NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- Another NRA priority bill is moving forward in the Iowa House of Representatives.  House File 2114, the firearms preemption legislation, passed the state House Public Safety Subcommittee yesterday by a 2 to 1 vote.

State Representatives Matt Windschitl (R-56) and Dwayne Alons (R-4) supported this critical legislation, while state Representative Rick Olson (D-68) voted against it.

HF 2114 has been scheduled to be voted on by the full House Public Safety Committee. 

Upon passage of the Iowa’s shall-issue law in 2010, some counties in Iowa sought to ban firearms from public properties including parks – effectively denying your ability to protect yourself outside your home.  Fortunately, Iowa has a firearm preemption law that prohibits counties from passing ordinances that are more restrictive than state law.  However, the firearms preemption statute needs to be strengthened to prevent current and future attempts to circumvent this law.  This proposed legislation, crafted on the NRA’s successful firearms preemption statute in Florida, rests the sole authority on these matters with the state legislature and prevents a rights-infringing patchwork of local ordinances.

One problem with local firearm ordinances is the sheer variety.  Where no uniform state laws are in place, the result can be a complex patchwork of restrictions that change from one local jurisdiction to the next.  It is unreasonable to require citizens, whether residents of a given state or persons passing through or visiting a state, to memorize and comply with a myriad of laws. When so many local ordinances exist, citizens with no criminal intent are placed in jeopardy of running afoul of restrictions they don`t even know exist.  This can affect hunters, target shooters and firearm collectors who travel through multiple jurisdictions on the way to hunting areas, shooting ranges, and exhibitions.  Additionally, individuals who travel with firearms for personal protection are at risk of breaking the law simply by crossing from one municipality to another.  If charged with a violation of an obscure local ordinance, the honest gun owner faces, at the very least, great expense and devotion of time to clearing his or her good name in court, and retrieving any firearms and other property confiscated by law enforcement officials.

Please call AND e-mail members of the state House Public Safety Committee TODAY and urge them to support this critical legislation and keep law-abiding citizens from becoming criminals just because they cross over an imaginary line.  Contact information for this committee can be found here.

Members of the House Public Safety Committee

• Clel Baudler (R-58), Chairman
• Tom Shaw (R-8), Vice Chairman
• Ako Abdul-Samad (D-66)
• Dwayne Alons (R-4)
• Deborah L. Berry (D- 22)
• Mark Brandenburg (R- 100)
• Joel Fry (R- 95)
• Ruth Ann Gaines (D- 65)
• Chris Hagenow (R- 59)
• Jarad Klein (R- 89)
• Bob M. Kressig (D-19)
• Dan Muhlbauer (D- 51)
• Rick Olson (D- 68)
• Steven N. Olson (R- 83)
• Henry V. Rayhons (R- 11)
• Thomas R. Sands (R- 87)
• Kurt Swaim (D- 94)
• David A. Tjepkes (R- 50)
• Matt W. Windschitl (R- 56)
• Mary Wolfe (D- 26)
• Gary Worthan (R- 52)

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Iowa Firearms Coalition

IOWA – -(Ammoland.com)- Contact Public Safety Committee members today and urge them to vote YES tomorrow on HF 2114, the Iowa Firearm Preemption Act.

Ask these members to vote YES and support current state law in Iowa code 724.7 and 724.28 that explicitly state that permit holders should be allowed to carry anywhere except where state and federal law allow. Punishing law-abiding citizens that are fully screened and have had extensive background checks by disallowing them access to public buildings is dishonoring to Iowans.

It also puts honest, law-abiding citizens at risk of inadvertently violating these unnecessary, illegal laws that fail to offer protection from criminals to begin with.

IFC and the NRA have been working hard to defend the rights of Iowans and we need you to e-mail and call today on this important issue.

Check out the NRA-ILA Alert as well for more information.

Iowa Firearms Coalition put together a comprehensive package for activists to fight these preemption issues at the city and county levels around the state. Our organization spent much of 2011 fighting dozens of local battles in Washington Co., Kalona, Ft. Madison, Marion, Keokuk, Jefferson Co., Burlington, Benton Co., Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Carroll, Plymouth Co., Woodbury Co., Emmet and many, many more city and county battles across the state with tremendous success, but some jurisdiction insisted on hampering the rights of honest, law-abiding citizens. Some cities have even gone to the extreme of implementing wanding procedures for law-abiding citizens prior to entering city council meetings.

This kind of fight is a difficult task for a totally volunteers organization, but yet with true grassroots activism our members mobilized by the dozens to take our preemption message to the streets. Becoming a member today, or donating to our cause, helps us put 100% of your funds toward fighting for Second Amendment rights in Iowa.

IFC is the only Iowa-based pro-Second Amendment organization in Iowa that has a history of tangible victories at the Capitol and around the state in dozens of counties and cities. Please consider supporting us today to help us continue being the leading firearms rights organization in Iowa!

Also, be sure to encourage your friends to join our e-mail alert list today absolutely free! Our organization only utilizes your e-mail for IFC purposes and will not sell you out to other groups trying to make a buck on other issues. We are a Second Amendment centric organization that will not ever sell out, or give out, your personal data to any non-IFC entity!

Thanks for supporting us in the fight,

Jeff Burkett
President – Iowa Firearms Coalition
NRA Endowment Member

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- For more than a decade, sportsmen in Iowa fought for the opportunity to pursue North America’s number one game bird – the mourning dove.

Last year, the hard work and dedication finally paid off as the Iowa legislature passed Senate File 464 authorizing dove hunting in the state.

Now, just months after the first successful dove hunt, anti-hunting activists are pushing to have the season banned.

On January 19th, State Representative Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City) introduced House File 2061 that would prohibit dove hunting in the state.

“Despite the fact that the Iowa legislature clearly spoke last year by authorizing dove hunting, the animal rights lobby is not giving up,” said Jeremy Rine, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance in-house counsel and associate director of state services. “Sportsmen need to show their support for dove hunting to their elected officials.”

Take Action! Iowa sportsmen should contact their state representatives and express their support for dove hunting. To find your state representative’s contact information, please visit www.ussportsmen.org/LAC.

For more information on this and other issues, contact the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance at 614-888-4868 or email info@ussportsmen.org.

About:
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. Visit www.ussportsmen.org.

Iowa Firearms Coalition

IOWA – -(Ammoland.com)- Iowa Firearms Coalition and the NRA have been working hard with Rep. Matt Windschitl (R-56) on a bill that will come up for a vote as early as next Tuesday in the House Public Safety Committee.

HF 573 is the current version of “stand your ground” legislation that Rep. Windschitl has been running since 2007. This year Iowa Firearms Coalition and the NRA are hoping to make significant progress in Iowa helping pass this much needed self-defense legislation that we’ve been working on.

House File 573 would remove a person’s “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground and protect themselves or their family anywhere they are lawfully present.  It would create a presumption that an individual who unlawfully or forcefully enters your dwelling, place of business or employment, or occupied vehicle is there to cause serious bodily injury or death, so the occupant may use force, including deadly force, against that person.  HF 573 also would expressly allow an individual to use force, including deadly force, to prevent a violent felony, and it would enhance the protections against criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits when justifiable force is used.

You can help by showing support and taking action now. Click on the IFC Action Center link below to quickly e-mail your representative asking for support on HF 573.

Facebook users can also take direct action on the IFC Facebook Alert.  Take action and forward to your friends for action!

Be sure to forward this e-mail alert on to your pro-Second Amendment friends as well. Also, please remember to renew your IFC membership, become a member today or please consider donating today! 100% of your financial support goes to Iowa’s leading Second Amendment rights organization.

Anyone can join the IFC E-mail Alert list for free to subscribe to critical updates on when action is needed at the Capitol to advance our Second Amendment rights.

Like our Facebook page as well for up to date information from Iowa’s NRA Affiliate Club.

Iowa Firearms Coalition is also at the gun show this weekend at the Iowa State Fair Grounds where you can become a member for only $20 (or at any gun show throughout the year). Be sure to stop by and learn about what IFC is doing and give us your input on what you’d like to see happen in Iowa.

Thank you for your dedicated grassroots support!

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

Iowa Firearms Coalition

IOWA – -(Ammoland.com)- Progress at the Capitol!This has been a busy, busy couple of weeks for IFC, your Iowa NRA Affiliate Club!

We have 3 issues to update you on, a new state added recognition of Iowa’s Permit to Carry, steady progress on the Traditional Ammunition Ban front and most importantly Stand Your Ground legislation is moving forward!

Iowa Permit Now Recognized in Georgia
IFC has been working with NRA, and also with Gary Slider at www.hangunlaw.us, to help get Georgia to recognize Iowa’s Permit to Carry.

Thanks to all parties involved for their efforts. Georgia law was written such that it would recognize states that honored Georgia’s permit, but bureaucracy was getting in the way of making it official. That hurdle has now been overcome!

Your Iowa Permit to Carry is now valid in 27 other states.

Traditional Ammunition Progress
Tuesday, Senate Joint Resolution 2001 passed in the state Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee by a 9 to 3 vote. State Senators Dennis Black (D-21), Dick Dearden (D-34), Joni Ernst (R-48), James Hahn (R-40), Shawn Hamerlinck (R-42), Tom Hancock (D-16), Tim Kapucian (R-20), Brian Schoejahn (D-12) and Kent Sorenson (R-37) voted to pass SJR 2001, while Senators Robert Hogg (D-19), Amanda Ragan (D-7) and Joe Seng (D-43) voted against it.

Today, House Joint Resolution 2001 passed in the state House Natural Resources and Environment Committee by a 17 to 4 vote. State Representatives Henry Rayhons (R-11), Jeff Smith (R-6), Richard Arnold (R-72), Clel Baudler (R-58), Joel Fry (R-95), Mary Gaskill (D-93), Bob Hager (R-16), Chris Hall (D-2), Mark Lofgren (R-80), Steven Lukan (R-32), Jim Lykam (D-85), Helen Miller (D-49), Dan Rasmussen (R-23), Annette Sweeney (R-44), James Van Englehoven (R-71), Guy Vander Linden (R-75), John Wittneben (D-7), while Curtis Hanson (D-90), Dan Kelley (D-41), Sharon Steckman (D-13) and Phyllis Thede (D-81) voted against it.

We will keep you updated and let you know when these bills get scheduled for a floor vote.

Stand Your Ground Progress
Tuesday the House Public Safety Subcommittee passed HF 573 by a 2 to 1 vote. This important piece of “stand your ground” self-defense legislation will now be heard by the full House Public Safety Committee as early as Tuesday of next week.

Representative Matt Windschitl (R-56) has been working on this legislation since 2007. Previously the legislation had struggled largely due to Democratic control in the House. Since the power balance in the House has shifted Rep. Windschitl has worked hard with NRA and IFC on crafting a solid self-defense bill for Iowans.

Please take time to e-mail or call Representative Windschitl and thank him for working with IFC and the NRA. Ensure him that you will be helping get behind his effort to pass this important piece of legislation this year! He has been a strong Second Amendment advocate for the Iowans at the Capitol.IFC will be putting together an action alert on this issue soon, so keep an eye out. It’s your voice from the grassroots that really helps us get things done in Iowa!

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

Help Defeat the Iowa Ban on Traditional Ammunition for Dove Season

Iowa Firearms Coalition

Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- Iowa Firearms Coalition, and your friends at NRA, have been working hard at the Capitol this session already!

As you may have read in Iowa media outlets we are working diligently to overturn the ban on traditional ammunition that was slipped in as an amendment last session by the Natrual Resources Commission.

We are working hard on defending your rights and you can help us out by taking action here!

The Commission has taken a page straight out of the anti-hunting extremist groups’ playbook to deter hunting through traditional ammunition bans.

Anti-conservation fanatics failed at the federal level after the EPA rejected their lead-ban petition and have now placed their focus on Iowa knowing that doves are the most popular and abundant game bird hunted in America. This traditional ammunition ban is designed to price hunters out of the market and keep them from taking part in traversing Iowa’s fields and forests after the historic dove hunting legislation passed this year.

The Commission did not cite any relevant scientific studies showing negative effects of traditional ammunition when proposing this amendment last session, and has simply jumped in the political bed with anti-hunting extremists.

Just look at what Iowa’s DNR Director, Roger Lande, had to say about the ban in the Commission’s press release: “There will be a number of hunters who will be opposed to this decision, but at the end of the day, this action by the commission will help protect Iowa’s environment and wildlife from the adverse affects of lead.”

Dove populations are doing better than ever all while the vast majority of states allow traditional ammunition for dove hunting.

This amendment is the same position the Commission took earlier this year when it attempted to ban the use of lead shot on numerous state and federal wildlife areas across Iowa and said that they would “begin limiting the use of lead for all hunting and fishing on all public areas.” The Commission is blatantly subverting the will of the legislature, where the state House debated the lead issue and overwhelmingly rejected it.

Also, the Iowa DNR has a section on its website titled “Get the Lead Out” which has language eerily similar to the Center for Biological Diversity (“Get the Lead Out”) campaign – and yes, this is a propaganda piece written by the group that petitioned the EPA to ban all lead and traditional ammunition in America!

The Commission’s first attempt at a traditional ammunition ban last session was defeated with Governor Terry Branstad’s help, but this amendment has made their intentions clear. They intend to keep trying until they can get something to stick and once they do they will take this ban across the board.

Please help us take action on this by clicking here. By taking time to make your voice heard we can once again overcome yet another attack on your rights here in Iowa!

Also, please consider becoming a member today. Iowa Firearms Coalition is the only Iowa-based Second Amendment organization whose leadership is completely focused on your defending and advancing your Second Amendment rights. Help join the fight today and know that 100% of your investment goes directly to the cause by clicking here!

Defending your Second Amendment rights in Iowa,

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- “Romney secures front-runner status with New Hampshire win, looks to take momentum into South Carolina,” Fox News reports. This follows the former Massachusetts governor’s win in Iowa.

Not escaping media notice is a new meme: “Conservatives squirm.”

See?

See again?

The thing is, they’re right—and no one is squirming more than gun owners. That’s because, in spite of trying to clean up his image with the help of the NRA, they will never forget his words and deeds when he had the political power to make a difference…

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/romney-should-make-conservatives-squirm

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Iowa Firearms Coalition

Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- Today is a big day in Iowa!

Participating in the caucus is just as important as exercising your right to vote.

This is an opportunity for you, as a responsible Second Amendment supporter, to help protect and advance our rights here in Iowa by submitting a plank that will help pave the way to an enumerated right to keep and bear arms amendment to the Iowa Constitution.

IFC and NRA are asking you to step up and help us in a big way. Visit our website for access to our 2012 Caucus Package page and help us add this plank to the party platforms that is extremely important for Second Amendment rights in Iowa.

We’ve also released our 2012 Legislative Agenda.  When you go to the caucus to submit the plank supporting an enumerated right to keep and bear arms in our state Constitution, be sure to take copies of our legislative agenda to distribute to your pro-Second Amendment neighbors.

