3/30/2023 0 Comments Strict scrutiny standard![]() It's not putting firearms in the hands of domestic abusers. It's not allowed felons to have firearms. It's not overturned their permitting process. State Representative Matt Windschitl argued during Iowa House debate in 2019 that in other states where the constitution subjects gun regulations to "strict scrutiny," Iowa House and Senate Republicans who have promoted the constitutional amendment dismissed concerns about its effect on existing laws. A "POWERFUL TOOL" AGAINST ENFORCING GUN LAWS It requires the government to show the challenged policy involves a "compelling" state interest and is "narrowly tailored" to serve that interest. "Strict scrutiny" is the highest bar to clear. Supreme Court majority rejected that approach, holding instead that "to justify a firearm regulation the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.") (Pettys clarified that in a June 2022 case known as Bruen, the U.S. Under that standard, the state needs to show the law or regulation being challenged advances an important government interest. As University of Iowa law professor Todd Pettys explained to Barton, federal courts have often used “intermediate scrutiny” in gun rights cases. Laws implicating constitutional rights are viewed using heightened scrutiny. ![]() It's rare for judges to strike down a law using that approach. When hearing challenges to laws or regulations, courts often use a "rational basis" standard, under which the government only needs to show some legitimate interest is served by the policy. Constitution, without adding that restrictions "shall be subject to strict scrutiny." They warned that background checks and other longstanding gun safety regulations would be threatened if the Iowa constitution were amended in this way. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.Įach time state legislators debated the proposal, Iowa House or Senate Democrats offered amendments that would have largely copied the Second Amendment to the U.S. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental right. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The constitutional amendment that Republican lawmakers approved in 2019 and again last year reads as follows: In a little-noticed passage tucked into a recent decision on abortion rights, a majority of Iowa Supreme Court justices suggested that existing gun regulations could be doomed under a "strict scrutiny" standard. ![]() But legal experts told Barton some laws, such as a broad prohibition on firearms ownership by people with felony convictions, might not survive a court challenge if voters approve the constitutional amendment. Republicans who pushed for the amendment have downplayed its potential impact on existing gun regulations. Tom Barton wrote an excellent article for the Cedar Rapids Gazette about what's at stake in this November's vote on a pro-gun amendment to the Iowa Constitution. ![]()
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