A gun law passed through the Iowa House without any discussion on the floor Tuesday, changing many of Iowa’s current gun laws.

If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Branstad, House Bill 201 would eliminate an age limit for children to use a pistol or a revolver under adult supervision. The law would also allow officials to carry firearms on school grounds if they had a professional permit to carry.

Under the new legislation, the names of those who hold permits to carry guns and purchase some weapons would no longer be open to the public.  It also allows people to buy gun suppressors, with some government regulation, to lower the sound of a gun firing. Currently, an individual in possession of a suppressor may be charged with a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

“This bill is multi-faceted,” said Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley. “It came about from enthusiastic Iowans who support gun control as well as the National Rifle Association with their expertise on how to better serve Iowans.” 

The legislation passed through the House to advance on to the Senate with a 75-24 vote. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill, but the majority of Democrats were against it, said Mack Shelley, professor of political science.

“Republicans in general tend to be in favor of gun legislation as an individual personal right,” Shelley said. 

Shelley said Republicans are in support of businesses that manufacture and sell guns.  

The Supreme Court recently supported the mentality that the Second Amendment is an individual right and not a collective right of all American citizens, meaning there can be some legislation on who is allowed to hold a gun permit.

On the Democratic side, the representatives want to protect American citizens from being accidently shot or killed and to limit the accessibility of owning and using firearms, Shelley said. 

“I don’t support giving a child of 14 years or younger access to weaponry,” said Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines. “Children don’t think carefully about decisions and we have to be careful.” 

Even with proper training, children don’t think rationally about decisions and it would be dangerous for them to have access to guns, Abdul-Samad said. There’s already enough violence going on in the world that we shouldn’t create more, he said. 

Abdul-Samad said the bill will need to be amended in order to get through the Senate.

“I don’t want to violate anyone’s Second Amendment rights because I support that, but I don’t support young children having access to weapons,” Abdul-Samad said. 

The percentage of households with gun owners are at an all-time low, according to the General Social Survey. Gun sales have spiked dramatically in recent years, but there is not an increase of citizens buying the guns. The people purchasing more guns are simply purchasing more guns, he said.  

A total of 31 percent of households reported having a firearm in 2014, which is the lowest level of gun ownership in the past 40 years, according to the General Social Survey. The number of individuals owning guns is down 17 percent from the all-time high.

“My colleagues and I are working toward a consensus with the Senate to advance and protect the Second Amendment,” Windschitl said.