Bill Text: IA SF400 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the carrying and possession of weapons and providing penalties.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 16-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Subcommittee, Horn, Petersen, and Zaun. S.J. 596. [SF400 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF400-Introduced.html

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Senate File 400 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  BERTRAND, ANDERSON,
                                     SHIPLEY, CHELGREN,
                                     WHITVER, JOHNSON,
                                     GUTH, KAPUCIAN,
                                     ROZENBOOM, SEGEBART,
                                     SCHULTZ, ZUMBACH,
                                     BREITBACH, BEHN,
                                     SINCLAIR, COSTELLO,
                                     and DIX

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the carrying and possession of weapons and
  2    providing penalties.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.52, subsection 2, paragraph a,
  1  2 subparagraph (4), subparagraph division (a), subparagraph
  1  3 subdivision (viii), Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  1  4    (viii)  Section 724.4, if the child carried the dangerous
  1  5 weapon used the knife in the commission of a crime on school
  1  6 grounds.
  1  7    Sec. 2.  Section 708.8, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1  8 follows:
  1  9    708.8  Going armed with intent.
  1 10    A person who goes armed with any dangerous weapon with the
  1 11 intent to use without justification such weapon against the
  1 12 person of another commits a class "D" felony.  The intent
  1 13 required for a violation of this section shall not be inferred
  1 14 from the mere carrying or concealment of any dangerous weapon
  1 15 itself, including the carrying of a loaded firearm, whether in
  1 16 a vehicle or on or about a person's body.
  1 17    Sec. 3.  Section 724.4, Code 2015, is amended by striking the
  1 18 section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  1 19    724.4  Use of a knife in the commission of a crime.
  1 20    A person who goes armed with a knife on or about the person,
  1 21 if the person uses the knife in the commission of a crime,
  1 22 commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
  1 23    Sec. 4.  Section 724.4B, Code 2015, is amended by striking
  1 24 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  1 25    724.4B  Carrying weapons on school grounds ==== penalty ====
  1 26 exceptions.
  1 27    1.  A person who goes armed with, carries, or transports a
  1 28 firearm of any kind, whether concealed or not, on the grounds
  1 29 of a school commits a class "D" felony.  For the purposes of
  1 30 this section, "school" means a public or nonpublic school as
  1 31 defined in section 280.2.
  1 32    2.  Subsection 1 does not apply to the following:
  1 33    a.  A person who has been specifically authorized by the
  1 34 school to go armed with, carry, or transport a firearm on the
  1 35 school grounds for any lawful purpose.
  2  1    b.  A peace officer, when the officer's duties require the
  2  2 person to carry such weapons.
  2  3    c.  A member of the armed forces of the United States or
  2  4 of the national guard or person in the service of the United
  2  5 States, when the weapons are carried in connection with the
  2  6 person's duties as such.
  2  7    d.  A correctional officer, when the officer's duties
  2  8 require, serving under the authority of the Iowa department of
  2  9 corrections.
  2 10    e.  A person who for any lawful purpose carries an unloaded
  2 11 pistol, revolver, or other dangerous weapon inside a closed and
  2 12 fastened container or securely wrapped package which is too
  2 13 large to be concealed on the person.
  2 14    f.  A person who for any lawful purpose carries or transports
  2 15 an unloaded pistol or revolver in a vehicle inside a closed
  2 16 and fastened container or securely wrapped package which is
  2 17 too large to be concealed on the person or inside a cargo
  2 18 or luggage compartment where the pistol or revolver will not
  2 19 be readily accessible to any person riding in the vehicle or
  2 20 common carrier.
  2 21    g.  A law enforcement officer from another state when the
  2 22 officer's duties require the officer to carry the weapon and
  2 23 the officer is in this state for any of the following reasons:
  2 24    (1)  The extradition or other lawful removal of a prisoner
  2 25 from this state.
  2 26    (2)  Pursuit of a suspect in compliance with chapter 806.
  2 27    (3)  Activities in the capacity of a law enforcement officer
  2 28 with the knowledge and consent of the chief of police of the
  2 29 city or the sheriff of the county in which the activities occur
  2 30 or of the commissioner of public safety.
  2 31    Sec. 5.  Section 724.4C, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  2 32 follows:
  2 33    724.4C  Possession or carrying of firearms while under the
  2 34 influence.
