Johnson County officials are shifting focus to initiatives that address the root causes of gun violence in the county and promoting safe gun ownership after a new state law was signed in May.

The community-based programs come as state house Democrats’ efforts to pass gun safety laws, following a fatal school shooting at the Perry High School in January, failed to gain consensus in the Republican-controlled Iowa House and Senate in the 2024 legislative session.

House File 2556, the law passed in May, allows a court of law to award damages to a plaintiff affected by the more restrictive gun laws and supersedes the cities and counties’ ability to create more restrictive gun laws than the state. The law is set to take effect in Jan. 2025.

Johnson County previously had an ordinance that prohibited firearms in county government buildings, but the ordinance was repealed in 2020 when previous legislation prohibited cities and counties from banning firearms on government property.

Johnson County Supervisor Jon Green, who serves as vice-chair of the board, said the 2024 law, and others, prevent the county from taking direct action on gun violence in the community.

“We are tasked with coming up with innovative ways to come at these problems kind of sideways when a direct intervention through county ordinances or whatever would be the best way,” Green said. “We’re going to continue to be creative and innovative and try to find indirect ways to tackle the problems that we see every day.”

With state law blocking direct action, Johnson County has focused on preventing the root causes of gun violence and promoting responsible gun ownership through county programs enacted within the past year.

Community Violence Intervention takes a community-based approach

The county approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds for a new Community Violence Intervention program in March 2023.

The program, run by Community Violence Intervention Coordinator Jessica Lang, is focused on providing community support to individuals identified to be at risk of committing violence, gun or otherwise.

The program takes referrals from law enforcement, concerned community members, and other local partners to provide individuals at risk of committing violence with the resources they need to address the root causes of their violence. Lang said this can include mental health counseling, job support, or financial assistance. Lang partners with community agencies to provide these resources.

“I help people get out of the life of violence and onto a path of success and whatever that looks like for that specific individual because it is so different for every person that I’m working with,” Lang said. “Also, [I’m] walking alongside them and giving them the capacity to build and learn how to take care of these things themselves eventually.”

Now, more than a year into the program, the county is looking to continue the program with another $875,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding to hire a community violence outreach specialist at Johnson County Public Health, partner with the University of Iowa to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the program and make recommendations, and partner with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County for outreach.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmerman Smith said the program stops violence from happening in the first place and helps the community thrive by promoting equity.

“I would much rather prevent violence from happening than spend my time in a trial or in a courtroom prosecuting it later,” Zimmerman Smith said. “That would be the best outcome possible — if we never had another case.”

Free gun locks, promoting responsible gun ownership

Johnson County has also partnered with Be SMART, a national grassroots program to promote responsible gun ownership, run by Everytown for Gun Safety, a political advocacy group focused on promoting gun safety laws.

“SMART” stands for Secure, Model, Ask, Recognize, and Tell, which provides a model for five things that can help prevent gun-related deaths.

The county’s Board of Supervisors voted to formally partner with Be SMART in April and started providing free gun locks on June 17. As part of the partnership, the county promotes Be SMART teachings on its social media pages and provides free gun locks at the Johnson County Treasurer’s office and sheriff’s office.

Temple Hiatt, the Iowa lead for the Be SMART program, said the county was in the perfect position to spread information about responsible gun ownership on its social media channels and through promotional campaigns.

Hiatt said since counties and cities are not allowed to pass gun ordinances, and state lawmakers are expanding gun rights, grassroots conversations are the best way to promote responsible gun ownership.

“Whether you’re a gun owner or not, everyone has a role to play in preventing gun violence,” Hiatt said. “Guns are more accessible in more public places. So we have to have these grassroots conversations in our families, our schools, and our communities. We need to prioritize gun safety and normalize the conversation around access to unsecured, loaded firearms.”