While you will often hear local media sources boasting of Iowa’s progressive actions on various political topics, it can’t be overlooked that Iowa is terribly behind the curve when it comes to recognizing Second Amendment and self-defense rights.

Iowa Firearms Coalition, your Iowa-based NRA Affiliate Organization, has garnered support from numerous other organizations in our efforts to move Iowa the right direction on Second Amendment initiatives. Iowa State Rifle and Pistol Association, Iowa Sportsmen’s Federation and IFC Affiliate, the Iowa Chapter of Safari Club International have all offered their support of our agenda.

Lastly, be sure to utilize our Action Center and send a message to your legislators to let them know you support our issues. Our success in Iowa is predicated on members like you forwarding this e-mail on to fellow Second Amendment supporters who will also be willing take the quick minute or two to click on this link and follow the simple instructions to communicate our goals.

Our legislators are listening and the more e-mails and messages that they receive the more likely they are to give serious consideration to the issues.

Thanks again for your support of Second Amendment issues! Your willingness to take an active part in the process is the most important piece to solving the problems we face.

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

Iowa Firearms Coalition

Clive, IA --(Ammoland.com)- Caucus season is upon us and while Second Amendment issues are being discussed by presidential candidates, it’s extremely important for us to be active in the local party caucuses on Tuesday, January 3.

IFC and NRA do a tremendous amount of heavy lifting to advance your rights at the Capitol, but ultimately it’s the grassroots efforts of our members that really make the biggest difference.

For example, IFC members utilizing our Action Center:

• Accounted for the bulk of e-mails received by legislators when we achieved victory with Shall Issue in 2010.
• Helped us get behind the legislation that resulted in the mourning dove season in Iowa. This was an effort that had failed in Iowa for year after year until you helped us out!
• And, once again helped fight against the DNR’s covert attempt to slip a ban on traditional ammunition on to that dove season (a fight we still have on our plate for 2012!).

IFC and NRA are asking you to step up and help us in a big way. Visit our website for access to our 2012 Caucus Package page and help us add a plank to the party platforms that is extremely important for Second Amendment rights in Iowa.

We’ve also released our 2012 Legislative Agenda. When you go to the caucus to submit a plank supporting an enumerated right to keep and bear arms in our state Constitution, be sure to take copies of our legislative agenda to distribute to your pro-Second Amendment neighbors.

While you will often hear local media sources boasting of Iowa’s progressive actions on various political topics, it can’t be overlooked that Iowa is terribly behind the curve when it comes to recognizing Second Amendment and self-defense rights.

Iowa Firearms Coalition, your Iowa-based NRA Affiliate Organization, has garnered support from numerous other organizations in our efforts to move Iowa the right direction on Second Amendment initiatives. Iowa State Rifle and Pistol Association, Iowa Sportsmen’s Federation and IFC Affiliate, the Iowa Chapter of Safari Club International have all offered their support of our agenda.

Thanks for your support of Second Amendment issues!

About Iowa Firearms Coalition:
The mission of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is to be THE firearms rights organization in Iowa, representing Second Amendment concerns for all firearms owners in the state. We will staunchly defend the rights of hunters and sportsmen as well as the rights of all Iowans to defend themselves and their loved ones. We seek to partner with other like-minded organizations to increase our effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Visit: www.iowafc.org

Ducks Unlimited

AMES, IOWA --(Ammoland.com)- Ducks Unlimited has hired engineer Rick Verchota to assist with DU’s efforts in Iowa and surrounding states.

DU’s conservation programs in Iowa have recently expanded to include a $9 million, multi-year partnership that includes restoring habitat through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).

Verchota has come on board to help meet that demand.

“I’m excited about joining the DU team and look forward to working with our partners in Iowa and the surrounding states to accomplish our waterfowl habitat conservation goals,” Verchota said.

Verchota is stationed in Nora Springs and will be responsible for coordinating with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, landowners and contractors to facilitate DU’s delivery of WRP acres. Verchota will oversee and manage on-the-ground conservation project implementation and add valuable in-state capacity and expertise to this program. He will also assist DU’s regional surveying, engineering and construction staff with other habitat projects.

Verchota is a registered professional engineer with a civil engineering degree from Iowa State University. He recently retired from the Iowa Department of Transportation after holding various leadership positions during a successful 24-year career. Verchota is also a long-time DU supporter and active volunteer.

“We welcome Rick to the Ducks Unlimited family, and we look forward to seeing him apply his skills to restoring wetlands and other waterfowl habitats in Iowa,” said Doug Lipetzky, DU senior regional engineer.

About:
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Visit www.ducks.org

Congressional Sportsmen

Des Moines, Iowa –-(Ammoland.com)- Sportsmen won the first round yesterday in a fight to stop the Iowa Natural Resource Commission (NRC) from imposing a traditional ammunition ban during the state’s recently created dove hunting season.

The Iowa General Assembly Administrative Rules Review Committee met yesterday to review the NRC attempt to include a traditional ammunition ban in the final dove rule for Iowa’s dove hunting season.

The Iowa Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, led by Caucus Chairs, Sen. Dick Dearden and Rep. Rich Arnold, recently passed and Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Governor Terry Brandstad signed into law, legislation allowing dove hunting in Iowa.

In a bipartisan vote of 9-1, legislators rejected the NRC attempt to impose a lead ammunition ban and allow the legislature to act during the next legislative session to remove the ban from the final dove rule, and now Iowa’s first dove season in nearly a century will proceed and will not include a traditional ammunition ban.

“The Administrative Rules Review Committee clearly demonstrated that an appointed commission cannot circumvent the intent of the legislature, especially when the commission fails to provide the biological justification to do so,” said Chris Horton, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Midwestern States Director. “An undue burden on Iowa’s sportsmen and women was lifted and we applaud the committee’s decision.”

During a NRC meeting last month intended to set bag limits and the length of Iowa’s first dove season, commissioners passed a ban on the use of traditional ammunition while hunting doves. The same ban was overwhelmingly defeated in the Iowa legislature earlier in the year during deliberations on the new dove season and the commission attempted to usurp the Iowa legislature by imposing the rule.

A coalition of sportsmen’s groups, including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), Dallas Safari Club, Iowa B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa Sportsmen’s Federation, Mule Deer Foundation, Nation Rifle Association (NRA), National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Safari Club International (SCI), and U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, urged the Administrative Rules Review Committee to defeat the attempt by the NRC to institute a lead based ammunition ban that would created an unjustifiable hurdle for Iowans to participate in the dove hunt.

In a letter (HERE) dated August 3, 2011, the coalition stated that, “In the absence of scientific justification, the question of whether to allow traditional shot to be used during the dove season becomes purely a social and economic decision better suited for elected officials and not an appointed commission.”

According to a state natural resources staff study, the economic impact of this law allowing dove hunting will attract approximately 20,000 dove hunters and provide $6.9 million to state and local economies.

Wisconsin Carry

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- A disturbing article was printed yesterday in an Iowa newspaper that publishes the names of all of the concealed carry permit applicants in a particular county.

See for yourself: www.dmcityview.com/2011/04/21/features/coverstory/

As the Wisconsin legislature considers what kind of concealed carry law they will pass: A shall-issue permit system (government registration, mandatory permit, permit tax(fee), government mandated training class, etc) OR constitutional carry (right to carry concealed without a permit just like we currently open-carry without a permit), it is important to consider the implications of permit systems and government registration.

We need not speculate on what will happen with this information. Aside from instances in other states where firearm owners had to register, and those registration lists were later used to track down owners of certain kinds of weapons which later were outlawed, we have a story published JUST YESTERDAY in an Iowa paper which lists the first and last names of 5,200 people who have applied for a permit to carry concealed.

This is exactly why many other states are moving away from permit systems in favor of constitutional carry.

We all know government records are available for public inspection via “Open Records Requests” or “Freedom of Information” requests.

Government records are public information. (as they should be) Your concealed carry application AND permit WOULD be a government record. THEREFORE be very careful that which you allow to be a government record.

Do you want anti-gun newspapers printing your name as permit holders should the Wisconsin legislature sell-out your freedom to a shall-issue permit system?

Do you think you give up your right to privacy just because you choose to carry for self-defense?

What if your boss is anti-gun? Do you want your anti-gun employer knowing you have a permit to carry? What if you are looking for a job? Do you want a possible anti-gun employer searching to see if you have a carry permit before offering you a job?

Do you want to be discriminated against because you choose to carry for self-defense?

In a perfect world, we would all work for freedom minded people. In a perfect world everyone would respect our right to carry. WE DO NOT LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD.

Some states have laws that prohibit the publishing of names. The danger is that future anti-gun legislatures could remove those laws and the records already exist. If the records do not exist, future legislators cannot change the law to reveal them.

Please contact your legislators and ask them to support constitutional carry because you don’t want your privacy invaded like the people of Iowa by anti-gun newspapers. WE HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH. Most candidates last fall INCLUDING Governor Walker said during their campaign that the RIGHT TO CARRY legislation WAS A PRIORITY. If it was a priority why do we not have a bill introduced yet?

EMAIL GOVERNOR WALKER, ASK HIM TO KEEP HIS PROMISE (That concealed carry was a priority)AND REQUEST THE LEGISLATURE TO ADVANCE RIGHT TO CARRY CONCEALED LEGISLATION: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov

Contact your state assembly person and state senator today! Do not hope that someone else will contact your legislator. YOU must contact your legislator today if you want the right to carry concealed in Wisconsin. Protect your privacy and your pocketbook ask your legislator to support constitutional carry.

Find your legislators here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx

Legislative hotline: 1-800-362-9472

Carry On,

About:
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing. We believe that “open carry” and “concealed carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on their situation and preference. Wisconsin Carry, like many gun-rights organizations in Wisconsin, is investing a great deal of resources to get Wisconsin law changed to allow concealed carry this next legislative session by proposing Constitutional Carry. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use legal recourse to deter unlawful treatment of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who currently exercise their right to open carry, and soon will exercise their right to concealed carry in Wisconsin. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org

National Association for Gun Rights

Colorado -–(Ammoland.com)- Last month, you and I made it happen in Wyoming.

Today, will you help me — and Iowa Gun Owners – pass Constitutional Carry in Iowa?

Iowa Gun Owners, our boots-on-the-ground allies in Iowa, have been battling for Constitutional Carry since 2008.

This year, Iowa Gun Owners has worked closely with State Senator Kent Sorenson (R-Indianola,) who introduced the Sorenson-Pearson Constitutional Carry Act.

With historic gains made by ostensibly pro-gun Republicans in the November election, the state legislature should be a fertile ground for pro-freedom legislation like Constitutional Carry.

While many in Republican leadership claim the mantle of “pro-gun” they’ve fallen short of backing up their election year rhetoric with legislative action.

Iowa Gun Owners has been pushing – hard — to get a Constitutional Carry through the State House and into the State Senate.

I’ve been on the phone with Aaron Dorr, director of Iowa Gun Owners, nearly every day discussing strategy for getting a vote.

While Republican leadership continues to promise a full floor vote on Constitutional Carry, they have yet to deliver. To many, that comes as no surprise, but it will spell defeat for any real concealed carry reform in Iowa.

Why would I write every gun owner in America for help on this issue?

First, Iowa is truly a pivotal state. Its early Straw Poll and Caucuses make it our nation’s most watched political barometer.

Second, rarely does the chance come to pass historic legislation like this. Every freedom lover in America should be excited about the possibility.

It’s not just about one more “Constitutional Carry” state, but rather it’s about Iowa becoming a bellwether for liberty in the very heart of our nation.

I often hear “the Second Amendment is my permit to carry”, and I couldn’t agree more. What, after all, is the right to “bear arms”, in a modern context, if it is not to carry concealed?

But those are just empty words if the law makes a mockery of the Constitution.

With that in mind, I encourage everyone who truly embraces the Second Amendment’s right to “bear arms” without infringement to jump on board and help out Iowa Gun Owners.

Seriously, it’s that important.

To carry the tools of self-defense in Alaska, Arizona, Vermont or Wyoming, you don’t have to undergo a background enema, be fingerprinted like a common criminal, pay for state-mandated firearms training or have your name and address end up on some list.

You don’t have to beg for your God-given rights. That’s what the Second Amendment REALLY means!

Unfortunately, some of the elitist gun owners in America — the head-honchos of the institutional gun lobby – have trouble understanding that. In many states, they even directly oppose Constitutional Carry.

Their opposition to freedom is nothing but a self-serving “I’ve got mine” attitude, seasoned with a dash of “not EVERYONE should be able to carry a gun.” That’s elitist to the core.

But let’s examine that attitude: it means they don’t really oppose gun control.

They just oppose gun control when it’s imposed on them. Give them their own little tin-pot dictatorship, and they’re happy to limit your freedom.

As you know, Constitutional Carry is a simple, straight forward idea. If passed, it simply permits anyone who is eligible to own a firearm to carry a firearm concealed without a permit.

This legislation would not get rid of the current permit system, but it would merely give gun owners another option for exercising their right to bear arms. For reciprocity between states, citizens might still want a permit, but that’s their choice under the Constitutional Carry system.

Constitutional Carry is currently law in Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and now Wyoming.

I like to say we’re simply abolishing the “coat tax.” In states where open carry is legal, you put your coat on, and you have to pay the permit “tax.”

Constitutional Carry would make that permit “tax” voluntary, since you could carry a concealed weapon without acquiring a permit.

Iowa Gun Owners is an organization I fully endorse — in fact, I believe it’s so important to help Iowa Gun Owners that I’ve donated directly to them myself.

For liberty,

About:
The National Association for Gun Rights was founded in 2001 to serve as a grassroots gun rights group focusing on building state-level gun rights groups and lobbying for pro-gun federal legislation. Brown has been a gun lobbyist for more than 17 years. Visit: www.nationalgunrights.org

Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, or other sponsors and partners. See the Editorial-Review Process for more details.

Sean McMahon (right), State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Iowa receives the 2011 Partner of the Year Award from DU Regional Biologist Eric Lindstrom (left)

Ducks Unlimited

DES MOINES, Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- Ducks Unlimited volunteers and staff in Iowa presented their 2011 conservation awards during the recent state convention.

These awards recognize the achievements of individuals, organizations and businesses in Iowa for their dedicated efforts to protect and improve North America’s wetland and waterfowl resources.

This year’s recipients are:

• The Nature Conservancy – Iowa Chapter – Partner of the Year
• Doug Janke, Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologist – Professional of the Year
• Des Moines Water Works – Public Policy Champion of the Year
• Dr. Dave and Dee Haggard, Drs. John and Suzanne Synhorst and Bob Olson – Beyond the Call Awards
• Winnebago Industries, Luster Heights Correction Facility and Diamond Vogel – Corporate Teal Award

As Partner of the Year, The Nature Conservancy – Iowa Chapter has worked closely with DU and other conservation partners on a multi-million dollar grant partnership to deliver high quality habitat protection, restoration and enhancement projects throughout north-central Iowa. The partners’ goal is to invest more than $8 million dollars of federal NAWCA grants and non-federal matching funds towards this large-scale conservation effort during a five-year period. TNC also provided key leadership to help chair Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy campaign in 2010, which passed by an overwhelming majority vote (63%) by more than 622,000 Iowans last November to create a permanent and dedicated Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund.

