One More Good One

I forgot at least one more good gun bill in Des Moines, House File 170, the Iowa Firearms Protection Act. This bill follows the lead of several other states that have passed similar laws. It would exempt "firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition owned or manufactured commercially or privately in this state and that remains exclusively within this state" from enforcement of federal laws or regulation.

Superficially this may seem like a Second Amendment issue, since it deals with guns, but it's actually a Tenth Amendment issue. The concept is that arms made and remaining in the state don't fall under the federal government's authority under the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause.

The bill would forbid Iowa state officials and Iowa gun dealers from enforcing federal regulations on Iowa made arms remaining in state. It would also make it illegal for any federal agent to enforce federal regulations on Iowa arms. Federal agents doing so would be guilty of a class "D" felony. It would also allow the Iowa attorney general to defend a citizen of Iowa who is prosecuted by the United States government for any of the above.

Our friends at the Tenth Amendment Center had a brief writeup on the bill here.