DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A ban on guns at the Iowa State Fair will remain in place this year. The news comes after a heated legislative committee hearing in which people argued both for and against allowing people attending the fair to carry guns.
Several people spoke Friday at a meeting of the Iowa Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee against allowing guns at the fair, The Des Moines Register reported (https://dmreg.co/2b3jEHz ). Opponents described scenarios in which drunken and irresponsible fair guests toting handguns could create dangerous situations that could threaten innocent people.
“If you allow guns at the State Fair, I may never set foot there again,” said Lars Pearson, of Des Moines. “I suspect there are droves of Iowans who feel the same way.”
But others said making the fair a gun-free zone poses its own danger. Richard Rogers, of West Des Moines and a board member of the pro-gun Iowa Firearms Coalition, said he questioned the Fair Board’s authority to ban guns when the state has authorized some fairgoers to carry them. He also said the ban provides an illusion of increasing public safety while actually diminishing it, because people are left defenseless if someone who ignores the ban brings a gun and begins shooting.
The committee never expected to take action following the hearing, which was held after an Iowa resident requested it. The committee cannot require the State Fair Board to lift the ban, or impose its own restrictions on the agency.
This year’s fair is set to start Thursday and run through Aug. 21.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
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