Fight to Pass REAL Right-to-Carry Gets Personal and Ugly
Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 11:34 AMFight to Pass REAL Right-to-Carry Gets Personal and Ugly
Iowa Gun Owners
Iowa – -(AmmoLand.com)- Folks, this article is difficult to write. But you have to hear about what happened yesterday in the Capitol to State Representative Kent Sorenson.
For two years now, Representative Kent Sorenson has been one of the leading champions for the 2nd Amendment here in Iowa.
He was the one who introduced and pushed the REAL Right-to-Carry bill for Iowa Gun Owners last session.
(This is the famous legislation that would allow all law abiding Iowans the option the carry weapons, openly or concealed, WITHOUT having to beg permission from the government first. This is similar to the laws in Vermont, Alaska, most of Montana and may soon become law in Wyoming and Arizona.)
When the Speaker of the House used procedural rules to try to kill your gun rights, Rep. Sorenson pressed ahead and used his own procedural moves to force this issue to a vote and walked away with a tie vote of 49-49! This was a very important step – only by obtaining a vote can you and I know who truly supports your right to keep and bear arms.
(Of course, even though the bill was not passed you and I now know which politicians support the 2nd Amendment and we can use this information this coming November.)
Since that time Rep. Sorenson has worked tirelessly with Iowa Gun Owners to fight for your 2nd Amendment rights – the whole Capitol knows that he is a major gun rights advocate.
Like you and Iowa Gun Owners, Rep. Sorenson has concerns about the other gaggle of compromised carry bills being offered at the Capitol. And like you, he wants the best bill available for Iowans.
Some of the concerns with the current bills include:
- The option for the government to deny you a permit for a mere misdemeanor assault charge;
- The ability for the government to deny you a permit if some mental health staffer says you are not stable because you’ve seen horrific combat – what an insult to Iowa veterans;
- Raising the age on applicants from 18 to 21 – which simply takes gun out of the hands of young Iowans;
- Making you get government permission to exercise a Constitutionally guaranteed right.
- Being forced to submit to mandatory government training before being allowed to carry a gun and defend your family in public.
These are clearly big concerns and you, Iowa Gun Owners, and Rep. Sorenson are right to not want this bill when the REAL Right-to-Carry bill contains none of these problems.
Well the truth is, the authors of this compromised legislation is the National Rifle Association. Like many of you, many of us at Iowa Gun Owners are either current or past members of the NRA – and we have a natural respect for them. This is not something we want to bring to your attention.
But unfortunately the fight for concealed carry reform this year has been a two-fold fight. You see on the one hand the hard corps anti-gun crowd is always trying to destroy more of your freedoms and we are working on stopping them.
But on the other we have the NRA with their poorly written bill.
This is the bill that you’ve been hearing about. It’s gone through many versions and edits but still has the troublesome issues listed above. This bill is something that many “moderate anti-gunners” are in favor of because as watered down as this bill is even they can support it! That’s why anti-gun politicians Senator Mike Gronstal and Representative Kevin McCarthy introduced this bill for the NRA last week.
Because of all of your emails, phone calls, and trips to the Capitol the NRA bill is not moving as quickly as they would have liked. You see, your elected officials realize that Iowans both want and deserve the best gun bill possible – and that you don’t want to settle for anything less.
So yesterday the NRA did the unthinkable. The lobbyist that the NRA sent to Iowa, sent one of his subordinates to Representative Sorenson and gave him an ultimatum: either help us with our bill (and we will make you a hero in Iowa) or we will help your opponent in the upcoming election.
That’s right, an NRA lobbyist said that he was going to try to defeat a pro-gun Representative like Sorenson because he’s too………….pro-gun.
And, the opponent that Sorenson has in his upcoming election is a notorious anti-gunner!!!
So the NRA is willing to support an anti-gunner over pro-gun Representative Kent Sorenson just because he does not like the details of the NRA bill.
I don’t know about you, but I find this outrageous!!
Also, you don’t have to just take our word for it. You see, word of this attack is getting out and yesterday Rep. Sorenson was interviewed about this on WHO radio in Des Moines. You can listen to a podcast by clicking RADIO.
This is especially confusing in light of the fact that bills very similar to our bill are getting NRA support in states like Wyoming and Arizona. Why can’t they support the bill in Iowa?
While today may be the last day in the 2010 legislative session it is not too late for you to take action.
Please do the following things:
- Email Representative Sorenson and thank him for his vast support of your right to keep and bear arms. His email address is: kent.sorenson@legis.state.ia.us and folks, he truly deserves this.
- Email your Senator and Representative and demand that they support the REAL Right-to-Carry bill that will be coming to the Floor as an amendment on the NRA bill – if it comes to the Floor. (You may use the pre-written email below.)
- Call the NRA lobbyist, Chris Rager, and tell him that his conduct towards Rep. Sorenson is outrageous and demand that he publicly apologize for it. (Don’t be thrown off track – just because he had an underling deliver the threat doesn’t lessen his personal responsibility.) His number is 703-282-5296 and folks, he needs to hear from you.
- To find out who your State Representative and Senator is please FIND OUT HERE.
- To find the email address of your State Representative please click EMAIL.
You can reach your Representative by either calling the House switchboard at 515-281-3221 (ask to be transferred) or by clicking on your State Representative’s name once you hit the link above and calling the number given with their information.
To find the email address for your Senator please click EMAIL.
To call your Senator please call 515-281-3371 and ask to be transferred.
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(Pre-Written Email)
Dear ________________,
I am sending you this last email to urge your support for the REAL Right-to-Carry bill that should be coming to the Floor as an amendment as soon as today.
REAL Right-to-Carry is the best bill ever introduced here in Iowa and allows all law abiding Iowans the option to carry a weapon for self-defense without having to beg government permission.
No other bill does this. In fact, HF2528/SF2379 contain very compromised language and I am not in support of it – even as a gun owner.
I will be watching to see how you vote on REAL Right-to-Carry.
Sincerely,
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Yours for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,
Aaron DorrExecutive Director
Iowa Gun Owners
About:
Iowa Gun Owners (IGO) was formed in January of 2009 to combat the oppressive gun laws in the State of Iowa. IGO does not believe that you, as a law abiding citizen, should have to beg permission from the government to be able to defend yourself and your family. That’s why we are working so hard to get a Vermont/Alaska style carry law passed in Iowa. In these states, unless you are a convicted felon or otherwise barred from possessing weapons, you don’t need a permit to carry a gun for self-defense! Join us now! Visit: www.iowagunowners.org
