Governor favors Iowa gun permit law, watching no-permit bill

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she favors current state law that requires gun holders to obtain a permit but is monitoring a legislative proposal to eliminate the requirement to obtain a permit to buy or carry a handgun.

Reynolds, when asked this week about the bill moving its way through the Senate committee process, said when she was in the Senate she voted for the 2010 bill that updated the state’s gun permit process, which includes background checks and requires weapons training.

She says background checks are needed but she’s watching the current bill that would do away with permits to see how it develops.

Supporters of the proposal say requiring permits and fees to own a gun contradicts the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Opponents say it’s dangerous to eliminate permits and the accompanying background checks for gun show and person-to-person handgun sales.

The Republican governor says she doesn’t have a permit to carry a handgun but would like to get one when she finds the time.