Guilty Until Proven Safe’: Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Mental Health Gun Ban

The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled against a resident who had his gun rights suspended after being involuntarily committed for mental health treatment back in 2006.

The court ruled that the burden of proof remains on the individual, referred to as “N.S.” in the ruling, to demonstrate that they are not a threat to themselves or public safety, upholding a state law allowing the government to prohibit people with mental health problems from owning firearms.

“The State has a compelling interest in ‘prohibiting the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill,’ which has been recognized to meet constitutional scrutiny by the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller,” the court ruled.

By its terms, Amendment 1A recognizes a fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms—not an absolute right. The text of Amendment 1A expressly contemplates valid restrictions on the state constitutional right to possess firearms but requires courts to apply strict scrutiny to a challenged governmental restriction.

Iowa Code section 724.31 puts the onus on petitioners to show, by a preponderance of evidence, that they are not dangerous and that restoring their rights is in line with the public interest, the court argued. It claims the resident did not address past mental health issues, provide a clean bill of health, or secure corroborative testimony from family members.

“The court fears that [N.S.] lacks insight into his mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Without additional information, the court lacks sufficient evidence to determine whether [N.S.] is likely to act dangerously in the future,” the document reads. […]

— Read More: redstate.com