  2 35    1.  A permit issued under this chapter is invalid if the
  3  1  Except as provided in subsection 2, a person to whom the permit
  3  2 is issued is commits a serious misdemeanor if the person
  3  3 is intoxicated as provided under the conditions set out in
  3  4 section 321J.2, subsection 1., and the person does any of the
  3  5 following:
  3  6    a.  Carries a dangerous weapon on or about the person.
  3  7    b.  Carries a weapon within the person's immediate access or
  3  8 reach while in a vehicle.
  3  9    2.  This section shall not apply to any of the following:
  3 10    a.  A person who carries or possesses a dangerous weapon
  3 11 while in the person's own dwelling, place of business, or on
  3 12 land owned or lawfully possessed by the person.
  3 13    b.  The transitory possession or use of a firearm during
  3 14 an act of justified self=defense or justified defense of
  3 15 another, provided that the possession lasts no longer than is
  3 16 immediately necessary to resolve the emergency.
  3 17    Sec. 6.  Section 724.5, Code 2015, is amended by striking the
  3 18 section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  3 19    724.5  Availability of permit not to be construed as
  3 20 prohibition on unlicensed carrying of weapons.
  3 21    The availability of a professional or nonprofessional permit
  3 22 to carry weapons under this chapter shall not be construed
  3 23 to impose a general prohibition on the unlicensed carrying,
  3 24 whether openly or concealed, of a deadly weapon, including a
  3 25 loaded firearm.
  3 26                           EXPLANATION
  3 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3 28 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3 29    This bill relates to the carrying and possession of weapons
  3 30 and provides penalties.
  3 31    The bill amends Code section 708.8, the crime of going armed
  3 32 with a dangerous weapon with intent, a class "D" felony, to
  3 33 provide that the intent element required for a violation of
  3 34 this crime shall not be inferred from the mere carrying or
  3 35 concealment of a dangerous weapon.
  4  1 The bill strikes Code section 724.4 relating to the crime of
  4  2 carrying dangerous weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor, without
  4  3 a valid permit or in other enumerated circumstances. Instead,
  4  4 the bill section creates a new crime of going armed with a
  4  5 knife in the commission of a crime, an aggravated misdemeanor.
  4  6 The bill makes a conforming change to Code section 232.52,
  4  7 subsection 2, relating to the suspension or revocation of a
  4  8 juvenile's driver's license or operating privilege. The bill
  4  9 also makes a conforming Code change to Code section 724.4B,
  4 10 relating to the carrying of weapons on school grounds, to
  4 11 specifically include certain categories of persons who are
  4 12 authorized to carry weapons on school grounds.
  4 13    The bill amends Code section 724.4C relating to the crime of
  4 14 possession or carrying of firearms while under the influence
  4 15 of alcohol or a drug.  Current law invalidates a permit to
  4 16 carry weapons if the person to whom the permit is issued is
  4 17 intoxicated, as defined in Code section 321J.2, subsection 1
  4 18 (while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or other
  4 19 drug or a combination of such substances, while having an
  4 20 alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or while any amount of a
  4 21 controlled substance is present in the person, as measured in
  4 22 the person's blood or urine).  The bill amends this provision
  4 23 to provide that a person commits a serious misdemeanor if
  4 24 the person is intoxicated and the person either carries a
  4 25 dangerous weapon on or about the person or carries a dangerous
  4 26 weapon within the person's immediate access or reach while in
  4 27 a vehicle.  This crime does not apply to situations where a
  4 28 person carries or possesses a dangerous weapon while in the
  4 29 person's own dwelling, place of business, or on the person's
  4 30 land, and the transitory possession or use of a firearm during
  4 31 an act of justified self=defense or justified defense of
  4 32 another, if the possession of the firearm lasts no longer than
  4 33 immediately necessary to resolve the emergency.
  4 34    The bill strikes Code section 724.5 relating to a person's
  4 35 duty to carry a valid permit to carry certain weapons for
  5  1 which a permit has been issued to the person and replaces that
  5  2 Code section with a provision stating that the availability
  5  3 of a professional or nonprofessional permit to carry weapons
  5  4 shall not be construed to impose a general prohibition on the
  5  5 unlicensed carrying of a deadly weapon including a loaded
  5  6 firearm.
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