This year’s Public Policy Champion award went to the Des Moines Water Works. Accepting on their behalf were Randy Beavers, Dr. Chris Jones and Linda Kinman.

“Ducks Unlimited applauds the Des Moines Water Works for recognizing the environmental services provided by wetlands such as clean water and advocating for policies that protect Iowa’s remaining wetland resources against further degradation,” DU Director of Conservation Programs Ryan Heiniger said.

Iowa DNR Wildlife Biologist Doug Janke was recognized as the 2011 Professional of the Year recipient. “Doug has devoted more than 28 years of his career with the DNR to help protect and improve critical wetland and wildlife habitat across Iowa,” DU Regional Biologist Eric Lindstrom said. “Thanks to the dedication and commitment by Doug and his colleagues with the DNR, Iowa’s wetlands and waterfowl resources are making a strong comeback to recovery, despite the many challenges we’re up against today.”

Beyond the Call awards were presented to Dr. Dave and Dee Haggard of Fort Dodge, Drs. John and Suzie Synhorst of Spirit Lake, and Bob Olson of Forest City for their significant personal in-kind and financial contributions towards DU’s direct habitat conservation programs, fundraising efforts and public policy work.

Lastly, Winnebago Industries, Luster Heights Correctional Facility and Diamond Vogel were recognized with a Corporate Teal Award for their donation of materials and labor towards Iowa’s Wood Duck Box Program. “Thanks to strong corporate partners like them, we’ve been able to continue this highly successful statewide program during the past two years to construct and erect more than 600 wood duck boxes,” DU Regional Director Mike Heller said.

DU thanks the many individuals, organizations, businesses and partners that help achieve our vision to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.

About:
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Visit www.ducks.org

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa - -(Ammoland.com)- The fight for gun rights is underway at the Capitol as the new legislative session has begun.

Read below for information about the bills that IGO is working on this year.

Yours for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,

The 2011 session of the 84th General Assembly kicked off this week in Des Moines and Iowa Gun Owners was on hand to continue the fight for our 2nd Amendment freedoms.

(Iowa Gun Owners’ Executive Director Aaron Dorr with newly elected Representative Kim Pearson. Pearson replaced a candidate who supported banning semi-auto weapons. Pearson will be the lead sponsor for REAL Right-to-Carry/Constitutional Carry this year for Iowa Gun Owners.)

After a long two year fight, we were able to take the results of the votes we obtained in the House and Senate and kick out close to two dozen anti-gun legislators who voted against REAL Right-to-Carry/Constitutional Carry!

As well, Governor Culver, who refused to complete the Iowa Gun Owners 2010 Candidate Survey was defeated by Governor Branstad, who did answer his survey 100% pro-gun.

As a result, this year looks promising for Iowa gun owners. Thank you for helping us get to this point!

This year Iowa Gun Owners will be working on REAL Right-to-Carry/Constitutional Carry that we almost passed last legislative session.

REAL Right-to-Carry would allow law abiding Iowans to carry a weapon for self-defense WITHOUT needing to first obtain government permission.

Recognizing that criminals don’t follow the laws regarding guns, this bill would do away with the seemingly endless bureaucratic headaches currently associated with being able to exercise your 2nd Amendment rights.

This is the law currently in Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, most of Montana and may become law in Wyoming this year as well.

For more information about the recent shootings in Arizona read below.

In addition, we are working on a Stand Your Ground/Castle Dostrine bill that would give very important protections to all Iowans who find themselves in the position of needing to use force to defend themselves from violent criminal attack.

This bill simply states that you no longer have to retreat in the face of an attack and that you are allowed to meet force with force. Further, whereas some states only attach this protection to you in your home, this bill will provide legal protection to you anywhere that you are legally allowed to be in the state.

Also, this bill gives full immunity to you from criminal and civil prosecution so long as the shooting was justified. In this way, an Iowan who was already forced to go through a terrible ordeal (defending himself from a violent criminal) will not have to worry about being drug through a civil court where he may lose millions of dollars.

Finally, Iowa Gun Owners will be working this year on an effort to repeal Iowa’s Permit-to-Purchase handguns altogether. The overwhelming majority of states in the nation have repealed this unconstitutional law. In those states, private citizens can buy and sell handguns amongst themselves without needing the government to authorize it.

These are ambitious goals. But with your help, we will continue to advance the cause for gun rights here in Iowa.

We’ve made some progress, but we have much to do. In fact, recent reports out of Dubuque County would indicate that the sheriff there is assuming the power to decide what training he is willing to accept and what training he won’t accept when you apply for your permit.

This is outrageous – and this is just one of the issues that we were very opposed to in last year’s bill.

Training, while a good idea, should be optional. Now we have a situation where one government official can decide who can offer you training (does anyone see a possible financial incentive here since law enforcement is one of the primary entities that can offer this training?) and if you go to an unapproved trainer you will not get your permit.

Not to mention the fact that the only approved course may just have a six month waiting list.

So much for shall issue.

It’s time for all Iowans to get together and support the REAL Right-to-Carry/Constitutional Carry that would truly restore the 2nd Amendment here in Iowa.

Please take a moment to sign the petition, if you’ve not already done so, calling on the General Assembly to pass this bill this year!

We will be updating you often during the next few months and we encourage you to take the action requested in these emails.

We need to maintain the pressure and hold this new General Assembly to their promises.

Get ready!

In light of the recent horrible shooting in Arizona there have been the predictable calls from the liberal media and some of their allies in Congress to enact tougher gun laws.

From high capacity magazine bans to reinstatement of the so called “Assault Weapons” ban, the anti-gun crowd is doing what they can to use this tragic time for their agenda.

Clearly this was a horrible crime and the suspect, if convicted, should pay the price for his actions. But clearly someone who is willing to commit mass murder wouldn’t have been stopped by the legality of carrying a weapon with or without a permit.

One interesting thing that an Iowa Gun Owners supporter brought to our attention is something that we’ve not yet heard much about in the national news.

One of the men who tackled and pinned the shooter to the ground was carrying a concealed firearm!!

When asked by the media about his actions that day

Joe Zemudio said, “…I just came running up to him – I carry a firearm, so I wasn’t really afraid.”

From what we know at the moment, Mr. Zemudio wasn’t in the immediate vicinity when the shooting took place. Had he or another armed person been closer, perhaps much of the carnage of that day could have been avoided.

We will keep you posted if any new or relevant information regarding this terrible shooting becomes available.

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

OpenCarry.org

Sacramento, California --(Ammoland.com)- Iowa’s “new” gun laws are still more strict than most states – further reforms needed

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller just picked a fight he can’t win, legally, or politically.

On December 29, 2010 Miller’s staff issued a letter to Des Moines County Pat Jackson encouraging him to advise Des Moines County supervisors to violate Iowa’s firearm preemption statute.

According to the AG’s staff, despite Iowa Code Section 724.28’s command that local regulation of the “possession . . . of firearms . . . when the . . . possession . . . is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state . . . is void,” localities are still free to ban gun carry by way of Iowa’s “state criminal trespass statute.”

“REALLY!????,” says John Pierce, co-founder and spokesperson for Opencarry.org, adding “what part of ‘is void’ does Attorney General Miller not understand?”

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller just picked a fight he can’t win, legally, or politically.

The amusing part about the recent AG letter is that it cites only to a dated 2003 Iowa AG Opinion even though the opinion itself did not cite to ANY court case anywhere in the United States which held that a state statutory firearms preemption statute could be abrogated under state trespass law as applied to citizens who had a right to be on local property, e.g., paying a water bill, attending a public meeting at city hall, etc.

And since 2003, Iowa’s state wide gun rights reforms have clearly made the entire field of gun regulation a state affair in Iowa by eliminating local discretion in licensing, invoking what’s know as “field preemption” of local gun bans even if Iowa Code Section 724.28 did not exist. Moreover, since 2003, state courts around the country have struck down gun bans on preemption grounds in many states, including, inter alia, Colorado, Ohio, Washington, Georgia, and even New York.

According to Pierce, open carry at city hall meetings is legal and increasingly common in many or most states, including Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine, and Washington, and that OpenCarry.org members will not stand for any city hall gun bans in Iowa.

“They will organize and attend city hall meetings to speak out against any effort to enact illegal local gun bans, and expect them to be legally carrying properly holstered handguns concealed or openly when they speak,” adds Pierce.

And Iowa’s state gun rights groups are not sitting still either.

Iowa Firearms Coalition President Sean McClanahan says that local officials are going to have plenty of opposition from gun owners if they try to violate state preemption – “NATO doctrine for gun owners is in effect here in the Hawkeye State. An attack on gun owners by one County is an attack all gun owners in every County” warns McClanahan.

Tellingly, not all Iowa County Attorneys appear ready to drink Miller’s anti-preemption Kool-Aid. Here’s a report from one of McLanahan’s Iowa Firearms Coalition members:

“I did take some time to call Larry Brock, the new Washington county attorney, this morning as a concerned citizen. From my conversation he stated that he ‘doesn’t necessarily agree with Tom Millers opinion.’” He has been studying a Michigan case that he said was similar to what their resolution was that got beat in court. I also brought up Ohio’s ruling yesterday. He said he was concerned about the liability that Washington County would assume with this new resolution. He said that Tom Miller was telling all the counties that instead of an ordinance, that a resolution was the best way to achieve their goal. I told him I would be in Washington on Jan. 18th and he looked forward to speaking with me on the subject.”

Iowa Gun Owner’s Executive director Aaron Dorr agrees that local officials will be surprised by the size of the hornet’s nest they will step on if they consider enacting local gun bans. But Dorr says his group will do more than just attend meetings – “we will lobby the legislature” to enact severe financial penalties on any preemption violation.

“We worked hard to reform” Iowa’s gun laws, says Dorr, and “We will not allow localities to spit on this legislative outcome.”

On the subject of Iowa’s “new” gun laws, you would not know it from some of the mainstream media’s reports, but Iowa’s laws are pretty much the same as they were in 2010, except for 2 differences: First, Iowa Sheriffs have substantially less discretion to deny gun carry permits. Second, Iowa Sheriffs can no longer issue “non-professional” gun carry permits to adults aged 18-20.

In fact, says OpenCarry.org’s John Pierce, Iowa’s gun laws are stricter than most other states. “In Iowa, citizens need a state permit to purchase a handgun, must be at least 21 years of age, and even then, they still need yet another permit to carry in public, even openly!”1 Contrast that with most states which “do not require a permit to buy handguns or carry them openly at age 18” adds Pierce.

And that’s why the legislature will be considering and likely passing further gun rights reforms in 2011 notes Iowa Gun Owner’s Aaron Dorr.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” says Dorr, whose priorities include repealing Iowa’s permit to purchase statute and enacting “Constitutional carry,” a moniker for the growing practice by states to eliminate the need for any permit to carry handguns in vehicles (28 states), or to carry concealed handguns generally, as Vermont, Alaska, and Arizona have done.

Media Contacts:

National: John Pierce, co-founder and spokesperson, OpenCarry.org, John@OpenCarry.org, 276-206-xxxx

Iowa Firearms Coalition: Sean McClanahan, President, http://www.iowacarry.org, seanm@iowafc.org, 515-442-xxxx

Iowa Gun Owners: Aaron Dorr, Executive Director, http://www.iowagunowners.org, director@iowagunowners.org, 515-309-xxxx

References:

1. Iowa Code Section 724.28 (Prohibition of regulation by political subdivisions) “A political subdivision of the state shall not enact an ordinance regulating the ownership, possession, legal transfer, lawful transportation, registration, or licensing of firearms when the ownership, possession, transfer, or transportation is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state. An ordinance regulating firearms in violation of this section existing on or after April 5, 1990, is void.”
2. 2003 Iowa AG Opinion: www.handgunlaw.us/documents/agopinions/IAAGOp03_4_1.pdf
3. 2010 Iowa AG Staff Letter & Iowa Firearms Coalition preemption alert: www.forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?84772-Iowa-Firearms-Coalition-Preemption-Alert-December-31-2010&p=1432208#post1432208
4. 2010 Colorado Appeals Court ruling that state agency firearms preemption statute precludes Colorado state colleges from banning student gun carry on campus: www.coloradodaily.com/cu-boulder/ci_14889133#axzz19u4heA2M
5. 2010 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that state firearms preemption statute bars localities from enacting bans on, inter alia, open carry: www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/12/29/ohio-supreme-court-gun-control.html?sid=101
6. 2008 Georgia Appeals Court ruling that state firearms preemption statute voids local park gun bans at www.georgiacarry.com/county/coweta_parks/Order%20Granting%20Pla%20MSJ.pdf
7. 2010 Washington Supreme Court ruling that firearms preemption statute voids local gun bans at www.capitolhilltimes.com/Main.asp?ArticleID=28389&SectionID=26&SubSectionID=248
8. 2010 New York Court of appeals ruling that even local “toy” gun bans violate implied or “field” preemption doctrine at www.volokh.com/2010/12/31/victory-for-firearms-preemption-in-new-york
9. OpenCarry.org state gun law maps: www.opencarry.org/maps.html

About:
OpenCarry.org was founded in 2004 by Virginia gun-rights activists John Pierce and Mike Stollenwerk and has served to ignite the “Open Carry Movement” that is sweeping the country. In addition to being an invaluable legal resource for gun owners, the site has quickly grown to be a social networking portal for thousands of American gun owners. Visit: www.OpenCarry.org

AmmoLand Gun News

Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- January 1st marked the first day Iowa officially became a shall carry state. Under the new law, permits to carry weapons only can be denied if the applicant is a felon or if they have been through some sort of mental health commitment process.

Previously, Iowa sheriffs had the discretion to deny permits if a background check turned up something of concern, such as a history of substance abuse. Applicants also had to meet shooting qualifications.

Now that those restrictions are gone, interest in obtaining permits to carry weapons, which no longer mandate the gun be concealed, has reached an all time high in just one day.

Multiple reports have long lines at every sheriff office in Iowa.

“The only reason people would be shocked is due to the simple fact that our rights have been stomped on for so long, we’ve forgotten what it means to exercise them. But again, that is no different than the battles that took place in every other state that went down this path before Iowa. Furthermore, most law-abiding citizens prefer to carry their weapons concealed, so how would people even be alarmed by seeing a “loaded pistol” when that pistol is properly concealed? Said Des Moines Gun Rights Examiner, Sean McClanahan

Some local officials, prompted by concerns over the new law, are considering measures to prohibit the possession of guns in courthouses, city halls and other government property. Supervisors in Buchanan and Washington counties are among those working on bans.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office issued a letter to county attorneys this past week that clarified such local measures would not be in violation of the state law. It does not “bar a city or county from regulating firearms on the city or county’s own property,” the letter said.

