Every year I’m amazed by some of the bills Iowa House and Senate members introduce. An Iowa House Public Safety subcommittee provided the latest head-scratching example yesterday, when two Republicans and a Democrat unanimously advanced a bill to lower from fourteen to twelve the age at which Iowans can “possess a pistol or revolver or the ammunition therefor for any lawful purpose” while being supervised by a parent or guardian or an instructor authorized by a parent or guardian. Details are after the jump.  

The eight co-sponsors of House File 2012 are Republicans Dwayne Alons, Matt Windschitl, Dean Fisher, Greg Heartsill, Kevin Koester, and John Landon, and Democrats Dan Muhlbauer and Joe Riding. Muhlbauer is the leading Iowa House “conservadem,” so I wasn’t surprised to see him involved with this bill. He also was one of the three subcommittee members who voted for it after hearing testimony from both sides of the issue yesterday. House Public Safety Committee Chair Clel Baudler, who also serves on the National Rifle Association’s board of directors, spoke in favor of the bill at yesterday’s subcommittee meeting.

I didn’t expect to see Riding’s name attached to this bill. One report paraphrased him as saying the measure is “aimed at allowing younger children to sign up for shooting tournaments.” I would think the text of House File 2012 could be more narrowly worded for that purpose. There’s a Bass Pro shop and an archery range in Riding’s Altoona-based House district 30. Maybe his constituents include an unusual number of shooting tournament enthusiasts.

The obvious case against this bill made no impression on lawmakers yesterday:

Kathleen Adams, a psychiatric nurse at a Des Moines hospital, told legislators kids with raging hormones and brains that are still developing don’t always make good decisions.

“If we teach you about guns and we say it’s o.k. for you to have a gun and you’re 12, then your respect for that gun, I’m afraid, goes down or you’re tempted to show off to your friends,” Adams said. “…I cannot imagine how we would think that 12 year olds ought to have access to (a) gun.”

Rick Miller, a former art teacher in Newton, told lawmakers 12- and 13-year-olds aren’t “mentally ready” to handle and fire a pistol or revolver.

Training a 12-year-old child to use any gun poses some risks, but at least a rifle or shotgun can’t easily be brought to school or a friend’s house in a backpack.

I disagree with the psychiatric nurse (or Radio Iowa’s account of her testimony) in only one respect. The latest brain research indicates that “raging hormones” do not cause the impulsive and risky behavior often associated with adolescence. Rather, in the words of Dr. Dan Siegel, “enhanced dopamine release causes adolescents to gravitate toward thrilling experiences and exhilarating sensations.” In addition, the adolescent brain “places a lot of weight on the positive outcome and not much weight on possible negative results.”

It doesn’t take a big leap to guess that a pre-teen or young teenager who has been allowed to carry and use a handgun in the presence of a parent or guardian will feel an exaggerated sense of skill and less inhibited about carrying a concealed weapon without supervision.

Any relevant comments are welcome in this thread.

P.S. – I’ll bet dollars to donuts that most of House File 2012’s co-sponsors and advocates oppose sex education unless it adheres to “abstinence only” ideology. At least a risk-taking 12-year-old can’t kill someone with a condom.