Twenty-two bills pertaining to weapons and firearms have been introduced to the Iowa Legislature.

The bills introduce legislation involving everything from allowing citizens who feel threatened to defend themselves to a house joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Iowa Constitution ensuring Iowans the right to bear arms.

The Iowa “stand your ground” act will allow individuals who feel threatened to defend themselves, where the law previously requires them to flee the situation if possible. This act also will keep individuals who are not found criminally liable after defending themselves from facing civil lawsuits.

“‘Stand your ground’ states that if you are attacked at a place you have a right to be, you do not have to retreat … you can stand your ground,” said Dave Workman, director of communications at the Second Amendment Foundation. “It allows a person to fight back against an attack. You can resist.”

Workman said stand your ground acts are often confused with the Castle doctrine. However, he explained that they are different than the Castle doctrine.

“Castle doctrine deals specifically with defending your home,” Workman said. “‘Stand your ground’ extends that to beyond your doorstep.”

House Joint Resolution 2009 proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that states Iowans rights to keep and bear arms. The amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa would state citizens’ “right to acquire, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms.”

House Joint Resolution 2009 passed in the House last Wednesday.

Workman said the right to keep and bear arms is important because it relates to the natural human right of self-preservation. He said that many gun prohibitionists don’t understand guns and are simply afraid of them.

“They simply see firearms as tools of evil,” Workman said. “Some people in the gun prohibitions movement are uneasy with the fact that people with firearms can actually exist.”

The United States is unique in that it has a constitutional provision in the Bill of Rights that recognizes the right to keep and bear arms, Workman said. However, Iowa is one of six states that does not currently have an enumerated right to keep and bear arms stated in its constitution, according to the Iowa Firearms Coalition.

The Iowa constitutional amendment not only specifically declares the right of individuals to get and carry firearms, but also prohibits fees and limits restrictions related to gun use.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit organization, gives 100-point scorecards to each state on the strength of their gun laws.

The Brady Campaign gave Iowa a scorecard of 7 points out of 100, stating that “Iowa has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market and allow the sale of guns without background checks.”

As a result of the proposition, those who choose to exercise their right to bear arms would not be required to submit mandatory licensing, registration or special taxation, and any other restriction would be “subject to scrutiny.”

Thirty-six House Republicans are co-sponsoring the measure, including House Speaker Kraig Paulsen.

Paulsen has stated reasons for support of the amendment such as gun owners’ rights being important to many Iowa residents and Iowa being one of very few states without a Second Amendment equivalent in its state constitution.

The legislation would limit government officials’ power to restrict who can get a gun and where they can carry firearms.

Iowa Gun Owners, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to advance the Second Amendment, cited recent crimes such as the murder of a West Des Moines real estate agent, a Madison County elderly couple and two North Central Iowa gas station shopkeepers in its argument for the amendment presented to Paulsen in letter form.

“Iowa has experienced a recent number of horrific crimes … no gun law restriction will prevent this from happening in the future,” read the letter to Paulsen from several Republican legislators.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, declined to shoot down the measure right away, instead electing to let the bill run through the committee process with mixed support.

Other bills include HF 2357, which would limit colleges and universities’ authority to prohibit the possession of “dangerous weapons” in their buildings or on their grounds, whether being a public or private university. This is just one of several gun bills that work to allow guns in public areas where they are currently restricted.

The Brady Campaign reports that there have been 150 school shootings since 1997, including the shooting in Ohio’s Chardon High School on Feb. 27 that claimed the lives of three students.

Two gun bills, including House Joint Resolution 2009, were up for debate in the House last Wednesday.

These debates took place after House Democrats chose to leave the state Capitol, stating that they were not informed that the bills would be debated on at that time.

After reviewing the bills in a caucus outside of the Capitol, House Democrats returned to the Capitol and proceeded with the debates.

The gun bills in question had been on the “blue calendar” since Tuesday, meaning they were eligible for debate at any time.