Iowa Senate passes bills allowing firearms in certain government-run spaces

A row of Colt handguns on display at the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, on Feb. 11, 2026. (Photo by Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
February 24, 2026

The Iowa Senate passed two measures Tuesday expanding where firearms can be legally carried.

Senate File 2263, approved in a 35-12 vote, makes multiple changes to where Iowans can lawfully carry weapons. The bill allows a person to carry, transport or possess a dangerous weapon in their vehicle when in public parking lots operated by the state or a local government entity.

Another provision eliminates the language designating primary and secondary schools, as well as public parks, as “weapons free zones.” However, it maintains a 1,000-foot exclusion zone for having these weapons in and around parks and schools.

The measure also prevents the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services from having rules preventing a person from lawfully carrying or possessing a firearm — regardless of whether it is loaded — while in vehicles transporting foster children.

The bill was amended to remove provisions that would have allowed dangerous weapons in locked vehicles at Iowa public universities and community colleges, as well as allowed Iowans with valid nonprofessional permits to carry guns in school driveways and parking lots.

Sen. Mike Zimmer, D-DeWitt, who has worked as both a teacher and school administrator, said he was grateful the portions related to firearms in K-12 school parking lots was removed from the bill. He said as someone who has supervised pick-ups and drop-offs for students, he has seen many instances of people getting angry and upset in situations like another car stealing their place in line. He said these zones are “the last place” he would like to see people carrying firearms.

“I would prefer not to have people armed at the pick-up or drop-off time,” Zimmer said.

While the provision allowing for firearms in K-12 school parking lots was removed from the Senate bill, a similar proposal — House File 621 — survived the first “funnel” deadline and is eligible for consideration in the House.

Though Democrats praised the amendment, several members of the minority party said there were still issues with the remaining sections of the bill. Sen. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said he did not believe it should be legal to keep guns in government-run parking lots, as national data has shown guns stolen from vehicles “are a leading source of illicit firearms, contributing to broader community violence.”

“Cars in public lots, especially government lots, that lack controlled access, can be targeted by thieves, turning legally owned guns into weapons used in crimes,” Staed said. “… Unlike private property, government parking areas, serve the public and carry an added responsibility to safeguard public safety.”

While Staed said ensuring public safety outweighs the argument to allow “unrestricted gun access in this context,” Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, the bill’s floor manager, said these changes are needed to allow Iowans to legally exercise their constitutional rights.

“As they go about their day, there should not be a place — funded by them — in which they have to stop off premises, remove a constitutionally protected carry weapon, loaded or unloaded,” Schultz said. “And I’d ask you … what good it would do unloaded, so I would expect that it would be loaded.”

The second measure, Senate File 2280, also expanded the ability to carry weapons — specifically for state lawmakers, judicial officers, the Attorney General, deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general.

People in these fields would be eligible for a professional permit to carry weapons that would allow them to be armed while anywhere in the state, including on school grounds. For weapons carried inside a courtroom, people with these professional permits must have their firearms concealed, and the Iowa Supreme Court would be allowed to add additional training and requirements through rule-making for judicial officers granted permits.

The proposal would also establish a new crime for threatening judicial officers and their immediate families, chargeable with a class C felony, and creates a new serious misdemeanor charge for sharing personal information about judicial officers. The measure also adds that making a “true threat,” including intent to cause bodily injury, to a public official, will be considered harassment if the officials learns about the threat within a year.

The measure was one of Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s legislative goals heading into the 2026 session.

Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, who floor managed the bill, said he believed “this is a good bill for Iowa in protecting those in the Legislature, along with those in the judiciary system.” The measure passed in a 45-2 vote.

Both bills go to the House for further consideration.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.