But most Iowans are happy to see the expansion of rights and easing of oppressive firearms carry laws in the state.

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- Two years ago, when Iowa Gun Owners was formed, Iowa had some of the worst gun laws in the country.

You needed government permission to do virtually anything when it came to buying or carrying a gun for self-defense.

A permit to buy…and the fees…later on a class on how to carry a gun…and pay the fee after waiting for months for the class. Later on a permit to carry…and pay another fee and wait for a few more weeks…with baited breath.

After all that, the sheriff could and often times did deny your permit… …often with no explanation or justification whatsoever.

Only a handful of states had laws this bad, IE: New Jersey. Then Iowa Gun Owners got involved in the fight to defend and enhance your Second Amendment rights.

At first we were called crazy. Nut-jobs. Idiots who didn’t understand how the political process worked. But we held on. We grew. Our membership grew and your support continued to help this organization.

At the end of the 2009 legislative session, due to all the pressure you helped create, we obtained what no one else had ever achieved: a roll call vote in the House on a REAL Right-to-Carry bill which would allow all law abiding Iowans the option to carry a weapon for self-defense WITHOUT all the classes, fees, and waiting.

Of course some said this was meaningless. But the anti-gunners didn’t think that vote was meaningless. They knew that now they were on the record as being opposed to gun rights.

They knew that they needed to do something about that or else they would face the wrath of the voters in 2010.

And so they passed a gun bill last year. While it provided some marginal improvements over existing law, it came at a terrible cost.

But what would you expect from a bunch of anti-gunners? They wanted to tell you that they were pro-gun without really doing anything.

So they passed a bill that takes guns away from young Iowans. They passed a bill that takes guns away from those with simple misdemeanors. While claiming to be pro-gun, they passed a bill that makes it easy for veterans to have their guns striped from them.

And for the lucky few who are allowed to carry a gun…well you have to get certified every couple of years for the rest of your life!

(Maybe some of you have seen the signs in Des Moines on the side of the road, advertising for training? Pretty sweet deal if you are the company offering the training – it costs $400 for the class!)

Anti-gun politicians wasted no time in trying to tell you how pro-gun they were. In fact they began to flaunt their new found pro-gun positions immediately.

Through it all you helped IGO stay fixed on the goal of passing a REAL Right-to-Carry bill. We worked hard and got a floor vote on our legislation.

Now we had what we were shooting for: a target list.

While the institutional gun lobby was endorsing Chet Culver, notorious anti-gun Senators like Keith Kreiman, Amanda Reagan, Daryl Beall as well as gun hating Representatives like Kevin McCarthy, Doris Kelley, McKinley Bailey, Ray Zirkelbach and more- we went to work.

With your support we launched a massive mail campaign to our members and other gun rights enthusiasts across Iowa in the week before election day exposing anti-gun candidates for who they were. When election night was over we were pleased to help kick out over 20 anti-gun legislators in the House and Senate.

Our long two year fight paid off and we now have a much different make-up in the House, Senate and Governor’s Mansion.

Now the fight to pass solid gun bills can begin again. Only this time we’ve got the support of the majority of the House, and even Governor elect Branstad supports REAL Right-to-Carry according the survey he returned to us.

In fact, the same groups and out of state organizations that said we were crazy and too extreme for Iowa are now joining in the fight to pass a REAL Right-to-Carry bill.

Thank you for all of your support which helped to get us to this point!

We look forward to contending for your gun rights again this legislative session.

For our members, your renewal notices are in the mail and you should be receiving them soon. For those who have not yet joined please consider doing so today. You can join at a variety of membership levels that you can learn more about by clicking HERE.

Also, please take a moment to check out our redesigned website. While it’s still under re-construction, please take a moment to sign our petition in support of REAL Right-to-Carry.

While you are at it, forward the petition page to a few of your friends. Word of mouth is still one of the best tools we have in growing Iowa Gun Owners.

We look forward to another aggressive year of fighting with you to defend our 2nd Amendment freedoms.

Contact Us: You can contact us in the following ways:

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- Tuesday was a huge victory for pro-gun candidates across the state of Iowa!

It was the culmination of a two year battle that you’ve been a part of.

To find out the good news, keep reading the article below!

Gun owners across the state, and Iowa Gun Owners members and supporters in particular, have dealt a telling blow to the anti-gunners in the State of Iowa.

We have fantastic results to report below in detail.

In a nutshell though, pro-gun candidates that IGO ran our election program for picked up 14 additional seats in the House! These are candidates that have answered perfectly on our candidate survey. 2 additional seats were picked up by marginally pro-gun candidates that will likely support us when the time comes.

In the Senate, pro-gun candidates that IGO ran our election program for picked up an additional 6 seats!

Two of the above races are still being contested by the gun-grabbing candidate so there may be some changes still. More on those below.

To be clear, Iowa Gun Owners can not expressly advocate for candidates. That’s the job of the Iowa Gun Owners PAC, which supported many good candidates this election cycle. But we do survey candidates and inform you, our members, and other gun rights supporters in the district, about the results of these surveys and all anti-gun votes cast by anti-gun incumbents.

And it sure paid off last night!

In the Senate:

• District 1 - Pro-gun candidate Rick Bertrand, who was being supported by Iowa Gun Owners by sending 1,000′s of pieces of mail to pro-gun voters in the area, WON by 286 votes. This seat was previously held by an anti-gunner.
• District 5 - Pro-gun candidate Robert Bacon, who likewise received a lot of support from Iowa Gun Owners in the form of direct mail, WON by almost 2,000 votes against anti-gun Rich Olive. This seat was previously held by an anti-gunner.
• District 9 - Pro-gun candidate Bill Dix trounced anti-gunner William Heckroth by 3,584 votes! Heckroth voted against REAL Right-to-Carry and refused to answer the survey. This is another pro-gun seat that was previously held by an anti-gunner.
• District 37 - Pro-gun champion, and Iowa Gun Owners lead bill sponsor for two years in a row, Kent Sorenson destroyed gun grabber Staci Appel by over 5,000 votes! This is especially sweet for Iowa Gun Owners since Appel spent approximately $500,000 attacking Sorenson – mostly over his pro-gun positions. IGO volunteers went door knocking and lit dropping for Kent, worked the phones to get out the vote for Kent, did TONS of pro-gun mail in the district, and did robo calls for Kent. This does not count the direct financial support that the IGO PAC gave to Sorenson. Clearly the voters in SD37 saw through the lies in Appel’s campaign and they threw a gun-grabber out of the Iowa State Senate! Congrats to Representative (soon to be Senator) Sorenson.
• District 45 - Sandy Greiner has returned to Iowa politics by defeating incumbent gun-grabber Becky Schmitz by 1,481 votes. Greiner is fully supportive of REAL Right-to-Carry and the Stand-Your-Ground bill that IGO is pushing. This is another pro-gun seat that was previously held by an aggressive anti-gunner.
• District 47 – In what is shaping up to be the closest race of the Fall, Mark Chelgren is currently ahead of extreme gun grabber Keith Kreiman. Kreiman was the Floor manager of the 2010 Disarmament Act and he was directly behind the watered down bill that ensured REAL Right-to-Carry failed by 6 votes in the Senate. Kreiman is currently losing to pro-gun candidate Mark Chelgren by 13 votes!!!

Clearly there will be a recount here. Iowa Gun Owners is trying to route some help to Chelgren to make sure that this race is not stolen from him by a gun grabber. But for now, this seat has flipped to a pro-gun legislator.

In the House:

• District 1 - Jeremy Taylor defeated David Dawson by about 7% in this open seat race. Dawson refused to answer the survey and the members of IGO let him hear about it after receiving our campaign mail.
• District 8 - In what was one of the most enjoyable House races to be involved with all year, Tom Shaw crushed anti-gunner Susan Bangert by 3,554 votes. Bangert was contacted repeatedly by IGO supporters in the district and refused to answer the survey. In fact, she said that IGO (and you by default) were an extremist group that was advocating for violence against the government! Tom received direct support from the Iowa Gun Owners PAC as well as a bunch of election mail from IGO, and we are very pleased that it paid off. This seat was previously held by a legislator who did not support gun rights.
• District 9 - McKinnley Bailey was the incumbent in this race. In 2008, Bailey promised to support and vote for REAL Right-to-Carry in his survey. Bailey broke that written promise two years in a row and the voters in that area sent a clear signal by electing Stew Iverson in his place by a solid 700 votes, in part because they received our mail on the situation. This is another pro-gun seat that was previously held by an anti-gunner!
• District 14 – Josh Byrnes won this open seat race by almost 20% against an anti-gun candidate. Josh answered our survey 100% pro-gun and will be a much better supporter of gun rights than Mark Kuhn was.
• District 16 - Bob Hager won this seat last night by a slim margin against incumbent John Beard. Beard voted against REAL Right-to-Carry and refused to do our survey. Hager took a little convincing but ultimately completed our survey with good answers. Hager ran his campaign largely without help from any other political organizations. When our mail and autocalls landed in this race we received a flurry of calls about it and we’re pleased that this helped Hager.
• District 20 - Iowa Gun Owners was very pleased to see that Walt Rogers handily beat Doris Kelley by almost 1,000 votes. Kelley was a solid anti-gun vote and Rogers has promised to sponsor legislation for IGO! This is another flip for pro-gunners.
• District 23 – Dan Rasmussen pledged to support our legislation in writing by completing the survey. Rep. Gene Ficken, on the other hand, voted against REAL Right-to-Carry and refused our survey. When our mail and autocalls landed in this race, IGO received howls of complaints from Ficken supporters, and with good reason as we detailed Ficken’s anti-gun stance. The voters heard about this and ejected Ficken from office by a slim 206 vote difference.
• District 31 – This race was of special note to Iowa Gun Owners as incumbent Ray Zirkelback is one of the most hostile people in the entire House of Representatives against Iowa Gun Owners. Members will recall that Zirkelbach tried to file criminal charges against representatives of IGO last year for asking him where he stood on REAL Right-to-Carry. So we were pleased to do campaign mail into the district detailing his hostility towards gun rights and those who advocate for them. Lee Hein defeated Zirkelbach last night by 847 votes and so another anti-gun vote was converted to a pro-gun vote as Hein answered all our questions pro-gun.
• District 42 – Another close race in Iowa, which is perhaps too close to call completely is this race. Extremely pro-gun candidate Kim Pearson is currently leading Geri Huser by a 159 vote margin. However, there are still absentee votes to count in this race. Huser has flip-flopped on guns for the last few years, voting pro-gun one year, anti-gun another. She answered some questions correct on our survey and other portions of the survey were very troubling like her willingness to ban semi-auto weapons. For these reason Iowa Gun Owners did a significant amount of mail into this district to all of our members and other known pro-gun supporters. In addition, Iowa Gun Owners PAC contributed to Pearson’s race. We will wait to see what happens but a Pearson win would be a huge step forward for gun rights as Pearson has promised to sponsor legislation! For the record, the AP has already called this race for Pearson.
• District 75 - Notorious anti-gunner Eric Palmer was soundly rejected by the voters last night by over 700 votes. Palmer was a “no” vote on REAL Right-to-Carry and refused to do the survey. Our mail informed the voters about this and our members went to work. Hank Vander Linden did the survey and has pledged support for the 2nd Amendment. Here is another vote for pro-gun supporters.
• District 84 - Ross Paustian completed our survey with solid answers and has pledged to support IGO legislation. His opponent refused to do either and thankfully the voters supported Paustian by over 15%!
• District 89 – Jared Klein is the winner of this race by a margin of over 1,200 votes. Klein has talked with IGO often and is strongly pro-gun. He also completed the survey 100%. Larry Merek was the incumbent in this race and arrogantly voted against our bill and won’t do the survey. Marek supporters called us in anger when our educational mail landed in the district, but an anti-gun vote is hard to argue with. This is another flip for gun rights where the anti-gun vote was rejected.
• District 95 - Michael Reasoner was the incumbent in this race and he was an antagonist towards the 2nd Amendment based on all of his past votes. He refused to do the survey as well. Joel Fry, on the other hand, did the survey 100% and we were pleased to report that to people in the district. The result: another pro-gun flip in the House as Fry won by 1,456 votes.
• District 100 - This seat was held by Rep. Paul Shomshor who liked to pretend he was pro-gun until the moment of truth came and Shomshor voted anti-gun and refused to complete a simple gun rights survey. Mark Brandenburg was the opposite. We’ve had multiple conversations with Mark and he’s clearly a pro-gun candidate. His public support of the 2nd Amendment, as evidenced by his survey responses, was released to the district in waves of IGO mail and autocalls and the voters responded by ousting Shomshor by 411 votes.

These are all the races where Iowa Gun Owners, with your help, were able to see anti-gunners sent packing!

Exposing anti-gunners takes work. It takes recorded votes (yet another reason why forcing votes in the legislative session is vital.) It takes persistence as well, but now we are seeing the payoff.

Folks, we were 5 votes short of passing REAL Right-to-Carry in the House last year. We’ve now picked up 14 additional pro-gun votes!

In the Senate we fell 6 votes short last session and we’ve just picked up 6 votes!

Now, there are some races that need to be certified as we discussed. But we’ve made tremendous gains here.

Our job now will be to make sure that these politicians keep their word to the voters and to Iowa Gun Owners. We’ve experienced some betrayal in the past and can’t assume anything at this point.

But we are in a good position. Thank you for all of your support and action taken in the past few weeks!

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- Dear Friends of Iowa Gun Owners,

Today is election day. It’s time to make sure that your voice is heard.

It’s time to send a message to the anti-gun crowd that you will not forget their betrayal and their votes cast that interfere with your 2nd Amendment rights.

We simply ran out of time trying to get an alert out to you yesterday. There are so many pro-gun candidates that we are trying to help in targeted districts…..

Many of you have asked about some of the state wide races that are being voted on today. We will answer some of those questions below. Many of you have also been asking about more local (County) races as well as Congressional races.

Iowa Gun Owners is focused on passing our gun bills through the Iowa General Assembly and so we’ve focused our efforts and energy in that direction and are unable to give suggestions in other races.

Please read below for some final races that we are covering for you.

The 2010 Gun Rights Candidate Survey consists of 8 simple questions that poll candidates on REAL Right-to-Carry, the repeal of Iowa’s permit-to-purchase, a true Stand-your-Ground bill, opposition to banning semi-auto weapons, support of the Firearms Freedom Act, and more.

If a candidate won’t put their beliefs on paper then you and I have every reason to expect an aggressive anti-gun vote to be cast by that candidate if elected.

In this final article we are going to focus on several state wide races that you’ve been asking us about.

Don’t forget to take action today on these alerts you’ve been receiving. Now is the time to send a loud message to the gun grabbers, after two years of fighting with them, that you’ll not forgot their anti-gun positions.

