111 Iowa L. Rev. 793 (2026)
Abstract
Iowa’s newly adopted constitutional right to bear arms was expressly aimed at firearms. The language, however, reaches all arms, including cold weapons like knives. With several cold weapons statutes extant at the time of amendment, their tradition is implicated in the right. At least three competing theories vie for how to apply strict scrutiny to defend that right. This Note argues that state history and tradition should inform the scope of the right, with a full-blooded strict scrutiny guarding the right’s extent. Congruent with Iowa’s traditions, that may now mean some statutes are unconstitutional.