With the recent shooting at Florida State University, gun violence among young people is back in the news.[1] Despite this newsworthy event, Iowa’s state government has recently passed and signed a law that would make accessing handguns easier for young people.[2] 18-year-olds can now acquire pistols or revolvers. The relevant language currently reads: A person shall not acquire a pistol or revolver if the person is any of the following: a. Under twenty-one years of  age except for those persons included in section 724.22, subsection 4, who acquire a pistol or revolver when the person’s duty so requires.[3]

The current version of the Iowa handgun law allows for people to acquire a handgun at 21, the same age when they can legally buy alcohol. The new law, House File 924, lowers the age to 18.[4] The bill follows other state cases that struck down the 21 year old requirement.[5] These cases are viewed as a testing of the controversial Bruen US Supreme Court decision.[6] This change has the potential to increase gun violence and injuries from unsafe use. The right to own firearms is an important one, and should be accessible, but to allow it to be accessible to people at such a young age has the potential for tragedy. This negative change to the law should be reexamined at the earliest opportunity.

Some proponents of the change have argued that because 18-year-old servicemen are permitted to use arms, 18-year-old civilians should also be permitted. However, the military has strict protocols for firearm use and supervision, two things that are not guaranteed for civilian gun users. Rep. Steve Denison stated in support of the bill:

I joined the Marines when I was 18, I graduated from boot camp when I was 18. I was carrying firearms in the military ,. . . "So the idea that an 18-year-old, a 19-year-old, a 20-year-old, doesn't have a right to own a firearm in protection of their families — which is really what the Second Amendment is about, right?[7]

This analogy is flawed. In the military, soldiers have commanding officers and the training necessary to ensure that soldiers can use the weapon responsibly.[8] It is certainly possible that a civilian can get the proper training and supervision to use a handgun responsibly, but it is not guaranteed like it is with military service. In 2024, a school shooting occurred in Perry Iowa.[9]  There had been 12 school shooting incidents before that one, dating back to 1984.[10]  Lowering the age to acquire a handgun could potentially increase this number. 296 teens were killed and 757 were injured in shootings between 2013 and 2025.[11] Making it possible for 18-year-olds, many of whom are still in school, with other teenagers, to legally acquire handguns will certainly not reduce shootings, and could even increase the number of shootings.

Proponents have also said that becoming a legal adult contains a full suite of rights; however this is not necessarily true. An 18-year-old cannot legally drink or rent a car. Turning 18 does not automatically grant the requisite mental development or maturity to responsibly acquire and use a gun.  The government has restricted 18-year-olds from certain activities like consuming alcohol and renting vehicles and has made it clear that some rights and responsibilities are better suited for older individuals based on factors like life experience or full mental development. Alcohol consumption and the reckless driving of rented cars can cause accidents and tragedies; however, the tragedies that reckless firearms usage can cause and have caused in the United States is significant. Guns do not discriminate between person and animal and can quickly end a life. This is a major difference from alcohol and cars, which have the possibility to become an instrument of harm. Guns are explicitly meant to harm (or keep order). They do not have another explicit purpose. The law even recognizes that 18-year-olds do not have unlimited gun rights simply because they are newly legal adults. 18-year-olds under the current law are not allowed to sell, loan, or give someone under 18 a gun.[12]  The “full suite of rights” argument falls apart in consideration of the rights granted to older adults that are not to 18-year-olds and the restrictions on 18+ year olds to sell firearms.

The current law makes sense; guns are dangerous and lethal if not used safely and correctly. Supervision and proper instruction must be required to understand how to safely use them. Reducing the age to 18 could potentially reduce gun violence, 18-year-olds have less life experience and have less developed brains then 21-year-olds. The significant emotional swings teenagers can experience could lead to even more gun violence with increased access among 18-year-olds. More gun owners also mean an increase in the need for supervision and proper instruction, which some communities might be unable to provide to these new gun owners. The resulting lack of knowledge could lead to increased injuries to others or to the gun owners themselves. The upcoming decrease in age required to acquire a handgun is a grave error by the Iowa legislature. Reinstating the older age can potential prevent tragedy and reduce the likelihood that a teenager will be injured by gun misuse or an incident of gun violence.