By Katrina Custardo
In the state Legislature, a bill has been introduced in the Republican-dominated House that broadly changes the current gun laws in Iowa. These changes include stand-your-ground laws, handgun use for minors, permit-holder confidentiality, lifetime permits to carry, and what I would like to focus on specifically: state pre-emption laws.
State pre-emption laws are generally when counties across states say that they don’t allow (or do allow) conceal-and-carry or restrictions as such for firearms. This bill, however, specifies that counties and cities cannot do that. Republicans, who are notorious for wanting less government control, are taking away control for local cities and counties who consider some firearms dangerous. Instead, Republicans think they are giving control back to the people and ignoring the people who want to keep their counties and cities safer from gun violence.
The bill would also not allow public universities, including the University of Iowa, to declare their campuses to be gun-free zones. This is directly in conflict with the UI’s existing rule that bans firearms.
The bill is important to watch because it is taking away the control the university has over its campus and property. Republicans, who are again notorious for wanting less government control, are taking all of the control back from cities and counties and universities. This should go against what they stand for (except for the fact that the Iowa Firearms Coalition wanted to flip the Senate around in last year’s election).
But more importantly, guns on campus can go downhill very fast. Look at the last few years and the gun violence on campuses and at schools. It has skyrocketed.
According to Everytown, from 2013-16, there were 160 shootings at schools. The rest of the world looks at us and wonders how we can allow these shootings to occur at some of our most vulnerable places. I remember Sandy Hook and the utter shock I felt as I went to school after that, wondering if someone had a gun that they would pull out at any second. Why would we allow that at our university?
The UI has more than 30,000 students who learn here and celebrate here and, most importantly, live here. We want to be safe. We want to be safe as we walk to classes, as we walk downtown, as we walk to our homes. To push aside that safety is reckless and endangerment. It’s downright stupid.
I love having a gun-free campus. I love being able to know that, at least in theory, I am safe from the horrors that guns can cause. I do not want the UI, my university, to be the next one in the news. We deserve our right to safety and the university’s right to say no to guns. So listen up House and Senate Republicans: Keep your guns away from our university. We do not want them here.