Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation Friday that will changes state law to allow 18-year-olds to own and carry handguns.
The Des Moines Register reported state Rep. Steven Holt (R) rallied fellow lawmakers in support of the bill, House File 924.
Holt said, “I joined the Marines when I was 18, I graduated from boot camp when I was 18. I was carrying firearms in the military, ready to defend my country when I was 18, along with hundreds of thousands of other young men and women.”
He added, “So the idea that an 18-year-old, a 19-year-old, a 20-year-old, doesn’t have a right to own a firearm in protection of their families — which is really what the Second Amendment is about, right?”
State Sen. Art Staed (D) opposed the legislation when it was in the Senate, arguing, “Lowering the age to purchase handguns won’t save any lives.”
He claimed allowing 18-year-olds to carry for self-defense “will cost lives” and said, “Let’s keep this common sense safeguard in Iowa in place. Let’s keep the age at 21.”
KCRG noted that the law takes effect July 1, 2025.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: [email protected].
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