Everyone loves the First Amendment.

It’s touted proudly, by conservative and liberal alike, as a pillar of our society. If the first amendment were to physically incarnate into a person it would probably appear in a habit and go by “Mother Teresa”.

The next amendment, however, is one that doesn’t get as much love. Some put forward that when the constitution was written, it was necessary to have firearms readily available in order for citizens to hunt and defend themselves. Others subscribe to the thought process that if it’s in the constitution then it is something that remains relevant indefinitely.

All constitutional cherry-picking aside, the Second Amendment is still around to this day — despite some very misguided and misinformed people trying change that.

Up until recently in Iowa, it was up to the county sheriff county of residence whether or not a person was able to exercise his or her right to bear arms. That sheriff could either grant you a license to carry a concealed weapon [CCW] or deny your request for no reason whatsoever.

This is not the case anymore. On April 29, Gov. Chet Culver put his John Hancock on Senate File 2379. The most important difference between this CCW-defining legislation and its predecessor is in the verbiage and conditionals. The proceeding laws said that a Sheriff “may” issue a CCW permit. The new legislation changes that “may” conditional to “shall.”

Previously, when a citizen wanted to CCW nationwide, he ran into some very serious roadblocks. In the past, Iowa did not reciprocate any other state’s CCW permit. This led to all but 14 states deeming they would fail to recognize Iowa’s CCW permit in return.

Iowa citizens then had to apply for a non-resident CCW permit from a state in the union that had high reciprocation rate with other states. The state of choice for many was Utah. Utah’s CCW permit is valid in 31 states, Iowa not being one of them. With a Utah and Iowa CCW permit, an Iowa citizen could legally carry concealed in 32 states, according to www.handgunlaw.us.

That is, after they pay close to $130 for the Utah permit, and about $80 dollars for the Iowa CCW class and permit. Not to mention costs of the firearm, ammunition and range-time most non-military types need to become proficient with their weapon of choice — think $800 to $1200. A citizen carrying concealed will also be held accountable for having an up-to-date, comprehensive understanding of all applicable firearm laws from state to state.

A citizen’s understanding of the laws often is achieved only after umpteen hours on Internet forums and chartrooms; discussing doctrines of law with law enforcement officers, military personal and other people seeking knowledge on how to correctly CCW.

Iowa will recognize all out-of-state CCW permits as of January 2011, according to Senate File 2379 section 724.11A. How this will affect other states reciprocating Iowa’s CCW permit is yet to be seen, but it is safe to say that reciprocation will go up due to Iowa’s new policy of total reciprocation.

This new legislation is another huge step in the direction toward the autonomy of Iowa’s citizens. First the support of LGBT rights, now the upholding of our Second Amendment rights and hopefully the legalization of marijuana in the next two years — Iowa’s on the right track to becoming the progressive state in the union.

Not progressive in the sense of being liberal, but progressive in the sense of allowing people to live the lives they choose. In its increase of the sovereignty of the individual, Iowa is being progressive in its return to liberty for its citizens.