perhaps Fearghael of the wild Wicklow Mountains,  I find myself suspecting  -- or  perhaps merely hoping -- that  her pedigree begins somewhere in Hibernia.