In the race for Governor:

Terry Branstad has completed the Iowa Gun Owners candidate survey with all pro-gun responses. He has pledged, in writing, to sign the REAL Right-to-Carry bill into law once we get it on his desk.

This is an amazing feat to have accomplished! There is virtually no position that Brandstad had to take while Governor regarding the 2nd Amendment to look into – which is why we use the candidate survey in the first place.

We should also point out that Lt. Governor candidate Kim Reynolds always co-sponsored our legislation and voted for it on the Floor as a Senator.

On the other hand, Governor Culver refused to complete our survey. He also signed into law, this year, SF2357 which allows you to lose your guns based solely on an accusation of a crime. By signing this bill, Governor Culver did away with the concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’

These two anti-gun facts are very telling regarding Culver’s views on the 2nd Amendment.

Secretary of State
Neither candidate returned the survey. For those who are asking why we would survey those candidates, recall that Governor Culver was formerly the Secretary of State and it is helpful to understand the views of these individuals.

Attorney General
Neither candidate returned the survey. Tom Miller, however, has been working both directly and indirectly to regulate, restrict and interfere with your gun rights for a long time. From allowing cities to ban weapons in city property to pushing for SF2357 last session, Miller has been very dangerous to your gun rights.

Please feel free to forward the link to this article to fellow shooters.

If you want to help Iowa Gun Owners spread the word to 1000′s of gun rights activists in the State, and to help us ensure a pro-gun majority in the House next legislative session, please go to our website located at www.IowaGunOwners.org.

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

FirearmsCoalition.org

Manassas, VA --(Ammoland.com)- Earlier this year I wrote about and participated in a brouhaha regarding concealed carry in Iowa.

The NRA had put forward a poor excuse for a carry reform bill that made the already complex maze that is Iowa’s gun law even more complex and dangerous to Second Amendment rights. Several of us were trying hard to get the bill improved before it ended up doing more damage than good.

The hero of that fight was a young State Representative named Kent Sorenson who is now being attacked for being too supportive of gun rights by his opponent in a tough State Senate race.

Not only is Sorenson being attacked as a pro-rights “extremist” by his opponent, Staci Appel, she is accusing him of defending “wife beaters” because he opposed a state expansion of the notorious Lautenberg domestic violence law. What’s even worse is that Appel was literally moments away from receiving the official NRA endorsement in the race when her first attack ads hit criticizing Sorenson for supporting pro-rights positions which are also all supported by the NRA. To their credit, NRA immediately withdrew their endorsement, but the association literally had to stop the presses to keep an endorsement of Appel from appearing in the pages of NRA publications.

Sorenson was the sponsor of an Iowa Constitutional Carry bill which I strongly supported and was instrumental in pushing a much weaker NRA-sponsored bill into revisions which eventually made the bill an acceptable, though disappointing vehicle for reforming concealed carry in the state. Not only did Kent Sorenson carry a heavy load in that fight, he has been an active sponsor or cosponsor of virtually every pro-rights measure introduced in the Iowa legislature since he was first elected a few years ago. Sorenson has not just been a supporter of gun owners, he has been an outspoken advocate on our behalf. That’s why I was thrilled to see him step up to challenge the anti-rights, liberal Democrat, Appel for a seat in the State Senate this year.

In the Senate, Sorenson would have even more influence and be a more effective advocate for the Second Amendment cause. But Appel’s attacks seem to be taking a toll. She has zeroed in on Sorenson’s opposition to a state ban on firearms possession by persons convicted of any misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The bill also called for local authorities to immediately confiscate all firearms from anyone who is the subject of a restraining order or order of protection – including women who are routinely placed under such orders in retaliation when they get restraining orders against estranged husbands or boyfriends. Appel’s brutally tasteless ads are appearing on television and in direct mail and picture battered women with statements that “Kent Sorenson’s positions on guns are so scary, even the NRA has opposed them” and that “Sorenson actually supported letting people with a history of domestic abuse own a gun.”

Of Course Appel’s ads are suggesting that Sorenson’s position on the domestic violence bill was what was too extreme for NRA. In fact NRA opposed the domestic violence bill and negotiated changes to keep the Iowa bill from doing much more than mirroring federal law. What Appel’s ads are actually alluding to is the rift created when Sorenson pushed forward with his Constitutional Carry bill instead of withdrawing it in favor of the much weaker NRA compromise proposal. In truth, Sorenson’s bill was officially supported by NRA and Sorenson voted for the NRA bill when it cam to a vote. NRA didn’t oppose the Sorenson bill, they just didn’t really work for its passage because they felt that it couldn’t garner the necessary votes and they preferred an incremental approach.

At this point the race between Sorenson and Appel is statistically a dead heat and that’s not good news for Sorenson or gun owners. If Appel’s Domestic Violence attack strategy proves successful we can expect to see many more of these types of attacks all around the country in future elections. It has the potential to make Republicans run from the gun issue and it will embolden the anti-rights crowd to push even harder – especially on confusing and misleading legislation like the “No Guns for Wife Beaters” legislation exploited in this case.

The “wife beater” attack is not a new strategy, but if it works against Sorenson, it would represent a ray of hope for a whole lot of anti-gun politicians hopelessly bobbing about on rough political seas these days. In the wrong hands a little hope can be a very dangerous and destructive thing.

Here’s to hoping that this particular hope proves empty in short order. If you’re in Iowa or know anyone there, Kent Sorenson needs your help.

Visit: www.kentsorenson.com

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- There is much to update you on in the fight for our gun rights in light of the upcoming elections.

Over the next week, Iowa Gun Owners will be highlighting various state level campaigns and informing you as to who supports gun rights, who is opposing your gun rights, and who refuses to go on the record.

Members of Iowa Gun Owners will be receiving detailed information in the mail regarding the candidates in their House and Senate districts.

But for those who are not members, this article will assist you in learning more about the results of our survey program in Iowa.

Please feel free to forward links to this article to your friends, family, and shooting buddies so that everyone will know who’s pro-gun and who is not.

Keep reading below for the first round of candidates we are highlighting.

In this update we will focus on the NW to North Central portion of the state – specifically on contested races.

The 2010 Gun Rights Candidate Survey consists of 8 simple questions that poll candidates on REAL Right-to-Carry, the repeal of Iowa’s permit-to-purchase, a true Stand-your-Ground bill, opposition to banning semi-auto weapons, support of the Firearms Freedom Act, and more.

If a candidate won’t put their beliefs on paper then you and I have every reason to expect an aggressive anti-gun vote to be cast by that candidate if elected.

In House District 1 (Sioux City area)
Jeremy Taylor is a candidate that has answered our Gun Rights Candidate Survey 100%. This means that he supports REAL Right-to-Carry and the other bills mentioned above. He has publicly pledged to be a supporter of the 2nd Amendment.

His opposition, David Dawson, has not completed the survey. More than that, Dawson refused to even accept the survey from the Post Office! Clearly he would be an aggressive anti-gun vote based on this action. Feel free to call Dawson at (712) 898-5804 and let him know what you think of his refusal to complete the survey.

In House District 2 (Sioux City area)
Cate Bryan was quick to complete the Gun Rights Candidate Survey way back in May when she was engaged in a three-way primary. Bryan has promised to co-sponsor all IGO legislation if elected and was very willing to discuss the issue with representatives of Iowa Gun Owners.

Her opposition, Chris Hall, would not complete the survey. Even after IGO members in the district contacted him seeking his views on the 2nd Amendment, we’ve yet to receive any answer from Hall. This should tell you all you need to know about the way Hall will vote regarding gun rights if elected. Let him know your thoughts on this by calling him at (712) 490-2088.

In Senate District 1 (Sioux City area)
Rick Bertrand met with representatives of IGO months ago to pledge his strong support for the gun rights of law abiding Iowans. He has pledged to sponsor IGO legislation and we applaud him for this position.

Rick Bertrand is being opposed by Rick Mullin. Mullin, who has refused to complete the Gun Rights Candidate Survey, is a danger to gun rights and can be contacted by emailing rick@mullinforiowa.com.

In House District 7 (areas around West Bend, Emmetsburg, and Estherville)
Iowa Gun Owners was pleased to meet with Lannie Miller in his home in West Bend. Lannie grew up around weapons and has a high regard for the 2nd Amendment. He too has pledged his 100% support by completing the survey with all pro-gun answers.

Unfortunately, his opponent, John Wittneben, refuses to answer the Iowa Gun Owners survey. Members in this district have tried to contact him about his refusal, but as of yet, no survey has been completed by Wittneben. In a rural, pro-gun area like this, this refusal is especially disappointing. Wittneben can be contacted at (712) 362-4797.

In House District 8 (areas around Algona, Humboldt, and Pocohontas)
This race has been especially fun for Iowa Gun Owners. Tom Shaw sought out IGO last session when he heard about our ongoing fight at the Capitol to reform Iowa’s gun laws. Tom’s support of the 2nd Amendment is deep and strong. As a small town Police Chief, Tom knows that criminals will always find weapons and that citizens need to have the means of self-defense in case they are attacked. IGO was active in the Primary campaign that Tom ran against an anti-gun opponent. In fact, the Iowa Gun Owners PAC was so impressed with Tom that they endorsed Tom and gave him a substantial campaign contribution.

Susan Bangert is running against Tom, and despite multiple contacts from the members of IGO she refuses to complete our survey. Not only that, Susan refers to Shaw’s views on the 2nd Amendment as “extremist.” Clearly she would be a very anti-gun vote if elected. Susan can be contacted at (515) 295-9505.

In Senate District 25 (the larger Fort Dodge area)
Chris McGonegle met with Iowa Gun Owners and was happy to complete the survey. We are pleased with his replies and trust that he’ll be a strong pro-gun vote if elected.

Daryl Beall, on the other hand, refuses to answer the survey. Beall really wants to be considered pro-gun. He’s tried to talk pro-gun and act pro-gun….but he won’t complete the survey and he voted against REAL Right-to-Carry on the Senate floor last session. You can contact Beall at (515)573-7889.

In House District 49 (Fort Dodge)
Matt Alcazar has been a friend to IGO for some time now. After initially running as an Independent, Alcazar is now the GOP candidate in this district. Matt quickly completed the Gun Rights Candidate Survey. IGO members who came to the June ‘Freedom Rally’ had a chance to speak with Matt who was in attendance – and if you were lucky, you got a chance to shoot his new rifle!

Helen Miller, unfortunately, will not complete the survey. She, too, has had IGO members calling her to do the survey, but as of yet, refuses to tell the voters in HD49 where she stands. Call Miller at (515) 570-3535 and expresses your frustration if you wish.

That’s all for today’s update. Tomorrow we will focus on some races in the NE part of the State.

Please feel free to forward these around.

If you want to help Iowa Gun Owners spread the word to 1000′s of gun rights activists in the State, and to help us ensure a pro-gun majority in the House next legislative session, please go to our website located at www.IowaGunOwners.org

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

Levee construction on Eagle Flats Marsh, Iowa.

Ducks Unlimited

FOREST CITY, Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- Construction activities are complete and the pump is running to flood Eagle Flats Marsh in Hancock County.

Already managers with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have witnessed several hundred ducks and geese as well as a pair of sandhill cranes on the property.

Eagle Flats Marsh is part of a historic 800-acre formerly-drained wetland complex in north-central Iowa. In the early 1990s, the DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered to successfully acquire and restore several tracts of land within this complex. However, DNR biologists continued to have problems effectively managing some of the wetlands because of drastically altered water flows and lack of sufficient infrastructure to manage water levels.

In 2007, Ducks Unlimited, DNR and several local conservationists stepped in to help with this project.

“DU and the DNR designed a plan that would split the marsh into three wetland units where water levels could be managed independently using a series of dikes, water controls and a pump,” said Eric Lindstrom, DU regional biologist in Iowa.

The $500,000 Eagle Flats enhancement project was funded by contributions from state, federal and private conservation partners, including several DU major sponsors.

“We now have an ideal wetland unit with functioning structures that allow us to manage each wetland cell to optimize habitat conditions for waterfowl and other wetland dependent birds,” said Greg Hanson, DNR area wildlife manager.

The DNR began flooding the units in August. Once completely flooded, the area will comprise nearly 270 acres of high quality waterfowl foraging habitat. DNR managers report the pump is working great and that they will continue to flood the units this fall.

“We want to give special thanks to the DNR and DU’s supporters for making this Living Lakes project possible,” Lindstrom said. “We will celebrate this conservation success story with all the major contributing partners at a formal project dedication in the spring of 2011.”

About:
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Visit www.ducks.org

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- Many of you have contacted us regarding the NRA’s recent endorsement of Governor Chet Culver in his bid for re-election.

For more details on this and other soon to be announced shocking endorsements from the NRA please keep reading.

In our alert yesterday we informed you about the endorsement of anti-gun Iowa Governor Chet Culver by the NRA.

We choose our words carefully since it’s Governor Culver who signed into law the bill that we described yesterday-the one that takes away guns from those who are merely accused of misdemeanor crimes.

Governor Culver also refuses to answer the 2010 Iowa Gun Owners Gun Rights Candidate Survey…

…the survey that Governor Branstad completed with 100% pro-gun responses.

Many of you have been asking us how to contact the NRA-ILA to complain about this endorsement.

The number to call is 800-392-8683. Tell them that we don’t need their political favors taking a toll on our gun rights. Urge them to reconsider this endorsement.

But there is more.
Representatives from Iowa Gun Owners have been hearing rumors in the recent past that the NRA is about to endorse liberal, gun grabbing Senator Staci Appel over gun rights champion Rep. Kent Sorenson!!!

Iowa Gun Owners members will recognize Kent Sorenson as our lead bill sponsor in the House for the last two years.

Besides being the lead sponsor of House File 596 (REAL Right-to-Carry) for the last two years, Representative Sorenson:

• Co-sponsored HF86 – A Castle Doctrine bill that provides important legal protections to Iowa gun owners.
• Co-sponsored HF2057 – A bill that disallows the government from demanding to know the make and model of your weapon prior to receiving a permit to carry it.
• Co-sponsored HF87 – A bill that disallows the government from making lawful Iowans give their fingerprints, like a common criminal, as part of receiving a concealed carry permit.
• Sponsored HF2267 – A bill that repeals Iowa’s unconstitutional permit to purchase handguns. If passed, law abiding Iowans will be able to purchase self-defense weapons from other law abiding Iowans without government interference.

Anti-gun Senator Staci Appel supported none of these in her capacity as a State Senator!

But we’ve moved beyond rumors. Today two news outlets in Iowa have broken this story, confirming what we’ve been hearing. (See links below.)

• http://theiowarepublican.com/home/2010/09/28/nra-not-relevant-anymore/
• http://www.thebeanwalker.com/

This is an outrage!
While Iowa Gun Owners prepares to launch our biggest grassroots initiative ever, to inform thousands of voters about the anti-gun positions taken by their State Representative and State Senators (or challengers) the NRA walks in behind us and is set to advocate for one of the most liberal gun-grabbers in the State of Iowa.

