Ames Scraps Bus Carry Ban

Ames, Iowa just learned that ignoring state preemption law for a year doesn't make a lawsuit go away — it just makes it more expensive.

What happened: The Ames Transit Board voted unanimously to scrap its policy banning lawful concealed carry on CyRide buses, replacing it with language that merely notes carrying on Iowa State University's campus "could be" a violation of university policy and state law. The reversal came two weeks after Iowa State student Natalie Gibson, backed by the Iowa Firearms Coalition, sued the city in state court.

Catch up quick:

• The Iowa Firearms Coalition flagged the ban as illegal back in October 2025.
• The city did nothing until Gibson filed suit, citing Iowa's firearm preemption statute.
• Ames had argued the ban was justified because CyRide buses pass through ISU property, where guns are restricted.

The legal question: Gibson's petition argued that a university's no-guns policy on its own grounds can't be stretched to justify banning carry on a city bus system — a public conveyance the city itself operates and regulates. That distinction mattered. Cities in Iowa don't get to borrow a university's authority to ban guns on buses that happen to drive through campus; the law grants ISU control over ISU property, not over CyRide's entire route.

Reality check: Dropping the written ban doesn't end the case. Ostergren, Gibson's attorney, said the city could still be on the hook for attorneys' fees and damages for ignoring the warning for over a year. "The Iowa Firearms Coalition notified the City over a year ago that its policy was illegal," he said. "Unfortunately, the City only paid attention after a lawsuit was filed."

Yes, but: The bigger fight isn't settled. Iowa State's regents still prohibit lawful carry on campus itself unless specifically authorized, meaning students like Gibson can be armed on the bus but disarmed the moment they step onto university grounds — including the walk from the bus stop to class. Past legislative fixes, including a 2021 campus-carry bill and an effort this year protecting firearms stored in vehicles on campus lots, both stalled.

What to watch: Iowa Republicans hold both legislative chambers next year, but a Democrat in the governor's office makes a campus-carry fix an uphill climb even if lawmakers have the appetite for it. For now, the CyRide win stands as a reminder to local governments that a preemption letter from a gun-rights group isn't a bluff — it's usually the first step before a complaint lands on a judge's desk.

The bottom line: Ames folded on the bus ban rather than fight it in court, but the fact that it took a lawsuit to get there is exactly the point advocates are making to other cities watching this case.