HOUSE FILE 104

BY  WINDSCHITL

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the manufacture and sale of a mechanical device designed to suppress the sound of a firearm when fired.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 724.2, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6A.  Any person, firm, or corporation who under the laws of this state and the United States is lawfully engaged in the manufacture or sale of a mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired.
   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  724.28A  Manufacture and sale of firearm suppressors.
   A mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired, which is manufactured and sold in Iowa and which remains within the borders of Iowa, is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of the Congress of the United States to regulate interstate commerce.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that a mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired, which is manufactured and sold in Iowa and which remains within the borders of Iowa, is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of the United States Congress to regulate interstate commerce.
   Current Iowa law provides that a mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired is an offensive weapon. Under Code section 724.3, any person who knowingly possesses an offensive weapon commits a class “D” felony, punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $750 but not more than $7,500. The bill amends Code section 724.2 to authorize any person, firm, or corporation who under the laws of this state and the United States is lawfully engaged in the manufacture or sale of a mechanical device specifically constructed and designed so that when attached to a firearm it silences, muffles, or suppresses the sound when fired to lawfully possess such an offensive weapon.