As Florida seems disinclined to lower the age for people buying guns to include legal adults under the age of 21, not every state is being ridiculous about things like that.

The truth of the matter is that we let 18-year-old men and women make a lot of life-or-death decisions, and not just for themselves. Treating them like second-class citizens has never made any sense to me.

Iowa, however, just made a move that would address that. Now, the minimum age for carrying a handgun in the state is just 18, instead of 21 like it is in far too many places.

And the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is pretty happy about it.

From a press release:

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms applauds Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for signing legislation which lowers the minimum age for owning and carrying handguns from 21 to 18.

Passage of the measure, known as House File 924, acknowledges the need for young adults—who have achieved the age of majority in virtually all other aspects—to defend themselves and their families. Credit should go to Republican Rep. Steven Holt for shepherding the bill through the legislative process.

“This is a major victory for young adults in Iowa,” said CCRKBA Managing Director Andrew Gottlieb, “and it could have a future ripple effect which other states can follow. It recognizes that citizens in the 18-to-20-year age group should have full rights, since they can already enlist in the military, get married, start businesses, run for office, sign contracts, buy homes and vote. Why shouldn’t young adults be able to own and carry a sidearm for personal protection?”

Rep. Holt, in a quote to the Des Moines Register, underscored Gottlieb’s observation. He reminded the newspaper that he graduated from Marine Corps boot camp when he was 18 and carried arms to defend the United States. For such individuals, it is only proper for them to be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights. 

“We’re delighted that Gov. Reynolds took this bold move, setting a precedent for her fellow governors to follow,” Gottlieb observed. “It is encouraging to see a state chief executive with this kind of initiative. This is what leadership looks like.

“All good things begin with a first step,” he said, “and Iowa has set a course for others to follow. This is a responsible move by Iowa lawmakers.”

It probably goes without saying that I’m in agreement here, but I’ll say it anyway.

Look, if you’re going to make the case that adults under 21 are incapable of making sound decisions because of their age, then why aren’t you going to try to make the case to raise the age of majority to 21? These are people who can make life-altering decisions in so many ways, and we’re not letting them carry guns.

I mean, they can become police officers at 19, at least in many places, so rather than let them carry a gun, we’re going to pay them and then let them carry a gun.

Yeah, that makes no sense, and not just because I intentionally worded it to make no sense.

Iowa made the right move here, and a lot of other states need to do the same. Either treat adults like adults or stop saying they’re adults. It’s just that simple.