Iowa Gun Owners urges you to contact the NRA-ILA (the division that makes the endorsement decisions) and let them know what you think of this decision.

Whether or not you are an NRA member we encourage you to call. As a grassroots gun owner/activist they should hear from you.

The number to call is 800-392-8683.

To be perfectly clear, Iowa Gun Owners is not endorsing or advocating for or against candidates. That is the job of the newly formed Iowa Gun Owners Political Action Committee (PAC).

But we want you to be aware of the political issues surrounding your 2nd Amendment freedoms that we seek to defend and enhance.

Please make your calls today.

Contact Us

You can contact us in the following ways:

• Email: info@iowagunowners.org
• Phone: 515/309-7858
• Mail: P.O. Box 3585, Des Moines, IA 50323
• Website: www.IowaGunOwners.org

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa--(Ammoland.com)- As we gear up for the Fall elections in Iowa the issue of the 2nd Amendment takes on a whole new focus.

Anti-gun politicians cross their fingers and are hoping that you forget their anti-gun votes which we’ve brought to your attention.

They are hoping that they bought you off this year with the watered down bill they passed during the 2010 session.

This is the bill that takes guns away from young Iowans, that makes it simple for Iowa vets to lose their guns for acknowledging mental stress, that requires you to get retrained for the rest of your life and more!

There are also a bunch of solidly pro-gun candidates out there, incumbents and challengers, that are hoping that the voters understand their views on the 2nd Amendment.

To better inform you, our members, about these various views Iowa Gun Owners has put together our 2010 Gun Rights Candidate Survey. This simple 8 question form allows us to get a fairly accurate idea of a candidate’s views on the 2nd Amendment.

The exciting news is that we’ve received pro-gun replies from almost all of the candidates that we expected to hear from.

Of course, the grabbers don’t return their surveys or they mark refused and mail them back. Don’t worry, we’ll tell you which ones did that later.

Right now though, there are still some candidates that have failed to return the Gun Rights Candidate Survey that need to. These are candidates that claim to be pro-gun, and likely many of them are, but we need to get the survey back from them.

Iowa Gun Owners recently re-mailed the surveys to those candidates that failed to return them to us.

Once the deadline has passed, we’ll inform you as to who has refused to complete the survey.

In the meantime, feel free to contact your incumbent representatives or the challenger that is vying for the honor of representing you and make sure that they’ve completed this important survey.

Almost every candidate will tell you that they are pro-gun. You saw that last legislative session when long time anti-gunners suddenly started to pretend to care about gun rights.

But for many candidates, this new found rhetoric is just smoke and mirrors, designed to confuse you and get them re-elected.

So if you are told by a candidate that they are pro-gun but that they have not returned the survey, remember that and urge them to do the survey.

We will let you know, in the next two weeks, the results of this candidate survey program so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you would like to help us cover the costs of this survey program please feel free to chip in $10, $20, or even $35.

Armed with your support and our survey results Iowa Gun Owners will make sure that our members, as well as thousands of other gun rights supporters across the state, know who truly supports gun rights and who just says they do.

Governor Branstad
Many of you will remember that in the week before the June 8 Primary, Iowa Gun Owners announced which of the gubernatorial candidates had replied to the 2010 Gun Rights Candidate Survey and which ones had not.

If you recall, Governor Branstad did not choose to complete the survey at that time.

We are pleased to announce that since the Primary, representatives from Iowa Gun Owners have met with Governor Branstad’s campaign and we recently received a signed survey from him!

The board of Iowa Gun Owners would like to thank those of you who contacted the campaign and urged Governor Branstad to complete this important survey. Your calls and emails worked!

We will hang on to the results of this survey while we survey Governor Culver. Once we have a reply from that survey we will inform you of the results.

If you are a Republican, keep this in mind when talking to those Republican candidates who are running for State Senate and State Representative.

The signed survey from Gov. Branstad and the recent addition of a REAL Right-to-Carry plank to the GOP platform are positive signs in the fight to restore the 2nd Amendment to Iowans and any GOP candidate should have no problem signing this survey.

As a reminder, Iowa Gun Owners is truly a non-partisan organization. We will happily report the results of Governor Culver’s survey when we have something to report.

Contact Us

We’re also on Facebook. Search for the ‘Iowa Gun Owners’ group and join the group.

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

National Association for Gun Rights

Iowa --(Ammoland.com)- In Iowa, a Federal judge has ordered the Osceola County Sheriff to issue a concealed handgun permit to a political activist and take a remedial course on Free Speech and the 1st Amendment.

Iowa Gun Owners member Paul Dorr, father of IGO director Aaron Dorr, successfully sued Osceola County Sheriff Douglas Weber, after his ccw permit application was denied.

Sheriff Weber testified that he denied Dorr’s permit application because of Dorr’s political activities and views — the same grassroots activism that gun owners like you participate in with the National Association for Gun Rights.

In the ruling Federal District Judge Mark Bennett said: “In denying Paul a concealed weapons permit, Sheriff Weber single-handedly hijacked the First Amendment and nullified its freedoms and protections. Ironically, Sheriff Weber, sworn to uphold the Constitution, in fact retaliated against a citizen of his county who used this important freedom of speech and association precisely in the manner envisioned by the founding members of our nation …”

As a result of his outrageous infringement upon Mr. Dorr’s rights, Sheriff Weber was ordered by Judge Bennett to complete a college level course on the U.S. Constitution, “including — at least in part — a discussion of the First Amendment.” Sheriff Weber is also required to file an affidavit proving his completion of the course with the court.

This is a huge victory for the right-to-carry in Iowa.

Congratulations are due to Paul Dorr and Iowa Gun Owners for this important victory.

You can read more about the lawsuit and Judge Bennett’s ruling on the National Association for Gun Rights’ blog.

For liberty,

Sincerely,

Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- The vote on the so called “Disclose Act” was held on Thursday as we reported to you last week.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, with her substantial majority, was able to force this bill through the House of Representatives.

However, what was supposed to be an easy victory with minimal resistance turned into an all out battle and “Disclose” passed by a slim margin of just 219 to 206.

Thanks to you, and thousands of gun rights activists across the country, you made this a tough fight for those anti-gun Democrats in the House.

Your calls and emails into Washington made a huge impact!

Iowa’s Congressional delegation was split on this issue.

• Congressmen King and Latham voted against this bill.
• Congressmen Loebsack, Braley, and Boswell voted in favor of this bill.

In case you missed the alert we sent out last week, the so called “Disclose Act” is being used by liberal power brokers in Washington to eliminate our ability to communicate with you regarding the political votes cast by your state and federal politicians during the months prior to an election!

Of course this is the most important time for grassroots activists like you and me to be communicating, right before it’s time to cast your vote.

It’s every anti-gun politician’s dream to be able to vote against your gun rights and then prevent No Comprise groups like Iowa Gun Owners from reminding you how they voted at election time.

And believe me, there are many anti-gunners in Des Moines who would love to silence Iowa Gun Owners so that no one can stand in their path as they continually attempt to regulate, restrict, and further erode your 2nd Amendment rights.

The fight now moves to the Senate – where we stand a fair chance of stopping “Disclose” if we act quickly!

The liberal anti-free speech and anti-gunners don’t have as big of a majority in that chamber, but they do have the majority so you need to get involved.

Contact Senator Grassley at 202-224-3744 and let him know what you think of this bill. He has indicated to Iowa Gun Owners that he will vote no on this bill. (More on that below.) But he needs to be reminded that Iowans find this bill repulsive so that he’s not tempted to change his mind.

In addition, call Senator Tom Harkin at 202-224-3254 and strongly urge him to vote no on the so called “Disclose Act” as well.

As we told you last week, this bill was dead in the water until the NRA made a deal with anti-gun politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid that allowed a special exception for them.

We are not going to take your time to repeat what we said in the last alert but just want to remind you that this bill was dead until the NRA cut a deal to make them exempt.

So feel free to call the NRA at 800-672-3888 and tell them to knock it off. Tell them to denounce the so called “Disclose Act” for what it is, an attack on both our First and Second Amendment rights.

Many of you have called us reporting that the NRA says that they are opposing “Disclose.” We don’t understand why they are saying that as it simply isn’t true. Conservative organizations all over the country are scratching their heads trying to understand why the NRA would do this. So call them again and demand that they publicly oppose “Disclose.”

Need more confirmation? Read next to hear what US Senator Charles Grassley told Iowa Gun Owners at the state convention last Saturday about Disclose and the NRA.

As many of you know Saturday was the date of the GOP convention in Des Moines. Nearly every Republican figure you can think of was in Des Moines to attend the event.

Representatives from Iowa Gun Owners were also on hand talking to candidates and incumbents about REAL Right-to-Carry and Iowa’s unconstitutional permit-to-purchase requirements and other issues concerning our 2nd Amendment freedoms.

Senator Charles Grassley was present as well and one Iowa Gun Owners representative asked him how he intends to vote on the so called “Disclose Act.”

To his credit, Senator Grassley said that he plans to vote NO on “Disclose.”

We were pleased to hear this.
But more, Senator Grassley came back to us and urged us to contact the NRA and find out why they are supporting Disclose by default!

That’s correct, even Senator Grassley is acknowledging that the NRA could do much to stop this First Amendment attack on our Second Amendment rights. Their refusal to act needs to be confronted.

So make sure to contact the NRA today and tell them to officially oppose the so called “Disclose Act.”

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

Gun Rights Champion Ron Paul

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- Iowa Gun Owners would like to inform you that Texas Congressman Ron Paul will be in Iowa in a few weeks speaking on freedom and his organization’s fight to restore liberty.

IGO will be at the event!

Dr. Paul is a friend to Iowa Gun Owners’ and you may recall that last summer Congressman Paul endorsed IGO and our fight to pass REAL Right-to-Carry for all Iowans.

This carries significant weight as Congressman Paul has been a lifelong advocate for 2nd Amendment freedoms during his time in Congress.

Below is a portion of the endorsement issued by Dr. Paul last year:

Iowa Gun Owners is the only organization that takes a committed no compromise stance towards your gun rights. This session they have introduced a Vermont style “Real Right to Carry Bill” into the House with the goal being that law abiding citizens don’t need the permission of a government official to carry a gun for self-defense.

I encourage all who love liberty and freedom to join and support Iowa Gun Owners! Now is the time for people to mobilize and take back their freedoms before more and more layers of government regulation are added to them.

Congressman Paul will be speaking in Des Moines on May 14 at 7:30pm at the Embassy Suites on the River. The address is 101 East Locust St. This event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, May 15, at 2:00pm and 6:30pm, there will be a forum held entitled “Forum on the Future of Freedom in America” with a variety of conservative authorities.

Finally, there will be a variety of political training classes offered during this weekend as well on May 15 and 16.

For more information on this event including your chance to meet Dr. Paul in person, attend the valuable political training classes, or to listen in on the forums please click HERE.

And if you have time to attend, be sure to stop by the Iowa Gun Owners table where you can join up at a special discounted rate, see how your Representative and Senator voted on REAL Right-to-Carry last session, and get involved with IGO as we work to elect truly pro-gun politicians to the Iowa House and Senate this fall.

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

Iowa Gun Owners Annual Rally

Iowa Gun Owners

Steamboat Rock, Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- The board of directors of Iowa Gun Owners would like to invite you to our annual Freedom Rally.

This will be a wonderful time to come out and meet some of the board members and director of Iowa Gun Owners and take part in a fantastic afternoon program where we celebrate our 2nd Amendment rights!

Here are the details:

• Date: Saturday June 19, 2010
• Time: 1:00pm until approximately 7:00pm
• Location: Pine Ridge Campground, Steamboat Rock, Iowa

Starting at 1:00pm we will be hosting an open range time where you can shoot your own weapons or those that are provided on the park firing range. During this time, we will have firearms instructors on site to help teach newer shooters how to safely and effectively handle firearms of all makes and models.

There will be room here for the newest shooter or for one who’s been enjoying his/her 2nd Amendment rights for decades! (Want to buy a new gun? This may be a chance to come and test one out as we will have many different types of weapons on site.)

Our BBQ grills will start at 4:30pm and we will begin serving at 5:00pm. You are invited to attend. This will be followed at 6:00pm by our keynote speaker, and trust us, you won’t want to miss Tom Moore’s presentation regarding attacks on our gun rights – from right here in Iowa all the way up to the United Nations’ proposed Small Arms Treaty and what you can do to help stop it.

We also have an array of solidly pro-gun members from the Iowa House and Senate who have already confirmed they will be present and you will have the opportunity to hear, first hand, how effective your support of Iowa Gun Owners has been in the 2nd Amendment fight here in Iowa.

In addition, several candidates for the House and Senate have also made plans to attend this event, giving you a chance to ask the tough questions to those candidates that want to represent you in Des Moines next January.

This is going to be a family event so feel free to bring the whole family and make a day of it. There are modern restrooms available, a playground for the kids, and access nearby to hotels or camping should you prefer to stay overnight.

If you can’t come for the day but would like to shoot for a few hours, or can’t come until later but would like to hear our keynote speaker, don’t worry – you can attend for the whole day or just an hour.

This will be Iowa Gun Owners’ annual membership event – make sure you don’t miss this exciting opportunity to enjoy and help preserve your 2nd Amendment freedoms.

This is a free event; however we will be accepting your generous donations to cover both the cost of the event and continue the fight for your 2nd Amendment rights here in Iowa as we enter the 2010 campaign cycle.

You can indicate your intention to attend this event by:

• Emailing us at: info@iowagunowners.org (preferred) or
• Calling us at 515-309-7858.

(When contacting us please tell us how many people will be attending in your party so we can better prepare for all the food we will need.)

Resume on Key-Note Speaker Tom Moore:
Current Washington representative for Fabrique Nationale Herstal (FNH), the world’s leading manufacturer of military small arms; Also represents the sporting arms producers Browning and Winchester; From 1995 to 1998, Tom was director of the international and defense studies at The Heritage Foundation; From 1992 to 1995 was a Professional Staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where his portfolio included strategic missile programs, ballistic missile defense, and U.S. operations abroad; Helped conduct a comprehensive survey of training and operational units of the Armed Forces in CONUS and overseas. Security Clearances when last active were Top Secret/SCI; Former officer in the U.S. Army Reserve (Armor Branch), and completed the U.S. Army Armor Basic and Infantry Officer Advanced courses; 1970 graduate of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, attended the University of Grenoble, France under a French Government bourse d’etude (awarded from the Georgetown University); Moore is an avid skier and Scuba diver and a skilled marksman, and participates in various tactical shooting activities (handgun, combat shotgun, tactical rifle, long-range precision rifle), and in sports shooting (skeet, trap, and sporting clays.)

Items to bring:
Some hard chairs will be provided but feel free to bring your favorite lawn chair and sun screen, your personal firearms and ammo. IGO will provide a variety of weapons to practice with under supervision and, on a limited basis, ammo for them to shoot.

