The new gun laws for the state of Iowa are increasing the privacy of permit holders.

Washington County Sheriff Jared Schneider describes how the state’s law previously handled permit records, “Prior to April 13, the permit application form and the permit information was all public record. So a person could walk into the sheriff’s office and ask, ‘Does so-and-so have a records permit?’ And we would have to release that information to the person asking for that information.”

Schneider shares how the law is written now, “Years ago, some of the media outlets in the state would take that information and publish it when people got new permits, renewals, and things like that. With the code change it makes that all confidential and it makes it so that information does not have to be released to the public.”

Now the law states that a permit holder’s information such as name, date of birth, and social security number shall be kept confidential by the department of public safety. The law does not prohibit the release of statistical information relating to the issuance, denial, revocation, or administration of permits, as long as the release of information does not reveal the identity of the permit holder.