Statewide Iowa — City and county leaders across the state are trying to figure out how to implement a new state gun law which requires cities and counties to allow firearms in public buildings unless they provide armed security guards.
While this may be a conundrum in some parts of the state, here in northwest Iowa it doesn’t appear to be affecting business as usual for most areas. KIWA polled officials from around the four county area, and here’s what we discovered.
In O’Brien County, the only county-owned building that has a “gun-free zone” is the O’Brien County Courthouse, and that’s limited to the third floor, which houses the Clerk of Courts Office, Judges Chambers and courtroom. This will most likely remain a gun-free zone, since it is controlled by the Iowa Court System and not by the county.
The story remains pretty much the same in Lyon, Sioux, and Osceola Counties. In fact, in the areas that do have no guns signs posted on county and city buildings, those gun ban areas are probably not going to be enforceable, according to some of the officials we spoke to.
In smaller counties, like those here in northwest Iowas, there simply isn’t enough money in the budget to pay for armed security at those locations and the state has earmarked no funds to help defray the cost.
The Iowa League of Cities opposed the bill when it was moving through the legislature. Executive Director Alan Kemp says that’s because one of the league’s biggest priorities is maintaining local control.
(As above) “Cities would have preferred to have retained the authority to make this decision that they are most comfortable with for their city and their facilities, because that’s going to change from community to community,” according to Kemp.
Kemp says he’s heard some cities and counties are still learning what the law means for them and what buildings it applies to. And he says most cities and counties probably won’t feel that they can afford armed security, especially with economic disruptions caused by the pandemic. The new law began July 1st.
