SIOUX CITY | The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider sending a letter to a judge asking that the public be allowed to carry guns into some public areas of the county courthouse.
Citing a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling, the board has drafted a letter asking District Court Judge Duane Hoffmeyer to modify his previous order banning weapons in the courthouse. Under the proposal, guns still would be prohibited on floors 2-4, where courtrooms, judge chambers and attorney offices are located. The ban would be lifted in other public areas of the eight-story courthouse.
The letter is the latest example of the growing pains of counties to comply with an expanded gun rights law state lawmakers passed last year.
After the law took effect on July 1, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady issued an order prohibiting weapons in all of the state's courthouses. In December, Cady revised the edict, allowing local elected officials to file a written request to allow guns in areas not totally controlled by the judicial branch. The reversal came after he consulted with chief judges, sheriffs and other county officials.
Once a chief judge for a courtroom grants the modification, "the court relinquishes to the requesting entity any authority over the regulation of weapons in the public areas on a floor of a courthouse not totally occupied by the court system," Cady wrote.
Hoffmeyer is the chief judge for Iowa's 3rd Judicial District, which includes Woodbury County and 15 other Northwest Iowa counties.
A draft of the letter the county intends to send to Hoffmeyer was obtained by The Journal Monday. The short, two-sentence letter says, "Please eliminate the weapons prohibition in the public area of the Woodbury County Courthouse, upholding the ban for floors 2, 3, and 4, which are considered Court controlled areas."
The supervisors are scheduled to discuss the issue at their weekly board meeting Tuesday, which starts at 3:30 p.m. in the basement of the courthouse, 620 Douglas St.
Board chairman Rocky De Witt acknowledged Monday that allowing weapons on different floors of the courthouse could be complicated, especially since visitors use the same elevators to reach various floors.
"It is a difficult building to secure," said De Witt, who worked courthouse security prior to winning election to the county board in November 2016.
The courthouse added security technology and personnel for the first time in late 2014. At that time, the former entrances to the building were limited to one door on the north side of the building, and a security station with a metal detector for people to walk through was added.
Currently, people who enter the courthouse with a weapon can place it in a lock box. After handling their county business, then people get the weapons back by use of a key, on exiting the courthouse.
De Witt said that practice will likely continue, for those heading to floors with court functions. He also said the supervisors will discuss adding personnel and more cameras for additional floors.
Whether to allow citizens with a permit to carry a gun to enter the courthouse with it has been a contentious issue since the Republican-controlled Legislature passed the sweeping gun rights bill last year.
In late June, a majority of the Woodbury County supervisors voted to rescind a prior ban on weapons on county property, including the courthouse. The supervisors said that was necessary to comply with the new state law. However, county Sheriff Dave Drew said he would keep enforcing the security program in the courthouse, saying he must enforce judicial branch orders.
Drew said the security steps are needed to ensure that people are safe, as he said sheriffs are required to help carry out rulings by courts.