Iowa
Iowa has very few remaining gun violence prevention laws after a major inflection point in 2021, when the state legislature voted to eliminate both its permit-to-purchase and its concealed carry permitting requirement. Just four years earlier, Iowa enacted a Shoot First law.
The rate of gun deaths in Iowa has increased over the past decade, more than the nationwide increase. Iowa also sees disparate racial impacts beyond the national average: Black people in the state are significantly more likely to die by gun homicide than white people.
If Iowa had the gun death rate of our National Leaders—the 10 states with the strongest gun safety laws—we could save 2,896 lives in the next decade.1Everytown Research analysis of CDC WONDER state gun death rates and Everytown Gun Law Rankings 2026. Based on projected gun deaths, 2026–2035.
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Following the Mass Shooting at Apalachee High School, Guns on Campus and School Shooting Threats Are Erupting Across the Country
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Gun Law Report Card
Iowa
#31 in the country in Everytown’s Gun Law Rankings
Down from #28 last year