Directions to Rally:
From US Highway 20 (east bound – south east of Iowa Falls) turn south on County Road D-35 off exit 175, travel one mile south and then continue on D35, as it turns east, 3½ miles to the Iowa River bridge. Immediately before the bridge turn left (north) on gravel road into the Pine Ridge County Park and follow the signs.

From U.S. Highway 20 (west bound – west of Cedar Falls) turn south on County Road S-56, off exit 181 (ethanol plant corner), travel 3¾ miles to County Road D-35 on east side of Steamboat Rock. Turn west on D-35 and travel through Steamboat Rock (approx. ½ mile) until crossing the Iowa Riverbridge. Immediately upon crossing, turn right (north) on gravel road into the Pine Ridge County Park and follow the signs.

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

Concealed Carry Shall Issue Passes in Iowa

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- As you may have heard in the media, on April 29 Governor Culver signed into law a bill that makes Iowa a ‘shall issue’ state in regards to concealed carry.

This is, in some regards, good news for Iowans in certain counties where it was impossible to obtain permits to carry.

For many Iowans, however, this is a major step backwards.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 20 you will no longer be able to carry. If you are a military veteran, recently home from military service, and you speak to a counselor and confide in that person that you’re having trouble sleeping or eating, etc., you will likely not be able to carry ever again. If you have certain misdemeanor offenses on your record - even misdemeanors that involve no physical contact – these misdemeanors will now be grounds to deny you your gun rights for life. Also, you’ll have to get re-trained to carry your weapon every time you renew your permit for the rest of your life. You can do your own math regarding the costs associated with that.

In our last email update we provided you with an analysis of this bill and the way it came about being passed and so we’ll not do that again here.

But it’s important to remember that this bill passed only because the anti-gunners at the Capitol are scared about their re-election chances and they now know that the gun issue will be a force to reckon with this November. This only happened because you’ve made this into an issue.

But more to the point, this bill was passed because it was seen as more ‘reasonable’ than the REAL Right-to-Carry bill which was being pushed by Iowa Gun Owners with your constant help. (Note: when an anti-gunner talks about ‘reasonable’ gun bills they are referring to the bill that allows for the least amount of freedom.) But don’t take our word for it.

In their recent legislative year end report the Iowa State Sheriff’s and Deputies Association (ISSDA) lobbyists, trying to explain how the ‘shall issue’ bill passed said, “Lobbyist Susan Cameron and her team of sheriffs did all they could to defeat SF2379 (the ‘Shall Issue’ bill.) However, with the Republicans in the legislature locked up in support of SF2379, and supporting even stronger versions of the concept, it didn’t take many Democrats to pass the bill.”

Did you catch that, the comment at the end about many Republicans supporting even stronger versions of the concept?

This is a direct reference to the REAL Right-to-Carry bill. As we’ve said all along: the extremes always dictate the middle in politics. Your calls, emails, and presence at the Capitol for the last two sessions is what made the anti-gunners sit up and take notice. They’ve given us this crumb from their table – they are trying to make you go away. It’s important that they realize that we are not satisfied and are coming back for more.

Because don’t forget, your sheriff can still deny you the right to carry a weapon. In fact, they can deny you a permit for something that they think you may do in the future. That’s right, if the sheriff thinks you are likely to commit a crime or negligent act in the future he can deny your permit – under this new law!

As if to make our point, CedarCounty Sheriff Warren Wethington said last week on WHO radio regarding the new gun bill, “We still have discretion [to deny permits], really the only difference is we have to put it in writing [why we are denying] and show the person…”

Great, that’s great, all the anti-gunners who voted for this bill get to claim to be pro-gun when this bill still gives the sheriff’s discretion to deny you your right to keep and bear arms!

This is exactly what Iowa Gun Owners said was going to happen and the very thing we tried to stop - and with your help we came close - falling just 6 votes short in the House and Senate from passing REAL Right-to-Carry.

It’ll be important now to make sure everyone knows that we are not satisfied and are going to come back for more next session. Stay tuned for more on that later.

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- As the dust settles on the 2010 legislative session it is clear that Iowa Gun Owners has had a major impact on the 2nd Amendment debate at the Capitol and across the state.

There is a saying in politics that the extremes dictate the middle. That’s exactly what took place in Iowa in the 2010 session.

Fifteen months ago when Iowa Gun Owners formed there was practically no momentum here in Iowa in the fight to restore the 2nd Amendment to law abiding Iowans. There was almost no one calling for any changes at all to the arbitrary concealed carry laws Iowans were suffering under.

Iowa was considered a ‘fairly administered’ may issue state where the sheriff may issue you a permit and he may not. Sheriffs had complete control over who carried a weapon for self-defense, and many sheriffs were making it very, very hard to obtain permits. Some issued no permits at all and many of you experienced some combination of this.

Enter Iowa Gun Owners in January of 2009. With your support we began to advocate for the REAL Right-to-Carry bill that would allow all law abiding Iowans the option to carry a weapon for self-defense WITHOUT needing to first obtain government permission. REAL Right-to-Carry allows for you to obtain a permit for reciprocity and it also allows you to openly carry as most other states do. This is not a new concept and is the law currently in Vermont, Alaska, most of Montana, and will likely soon be law in Wyoming and Arizona.

Many people at the Capitol and across the state immediately said that Iowa Gun Owners, and you by default, were crazy and that this ‘extremist’ view of the 2nd Amendment would never work here in Iowa. Even some pro-gun people said that this was too much for Iowa’s political climate and that we’d never get anywhere. We were told to compromise and make deals – which usually means deciding to take gun rights away from a certain age group or people with certain types of mere misdemeanors or the like.

But the board of Iowa Gun Owners does not accept this line of thinking.

You see, when you adopt the principle that you are going to lose, and you merely try to limit how much of your rights you will lose, you still lose.

Iowa Gun Owners went to work building a grassroots army across the state comprised of people just like you to inform the political class in Des Moines that we want our freedoms back – not in 10 years, but now.

At the conclusion of the 2009 legislative session we were able to walk away with a 49-49 procedural vote on REAL Right-to-Carry in the Iowa House. This meant that 49 members of the House were voting to use procedural rules to support REAL Right-to-Carry and this was a huge first step.

Despite what some say, procedural votes certainly count. The first step towards passing a law is to get all the politicians on the record for or against your legislation and that tie vote accomplished that.

During the rest of 2009 Iowa Gun Owners spent our time continuing to grow our base by conducting many direct mail campaigns, going to gun shows from Council Bluffs to Cedar Rapids, speaking at public forums, and mobilizing more and more people. This was easy to do as people naturally gravitate towards freedom and our bill is the clearest expression of freedom available to Iowans regarding the 2nd Amendment.

As the 2010 session approached, Iowa Gun Owners, with the help of nearly 100 volunteers over a multi-day time frame, mailed out ten’s of thousands of pieces of direct mail to gun rights activists all over the state. This mail contained post cards to be mailed into the Capitol urging law makers to pass a REAL Right-to-Carry bill. People responded in waves and this set the stage for what took place during the session.

It is also vital to grasp the political backdrop at work here. With the anti-incumbency wave sweeping the state many anti-gun politicians were desperate to be able to claim that they too are pro-gun. In that context Iowa Gun Owners began seeing drafts, already last November, of the new carry bill that establishment gun groups were going to try to pass in Iowa. You see, even a gun grabber can support a gun bill if it’s so watered down that it’s largely meaningless.

The drafts were terrible and continued to be so as late as two weeks ago. We saw language that would allow you to lose your carry rights if you were ever arrested for an assault – not convicted, just arrested. Another draft would have struck down Iowa’s pre-emption law and would allow individual cities all over the state to pass their own gun laws. That would have been a disaster. Still other drafts allowed the government to deny you your rights if you’d ever been part of proceedings that may result in convictions – think social services at your door because you spanked your child in the park.

The list goes on. Iowa Gun Owners mounted intense battles against all of these provisions and we were successful at eliminating all of this language from the final watered down product.

Despite wanting to appear to be pro-gun, the leadership of the committees where Iowa Gun Owners’ bill resided refused to move them out of their committees. They wanted to appear to be pro-gun – but to heavily regulate that right and make sure that they could still control this right. And so our bills died in committee.

However, we kept working and the politicians in Des Moines continued to get your emails and calls. One time, while I was talking to a Representative, his phone chirped twice in just a few minutes. After reading the emails that he received on his phone, he looked at me and said, “I get these IGO email’s all the time.”

So the message was getting out and it was clear – Iowans want their 2nd Amendment rights back – not something less that is designed to throw us off course and buy political cover for anti-gunners.

In the final hours, literally, of the 2010 session a watered down gun bill was brought forth in both the House and Senate. Let me be clear, this bill was a step forward over current law because it is ‘shall issue.’ But this came at a terrible price.

I will briefly summarize the problems with this bill in order of importance:

This bill allows the government to deny you a permit if they think that you may do something unlawful or negligent IN THE FUTURE with a firearm. This is ridiculous on its face and you can imagine the implications to this. This bill requires you to be retrained every five years when you renew your permit. This was not the case prior to this bill being passed. That’s right, you need to pay $100, give or take, every five years. It is hard enough to find a class as it is, imagine what it will be like now!

We predict that firearms instruction will be a new growth industry in Iowa and it’s sad that gun rights organizations are supporting this bill when they stand to financially gain.

A quick review of the numbers: Currently there are about 30,000 permit holders in Iowa. That number will jump with shall issue, let’s assume that it climbs to 100,000 in a few years. You are retrained every five, so 100,000 permit holders divided by 5 equals 20,000 permit holders being trained every year. 20,000 times approximately $100 per class equals roughly $2,000,000 every year in fees associated with your right to defend yourself! $2 million, every year – no wonder some, even in the gun rights movement are so crazy about this bill, think of the money!

This bill incorporates federal disqualifiers into Iowa code when it comes to carrying weapons. This was not the case prior to this bill being passed. Now, if you ever commit a domestic violence misdemeanor, which does not require any physical contact, your gun rights are gone for life. This is a dangerous precedent to set. What other misdemeanors will be grounds for refusal next?

Obviously IGO doesn’t want spousal abusers carrying weapons, but this issue is very dynamic and often convictions are handed out like candy and, especially in light of the fact that convictions can occur without physical contact, this is a dangerous precedent.

This bill allows you to now be denied your gun rights if a mental health staffer thinks you are not stable. This was not the case prior to this bill being passed. While on the surface this sounds fine, consider that according to Gun Owners of America, approximately 200,000 veterans have lost their gun rights because they spoke to a counselor upon returning from military service and that counselor decided that the vet is not fully stable. It would be one thing if their due process rights were ensured – but this bill allows a mental health staffer, a commission, a panel or a judge to declare you unstable without any promise that you can confront witnesses, challenge the facts, or prepare a defense. This is dangerous, and unconstitutional. This bill raises the age on applicants for carry permits from 18 to 21. This was not the case prior to this bill being passed. Yes, we know that not many 18 year olds carry – but some do. Yes, we know that federal law prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a gun. But Iowa code allowed 18 year olds to carry under supervision. What a place to learn how to carry a gun responsibly – carrying Dad’s gun under Dad’s watchful eye. No longer.

This is the bill that did pass the House and Senate last week. The fact that this bill is shall issue means it is a step forward – but only in the current paradigm. You see, REAL Right-to-Carry, Freedom Carry, Constitutional Carry or whatever you call it is catching on all over the country. Vermont and Alaska already have it. Montana has it in all rural areas. Arizona and Wyoming are close to passing this into law as well.

With the anti-gun politicians in Des Moines nervous about re-election, gun rights groups could have banded together and passed REAL Right-to-Carry but some were told by the political bosses that that would never happen. And so it didn’t. The paradigm needs to be changed.

The excellent news however is that Iowa Gun Owners is working on doing just that. With your support we are closer than ever to passing REAL Right-to-Carry here in Iowa. This year, in the final hours of the session our bill came to the Floor in the Senate for a vote. The result was 20 for with 28 against. While we lost, realize that we are only 6 votes short in the Senate (with a vast anti-gun majority) from passing this bill and we had bi-partisan support.

In the House we are short only 5 votes as the bill failed on a close vote last week. (For those who check this online, we were short by 6 votes but that was only because one Republican representative was absent for a while and she would have voted in favor of this.)

Understand what that means. While being told that this was too extreme, that Iowans would never support this measure, and that it was a waste of time to try, Iowa Gun Owners has, with your faithful support, come to within a handful of votes of passing the best pro-gun bill ever in Iowa in a mere 15 months of operation!!!

This is thanks to the constant pressure that our members continue to place upon their elected officials. It is due to your trips to the Capitol. It is due to the unyielding philosophy of the board of Iowa Gun Owners.

But here is the best part: you and I now know who truly supports your 2nd Amendment rights and who is just posturing for political bonus points. If your Representative or Senator was truly pro-gun then he/she should have voted for the REAL Right-to-Carry bill. If they voted for the watered down carry bill but not REAL Right-to-Carry then you know that your elected official is merely paying lip service but will not support the real deal.

November is right around the corner. Between now and then Iowa Gun Owners will be informing thousands and thousands of fellow gun rights activists across the state about the true colors of their elected officials. It will be important that you help out as well.

After the election, when your voices are heard, we can roll into the 2011 session with everyone at the Capitol knowing one thing: we were not satisfied with the 2010 gun bill, we are not going to be bought off so easily, and we want real change.

Folks, we have made tremendous progress in the first 15 months of operation and many politicians in Des Moines have told us this. You will be hearing from some of them in the near future. Thank you for your help in this important fight. Your effort and your asking for what you really wanted is what got us the ‘shall issue’ bill that was passed this year. That’s a start – but we are not done.

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa – -(AmmoLand.com)-There is a reason that Iowa Gun Owners calls itself “Iowa’s Only No Compromise Gun Group” – and it’s not just because of the snazzy sound of it.

It’s because we are not willing to make back room deals and compromise one piece of your rights away to secure another.

Maintaining this philosophy has kept Iowa Gun Owners from falling into one political trap after another for the last two legislative sessions. You see, when you trust an anti-gun politician to help you with your legislation you run the risk of getting burned.

We are here to warn you about another last minute attempt to take a watered down gun bill and make it truly terrible for Iowans.

This needs your immediate attention!
As we warned you last week, anti-gun legislators Senator Mike Gronstal and Representative Kevin McCarthy introduced companions pieces of legislation in the House and Senate that looked somewhat decent – relatively speaking.

This was done not because these two are pro-gun but because many anti-gun incumbents are scared about their re-election campaigns and they want to be able to say that they supported a gun bill.

Of course, it wasn’t REAL Right-to-Carry and so we asked you to contact your State Senator and State Representative to urge them to support amendments to make the bill reflect the REAL Right-to-Carry bill.

(For those new here, and new folks join here every single day – REAL Right-to-Carry would allow any law abiding Iowan the right to carry a weapon for self-defense WITHOUT having to beg government permission first. This is already the law in Vermont, Alaska, most of Montana and may soon become law in Wyoming and Arizona.)

