A bill which would allow Iowans to buy and carry handguns without permits has been sent to Governor Kim Reynolds.

The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 535 Monday on a 31-17 vote along party lines, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. The House passed its bill(House File 756) last week, so the measure now goes to Reynolds for her possible signature.

If the bill becomes law, Iowans can still obtain permits to carry or acquire handguns, but the process would become optional. District 78 State Representative Jarad Klein (R) of Keota says some gun purchasers will see an advantage to having a permit, “Every time they go to buy a firearm, they go through the (background) check. Right now that check is only once every five years if they have that requirement, so I think in reality, in the short term, there will be a lot of folks who will forget that part. They’ll go into Scheels or a local store to purchase (a firearm) something and they’ll find out they can’t walk out with it (gun) at the same time like when I had my permit. So, in the end, I think a lot of them end up getting their permits back or keep their permit, but at the same time it is a fundamental constitutional right that we recognize shouldn’t have a government permission slip attached to it.”

The bill also would no longer require Iowans to obtain a permit before acquiring firearms through sales between private citizens, which do not require background checks. But, Klein says he sees the legislation resulting in more background checks because the new law would make it a class D felony to sell, rent or loan a gun to a person that the seller “knows or reasonably should know” is prohibited from owning firearms. That crime would be punishable by up to five years in prison.