DES MOINES (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Iowa say they’re not advancing a bill that would have reduced gun permit requirements in the state in part because of a deadly school shooting in Florida.
The Senate judiciary committee agreed Thursday not to vote on a bill that would have repealed a requirement in Iowa to have a permit to acquire a weapon. It also would have made it voluntary to have a permit to carry a weapon.
Sen. Brad Zaun, an Urbandale Republican, says the bill’s provisions are not related to the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, where a teenager is accused of using a semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 people. But Zaun says the timing of the shooting, plus a lack of support from some other Republicans, complicated the bill’s chances.
A spokeswoman for GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds says the governor supported keeping the current permit requirements.
The bill will not advance because of a legislative deadline this week.