On April 2, 2021, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 756 into law, which gets rid of the licensing requirement imposed on lawful Iowans when they want to carry a handgun.
In a statement that Reynolds released, she declared that HF 756, “protects the Second Amendment rights of Iowa’s law-abiding citizens while still preventing the sale of firearms to criminals and other dangerous individuals.”
In signing the law, Iowa became the 19th Constitutional Carry state. State Representative Steve Holt described the previous restriction on Iowans’ right to bear arms as a “permission slip from the government.”
The bill was passed on strict party lines. Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls went on social media to criticize the move: “Gov. Reynolds has caved in to the most radical elements of her party.”
