may state
n.— «Applicants also must meet state and federal requirements for possessing firearms—they cannot be under indictment or convicted of a felony, have a mental health history, be convicted of domestic violence, among others. Iowa is what is known as a “may” state, which means the issuing agency—in this case, the county sheriff—has full discretion on who gets a permit. Some people are pushing for Iowa to become a “shall” state, which means applicants who meet set criteria would have to be issued a permit, removing the discretion of the sheriffs.» —“Concealed gun permits on rise in Scott County” by Ann McGlynn Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa) Nov. 16, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Debbie from Keokuk, Iowa, shares a funny story about her family’s tradition of speed-cleaning the house if guests were coming over. Her mother would declare, “Quick, guys! Whited sepulchre approach!” Her use of the term whited...
Your first name is very personal, but what if you don’t like it? For some people, changing their name works out great but for others it may create more problems than it solves. And: at least three towns in the U.S. were christened with names...
This is a clipping of the more generally attested term “May issue state” and “Shall issue state”.