(Radio Iowa) – Jim Carlin — running for the U-S Senate seat currently held by fellow Republican Joni Ernst — says he’d sponsor a bill to ensure law-abiding gun owners with a state-issued permit to carry concealed weapons can carry their firearms across state lines, without worrying about conflicting state gun laws.

“In America, your rights don’t stop at a state line,” Carlin said. “If you can drive in all 50 states, you should be able to defend yourself in all 50 states.” Carlin, a former state legislator from Sergeant Bluff, is critical of Ernst’s support for a bipartisan gun safety bill President Biden signed in 2022.

Former State Senator Jim Carlin (R-Sergeant Bluff) is running for the U.S. Senate. (Carlin campaign photo)

The bill provided money to states with red flag laws that let law enforcement or others seek a court order to temporarily prevent someone from buying or possessing guns. Carlin opposes red flag laws.

“which means the government can take away your guns with no trial, no due process and your gun rights are gone.” Ernst said the bill did not take away any person’s Second Amendment rights and was designed in the wake of a mass shooting at a Texas school to keep kids and schools safe and provide access to mental health treatment.

Carlin has campaigned in four counties over the past week. He’ll be the featured speaker Tuesday at a meeting of a new group called MAGA Nation Iowa. The group, co-founded by the former chair of Dallas County Republicans, meets monthly at a bar in West Des Moines.