Iowa State Student With Carry Permit Sues Ames Over CyRide Bus Gun Ban, Seeks Up to $25,000
Key Takeaways
- Iowa State University junior Natalie Gibson sued the City of Ames on Oct. 13, alleging its CyRide bus firearms ban violates Iowa state law.
- Gibson holds an Iowa nonprofessional carry permit and uses CyRide buses but has never brought her firearm aboard.
- Ames has banned firearms on its buses for at least 15 years, citing Iowa State University's campus weapons prohibition as justification.
- The petition argues that a university policy cannot justify a city-run ban on a city-funded bus system under Iowa code.
- Gibson seeks up to $25,000 in damages, an injunction against enforcement, and payment of her attorney fees and court costs.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
AMES, IA — An Iowa State University student who holds an Iowa carry permit is suing the City of Ames, arguing that its ban on firearms aboard CyRide buses violates state law.
Natalie Gibson, an ISU junior studying animal science, filed the petition, which is how a lawsuit starts in Iowa, on Oct. 13 in the Iowa District Court for Story County, as reported by Iowa Capital Dispatch. She wants the court to declare the city’s bus policy unenforceable because it violates state law.
According to the petition, Ames has listed firearms as an item not allowed on its buses for at least 15 years. Gibson holds an Iowa nonprofessional permit to carry and uses CyRide for “some of her transportation needs.” She has never brought her firearm onto a bus. The petition says she is “adversely affected” because the policy stops her from “being lawfully armed while riding a CyRide bus.”
“Gibson wishes to be able to ride the CyRide system while lawfully armed and in compliance with all other laws and policies that would apply to her related to the carrying of firearms,” the petition states.
The petition rests on Iowa code that bars cities, counties and townships from enacting “an ordinance, motion, resolution, policy or amendment regulating the ownership, possession, carrying, legal transfer, lawful transportation, modification, registration, or licensing of firearms” when those activities are “otherwise lawful under the laws of this state.” In plain terms, local governments in Iowa are not supposed to write their own gun rules.
The city’s reasoning appears in an October 2025 email exchange included in the petition. After an Iowa Firearms Coalition member told Ames its policy violated Iowa code, a city official responded that the buses travel on ISU property. University policy prohibits firearms there, so the city said they cannot be allowed on the buses. ISU’s policy states that “the possession or use of weapons is prohibited on campus and in the course of university-related activities unless authorized through the firearms and other weapons application process.”
The petition answers that Iowa code contains no provision barring firearms on roadways within or near university campuses, and none barring firearms on campus. It also argues that the university policy conflicts with state law on nonprofessional carry permits, which says those permits are valid anywhere in Iowa except where state or federal law bars carrying a firearm.
“The policies of Iowa State University regarding firearms on its campus cannot justify a prohibition on the lawful carry of firearms on the CyRide bus system as those (buses) pass through the campus,” the petition states.
Gibson is also asking for an injunction, a court order barring the city and anyone working for it from continuing to enforce the policy. She is asking the city to pay her attorney’s fees and court costs as well. For what the petition calls the city’s knowing violation, she seeks damages of “not less than $1,000 per day nor more than $2,500 per day to a maximum of $25,000.” As an alternative, she asks for $100 to $500 per day, capped at $5,000.
The city confirmed it is aware of the case. “CyRide is the public transit system funded by the City of Ames, Iowa State University Administration, and ISU Student Government,” the city said in a statement. “The City of Ames does not comment on pending litigation. We will respond to the lawsuit through our filings with the Court system.” No court has ruled on the petition.
More from USA Carry:
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- Florida Democrat Sues Biden Admin Over Guns Rights for Medical Marijuana Users
- Gun Rights Journalist Sues New Jersey State Police Over Denied Carry Permit Records Request
- Licensed to Carry in Ten States, Denied a Gun ID Card in New Jersey Over Online Posts: SAF Asks State Supreme Court to Step In
- Denied Over the State on His Driver’s License: NRA Sues Denver, Says Visitors Have No Legal Way to Carry a Gun There
Gibson has taken on Iowa gun restrictions before. In April 2014, at age 8, she and her sister Meredith, then 10, released videos asking state lawmakers to end age restrictions on supervised handgun shooting for children. The videos followed a Polk City range asking Natalie and her father to leave, the Des Moines Register reported at the time. The sisters had been shooting a .22-caliber pistol with their dad right behind them since they were each 5.
The case turns on a narrow question: whether a university policy, which is not a state law, can justify a city-run ban on a city-funded bus. I will continue tracking Gibson’s case as it moves through Story County court.
Read the original story: Iowa State Student With Carry Permit Sues Ames Over CyRide Bus Gun Ban, Seeks Up to $25,000