“This simply clarifies where the courts have control,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley.
Iowa judges could ban guns in their courtrooms and offices under a bill advanced by the Iowa House on Tuesday, but they would not have the authority to block guns from being allowed in other parts of county courthouses.
“This simply clarifies where the courts have control,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley.
House File 2146 seeks to clarify an issue that has put the state’s judicial branch at odds with Republican legislators, who last year passed a new law that opens up cities and counties to legal liability if they establish gun-free zones in public buildings.
The Iowa Supreme Court responded to the new law by issuing a seemingly contradictory supervisory order that banned all weapons in court-controlled spaces and public areas of courthouses. Iowa’s courthouses often are home to a number of county offices in addition to courtrooms.
County officials across the state struggled to implement the new law as they grappled with the question of where the court’s authority begins and ends .
In December, the court issued another supervisory order that instead required county supervisors or other local government officials to file a written request with judges to allow guns in the buildings.
“The court listened and considered feedback both in support and in opposition to the June supervisory order,” Steve Davis, communications director for the Iowa Judicial Branch, wrote in an email. “The court tried to balance all the interests in the December 19 supplemental supervisory order.”
But Windschitl said neither the Iowa Code nor the state Constitution gives the courts the authority to make those kinds of decisions.
“Whether you agree philosophically with weapons in courtrooms or courthouses or not — that’s beside the point,” Windschitl said. “What they have done with their original supervisory order was they took control of spaces that they don’t have any delineated authority to control.”
The bill seeks to end the dispute by specifying the judicial branch has supervisory custody and control only over those areas it physically occupies within a courthouse. The county or city would have control over everything else.
In effect, that would allow judges to ban weapons in their own courtrooms, chambers and offices, but weapons would still be allowed in other areas of the courthouse.
The legislation does not change existing funding structures for security and operational costs for courthouses.
The bill was approved 2-1 by a House subcommittee Tuesday and will advance to the full Judiciary Committee.
State Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, previously introduced Senate File 2044, which would allow judges to declare their court chambers as weapon-free zones, but it would deduct security costs from judges’ paychecks.
Windschitl said he doesn’t know whether that proposal would garner enough consensus to move forward.
“I’ve chosen to file my own bill because I believe this is the better approach,” Windschitl said. “It’s non-punitive and it gets to the heart of the matter without causing any unnecessary harm or overreactions.”
