According to a recent article in the Des Moines Register, a "shall issue" gun law passed in 2010 has allowed more than 50 registered sex offenders permits to carry guns in public. This is in addition to granting permits to the blind. Isn't this a recipe for disaster? Isn't this giving sex offenders a great opportunity to go after the families who helped convict them? Isn't this giving them a great opportunity to go after more victims now that they are armed with a gun?
To make matters even worse, if someone was found mentally incompetent by a court before 2011, that information is not available when a background check is done.
Iowans don't even have to take a shooting test to be approved for a handgun. This measure is opposed by Republicans.
Some Iowa lawmakers now claim that they were confused about the bill and didn't really know what they were voting for when this bill was passed. They say they didn't realize that there were loopholes in the law that would result in jeopardizing public safety.
Meanwhile, Republican governor Terry Branstad said that "the law is working just fine and no changes are needed."
Several lawmakers have tried to close the loopholes in the current law but have been unsuccessful. It also seems that there is very little chance that anything will be done to fix the law in the coming year. So you might want to avoid taking a trip to Iowa in the foreseeable future. If you live in Iowa - good luck!