A sweeping new gun law was signed into effect last month for Iowa, after passing in both the Republican controlled Senate and House.
The law caused quite a bit of controversy while still a bill. Much of this was due to its inclusion of specific “stand your ground” language regarding justifiable use of reasonable and deadly force. This means that if someone is threatened and reasonably believes their life is in danger, they do not have to try to escape their aggressor before using deadly force.
Another aspect of the law is a provision that allows children of any age to handle a handgun if supervised by a guardian over the age of 21.
One supporter of the new law, Kurt Liske, the vice president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, stated he does not expect the bill to negatively effect public safety in Iowa in any way.