Ames Drops Bus Gun Ban After Lawsuit, But Fight Isn't Over

Ames, Iowa dropped its ban on carrying firearms aboard CyRide buses after Iowa State University student Natalie Gibson threatened the city with a lawsuit, according to Bearing Arms.

Snapshot

Gibson, backed by the Iowa Firearms Coalition, sued Ames over CyRide's prohibition on lawful carry, arguing the policy left her unable to be armed while riding the bus. The Ames Transit Board unanimously voted to scrap the ban, though Gibson's underlying lawsuit against the city is still active.

Key points

• The complaint: Gibson said she'd never carried a gun on a CyRide bus but was "adversely affected" by a policy barring her from doing so lawfully.
• The new policy: The revised rule allows lawful open or concealed carry on buses and tells CyRide employees not to deny service, demand permits, or call police just because a rider has a firearm.
• The campus carve-out: Riders are now warned that carrying could still violate Iowa State University policy or state law once they're on campus grounds.
• Attorney's reaction: Gibson's lawyer, Alan Ostergren, said the Iowa Firearms Coalition flagged the policy as illegal over a year ago, and called it "a shame" the city waited for a lawsuit to act.
• What's unresolved: The policy change doesn't end the suit, Ames may still face attorneys' fees and damages, and students like Gibson still can't carry lawfully once they're actually on ISU campus.

Quick take

This is a preemption win, not a total one. Ames caved fast once it got sued, which tells you the city's lawyers didn't like their odds in court. But the real fight, as Bearing Arms points out, is campus carry itself, and that's a legislative problem Republicans haven't solved even when they had the votes to do it.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com