DES MOINES, Iowa – Three counties in Iowa became Second Amendment Sanctuaries this week. With county supervisors in Page, Taylor and Lucas counties approving their sanctuary county resolutions, 26 out of Iowa’s 99 counties are now Second Amendment Sanctuaries.
“At this point, it’s become a job, in the greatest sense of the word, to keep track of how many communities are affirming their Second Amendment rights,” Dave Funk, president of Iowa Firearms Coalition, said earlier this week in a statement after Page County Supervisors approved their resolution.
Guthrie, Dallas, and Benton counties also approved resolutions this month.
“While we applaud, and encourage more of Iowa’s counties to pass their own resolutions, the speed at which local elected leaders are taking a stand against unnecessary federal overreach should send a clear message to Washington that Iowans will not accept any steps to infringe on their civil rights,” Funk said in a released statement on Thursday.
A resolution declaring a county be a Second Amendment sanctuary does not negate federal law. Still, it does prevent local resources from being used to enforce measures that are at odds with the U.S. Constitution.
Heading into October, Iowa had 20 sanctuary counties: Adams, Carroll, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clarke, Buchanan, Decatur, Hardin, Humboldt, Jasper, Kossuth, Madison, Mills, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Ringgold, Van Buren, Washington, Wayne, and Winnebago.
SanctuaryCounties.com reported 62.5 percent of the nation’s counties were Second Amendment sanctuary counties. This number has undoubtedly grown since their map did not include any county from Iowa. Currently, 26.2 percent of Iowa’s counties are now Second Amendment sanctuary counties.
Iowa Firearms Coalition, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, has worked with local officials to encourage Second Amendment sanctuary status by providing a model resolution that county supervisors can adopt as their own.
The Iowa Legislature last session approved for the second time a “keep and bear arms” amendment to Iowa’s Constitution that will go before voters in 2022. The Legislature also passed, and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill allowing permitless carry within the state.