From the start we suspected a trap was coming and today it came.

Senator Keith Kreiman, the same one who managed the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010, has an amendment ready to go on this bill that would do the following:

Guts Iowa’s preemption law, 724.28. This is the important legal principle that states that no political subdivision may enact gun laws that are more restrictive than state code. Without this law in place your town may allow you to carry weapons for self-defense but the town next to you may deny that right – and you may be arrested for not knowing their laws. That’s right – Kreiman’s amendment will allow each individual municipality to decide which of your 2nd Amendment rights that will accept and which ones they will reject.

(Imagine driving from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids with your concealed carry permit in hand and when you get to Cedar Rapids you get stopped for running a red light. The officer asks for your license, registration and then asks if you have any concealed weapons in the car. You are trying to be honest and say that you do but that you have your concealed weapons permit with you. It will not matter – you can be arrested for having a concealed weapon in a town that prohibits this!)

This is a major, major step backwards for gun owners in Iowa and reduces this bill from a mere ‘shall issue’ back to ‘may issue.’ Allows you to be denied a permit for a mere misdemeanor assault charge! Note we are not talking here about domestic violence – we have been fighting that fight all session but it was recently made law. No, this amended language says that you will be denied a permit for a fist fight you were in 10, 20, 30, maybe 40 years ago while in a senior in high school! Of course, assaults don’t require actual physical contact in the eyes of the law. You can be arrested and convicted for actions that seem to be offensive or insulting to someone else. And this thresh hold will now be used to decide whether or not you have the right to defend yourself in public for the rest of your life! Soon spitting on the sidewalk will also be grounds for losing your 2nd Amendment rights if this keep up.

Destroys any idea of this bill still being ‘shall issue’ by allowing the government to deny you a permit to carry a weapon if they think that probable cause exists that you are likely to use your weapon in an unlawful manner or in a negligent manner. That’s right - the government gets to look into the future and decide that you may, in the future, act in a negligent manner - and you will lose your right to self-defense in public because of this. For those of you who live in counties where your sheriff refuses to issue permits, or only gives them out to a chosen few, just think of how this statue will be abused! Folks there is more – but we simply don’t have time to include it now.

This is what happens when you start to compromise and decide what rights you can barter away – ‘they’ always get what they want and you get stuck with the leftovers.

Iowa Gun Owners will not do this. The anti-gun crowd may have killed our bill this session but we will never concede the fight and give them what they want.

It’s time to call your Senator and Representative (this has been introduced in the Senate for now but may quickly come to the House version of this bill) and demand that he or she oppose this amendment. If this amendment is adopted then they need to vote no on the final passage.

If this amendment is adopted then Iowa Gun Owners will be scoring the final vote as a gun vote, not just the vote to amend this with the REAL Right-to-Carry language.

This is a very dangerous attack. Please call and email your Senator and Representative immediately and tell them to oppose this. We are down to the last few days of the 2010 session and things will be happening quickly.

Once you’ve done that, take a moment to send an email to Senator Keith Kreiman and let him know what you think of his attack on your 2nd Amendment rights. His email address is: keith.kreiman@legis.state.ia.us.

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.
• Feel free to use this pre-written email below or compose your own.

Thanks for your help in this pivotal fight!

(Please note that this amendment is not yet available online. We obtained a copy while working at the Capitol today but as of yet there is no online version for you to look at.) —————————————————————————-

(Pre-Written Email)

Dear ____________________,

Recently I learned of a sneak attack on my gun rights being launched by anti-gun State Senator Keith Kreiman that would:

eliminate Iowa’s preemption law which would allow any city in Iowa to make up their own gun laws and prosecute me for breaking them, even if I didn’t know about them; allows me to lose my right to carry a weapon in defense of violent criminal attack because of a mere assault conviction that may have occurred 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years in the past; allow the government to deny my right to carry a gun because of a crime that I MAY commit in the future! I expect you to do all you can to stop this anti-gun amendment and instead support the REAL Right-to-Carry bill that would allow all law abiding Iowans the right to carry a gun for self-defense without having to obtain government permission first.

Please don’t bargain my rights away in some attempt to “get something done” – please fight for the 2nd Amendment and the REAL Right-to-Carry bill.

Sincerely,

—————————————————————————–

Yours for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,

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

Iowas Funding Plan for the Natural Resources & Outdoor Recreation Act

Ducks Unlimited

DES MOINES, Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- Following an important vote on Monday, Iowa moved one step closer to creating a permanent and dedicated Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund.

This legislation will protect and improve the state’s water quality, agricultural soils, natural areas and fish and wildlife habitat.

Iowa’s House of Representatives passed Senate File 2310 by an overwhelming bipartisan margin of 92-7, following a unanimous 50-0 passage by the Senate in late February. This legislation will be forwarded to Governor Culver’s desk to hopefully be signed into law. Enactment of this bill will provide greater clarity and accountability of allocation and distribution of funds from the new trust fund. Voters will be able to vote on this bill during the general ballot election on November 2, 2010.

“The future looks much brighter for Iowa’s wetland and waterfowl resources,” said James Roetman DU’s Iowa volunteer state chairman from Pocahontas.

“The passage of this important legislation provides much more specificity, understanding and assurance to Iowa voters and our members that these funds will be invested wisely, and as intended, as they head to the polls in November.”

The legislatively-created Sustainable Natural Resources Advisory Committee provided recommendations for SF 2310. The bill broadly defines that trust fund moneys be allocated and invested toward protection and enhancement of Iowa’s natural resources and outdoor recreational amenities.

These recommendations were based on specific natural resource needs and current funding limitations estimated at approximately $150 million per year. According to the advisory committee, Iowa ranks 47th out of 50 states nationally in current conservation spending and 49th in total public land ownership.

Ducks Unlimited has a long history of involvement in this effort and is supportive of the proposed constitutional amendment.

“This will help accelerate the conservation of wetlands, shallow lakes, wildlife management areas and other important waterfowl habitats in Iowa,” said Steve Adair DU director of the Great Plains Regional Office.

“DU has worked closely with many other organizations and supporters to build strong bipartisan support for this legislation,” said Roetman. “We’re grateful for the overwhelming support it received in both chambers and realize it’s now up to Iowa voters to make this vision a reality on November second.”

At least three other states have amended their respective constitutions to provide dedicated funding for habitat conservation including Missouri in 1976, Arkansas in 1996 and Minnesota in 2008.

Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved over 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa – -(AmmoLand.com)- A few hours ago the concealed carry bill that we alerted you to yesterday, House File 2528, was handed over to a sub-committee consisting of Representatives’ Rick Olson, Jim Lykam, and Clel Baudler.

(This is the bill that the Democrat leadership brought forth on their own initiative. As a leadership bill it is exempt from the normal legislative deadlines.)

This is interesting indeed because Representative Olson is no friend to gun owners. In fact, when he was in charge of a previous concealed carry bill this year he took a compromised bill and made it far, far worse.

It was so bad that if you were to give a gun to your college bound daughter, or if a grandparent gave a gun of familial importance to a grandchild without state permission, both you and the recipient would be felons for life if convicted! This goes way beyond current Iowa code.

There was much more about that bill that was very dangerous but we didn’t alert you to it because it did not emerge from the funnel process in time for consideration and wasn’t ever actually filed. Instead, it was just being passed around the Capitol.

So with Rep. Olson in charge of the sub-committee anything could happen to this bill. He may do what his party leadership wants him to do and pass the bill out of committee as is. But he also may make the bill worse, maybe a lot worse.

Representatives of Iowa Gun Owners will be on hand to see how this plays out and will keep you updated.

As we said in our most recent alert, we want a vote on the REAL Right-to-Carry bill as it is brought forth as an amendment to HF 2528. We want your Representative and Senator to vote right on that. That’s the vote that we are grading. What happens on the Floor after that is less important to us and we are somewhat neutral on it.

However, all of that changes if this bill changes. If suddenly we see provisions that make gun laws more restrictive as mentioned above, or if we see language that allows you to lose gun rights because some government official thinks that you may, possibly, down the road sometime be a danger to yourself or someone else based on hearsay evidence or similar provisions, then we will be opposed to this bill in its entirety.

We are not going to support a bill that takes guns away from whole classes of people while granting them to a few.

The legislative process is very fluid and most of these deals are being cut behind closed doors and at the behest of the special interest lobbies. In fact, Capitol sources indicate that just moments ago lobbyists in favor of this bill were seen working together with lobbyists for anti-gun Attorney General Tom Miller. This bill may get way worse and we need to be prepared for that possibility.

Please take a moment to email these three legislators and tell them that you would like to see this bill get improved with an amendment using the language of House File 2241.

• You can reach Rep. Olson at this address: rick.olson@legis.state.ia.us
• You can reach Rep. Baudler at this address: clel.baudler@legis.state.ia.us
• You can reach Rep. Lykam at this addres: jim.lykam@legis.state.ia.us

Alternatively, or in addition to your emails, please feel free to call these three up and tell them this over the phone. Their numbers are given below.

• For Olson call: 515-281-7545
• For Baudler call: 641-431-3309
• For Lykam call: 515-281-3221 and ask to be transferred.

Please do this today as the details are being hammered out as we speak. And it does not matter whether or not you are a constituent of them or not. They are the ones that leadership has put in charge of this bill and, as such, are the ones to contact at this time.

We have included the same pre-written email below that was used a few days ago. Feel free to use it or write your own.

—————————————————————————–

(Pre-Written Email)

Dear ____________________,

House File 2528/Senate File 2379 is being billed as pro-gun but it is far less pro-gun that what is currently available in the legislative process.

This bills raises the age on applicants, allows me to lose my guns for mere misdemeanors, allows Iowa vets to lose their guns easier by incorporating dangerous federal language about mental health, creates entirely new ambiguous code sections related to carrying under the influence which can be harmful to gun owners, and more!

The only gun bill that I consider to be truly pro-gun this session is House File 2241/Senate File 473. The REAL Right-to-Carry bill restores my right of self-defense without making anti-gun compromises.

I therefore urge you to use all procedural tools available to you to move HF2241/SF473 onto the Floor as an amendment to improve this bill.

I will be closely watching your vote on this amendment process.

Sincerely,

—————————————————————————–

Yours for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa - -(AmmoLand.com)- While we are trying to hold the line on any additional anti-gun legislation like the Disarmament Act mentioned above, Iowa Gun Owners is still focused on trying to pass the REAL Right-to-Carry bill in the Iowa General Assembly.

The REAL Right-to-Carry bill would allow any law abiding Iowan, who is not a felon or barred by federal law, the right to carry a weapon for self-defense without having to get a permit, go to a class, pay fees, and shoot like an Olympian.

It restores freedom to Iowans by removing abusive government interference in what is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Currently, the sheriff can arbitrarily decide who can and can not carry. In a growing number of counties virtually no one can obtain the needed permit.

The bill, HF596/SF473 did not emerge from the funnel deadline in time to be considered on its own merits but will likely still be brought to the floor via an amendment.

You should know that there is a reason our bill didn’t come to the floor. The anti-gun crowd at the Capitol is scared and looking for political cover. They know that the November elections are not that far away and they are desperate to avoid being seen as anti-gun.

But rather than pass the bill that obtained a tie procedural vote last year, the anti-gun and compromised “pro-gun” politicians made a deal to bring forward a terribly compromised carry bill that:

• makes it very easy for Iowa veterans returning from war to lose their gun rights because of the word of a psychologist or therapist;
• takes guns away from young Iowans who currently can carry at the age of 18, now they will have to wait for 3 more years;
• makes an entirely new crime of carrying under the influence – with no definition of what that means. You can be walking home from dinner, having had one drink, and you can be considered ‘under the influence;
• incorporates large sections of dangerous federal law into Iowa code, resulting in certain mere misdemeanor crimes and leaving you unable to carry a gun.

We could go on, but by now you get the point. The anti-gun politicians are desperately trying to kill the REAL Right-to-Carry bill and they are using compromised legislation like the one above to do it.

We at Iowa Gun Owners are committed to the idea of effecting real change regarding Iowa’s gun laws. But that change has to enhance gun rights in Iowa – not restrict those rights even further!

That’s what the above bill does.

The good news is that the November elections are not that far away. Every seat in the House is up for election as are half of the seats in the Senate.

Iowa Gun Owners intends to work very hard to educate our members as well as the rest of the grassroots voters across the state as to the views of their elected officials.

For those politicians who are trying to kill your right to keep and bear arms, or for those who are working to subvert the best bill, it will likely be a tough election!

Thank you for your continued activism and your willingness to help us as we fight for your right to keep and bear arms!

For Freedom,

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa - -(AmmoLand.com)-After reviewing the legislation being proposed by the Attorney General’s office, and consulting with attorneys both here in Iowa and in Washington, D.C. – Iowa Gun Owners is still very much alarmed about the domestic violence gun bill that we alerted you to last week.

We have named this bill the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010. This bill goes by a variety of numbers: HSB46, SSB1033, and SF2357 are some of the versions that this bill has undergone.

Before we discuss the current version of this bill it is important that you understand that as bad as this bill is – it was even worse before you went to work.

In previous versions, the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 amounted to a lifetime gun ban because there was no mechanism that the guns be returned once the protective order was lifted!

That has been fixed due to your efforts. Now, within 5 days of the ‘no contact’ order being lifted your guns will have to be returned to you thanks to an amendment offered by Senator Hartsuch.

In previous versions of this bill the government was allowed to come into your home and take your guns if these protective orders were filed against you and charge you a fee of $50 per firearm for the privilege of taking your guns! The way it now reads you will have the option to give them to a qualified person and while the sheriff may have to store them for you while you find someone qualified, you are not going to be charged for them coming to take your weapons. Once you find someone ‘qualified’ that person can get your guns back.

That said the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 is still a terrible bill, and the modest progress that we made in this bill does not change that fact.

This bill still:

• allows you to lose your gun rights, for years, without ever having been convicted in criminal court of anything;
• allows an anti-gun court to decide who is qualified to take possession of your guns;
• incorporates the Lautenberg Amendment (brought about by Sarah Brady of Handgun Control Inc.) into Iowa code whereas current Iowa law does not recognize this anti-gun language;
• gives the anti-gunners one more foothold into your rights; if misdemeanor domestic violence is grounds to lose your gun rights then what other misdemeanor crimes will be grounds for losing your gun rights?

All this can be done to a person who has not been convicted of anything in a court of law. And again, there is not a guarantee that you can be present at the hearing, or bring legal counsel, or have time to prepare a defense.

Despite our efforts we were unable to stop this bill in the Senate. Working with our bill sponsor in the Senate, Senator David Hartsuch (R-41), we offered five amendments to this legislation. Only one amendment passed.

Your gun rights were sold out in a major way by multiple State Senators, who claim to be “gun guys.” We will bring the details of this to your attention later on.

For now the fight goes to the House, where we have a greater chance at stopping this dangerous legislation.

It is vital that you contact your Representative as soon as possible and urge him or her to vote no on the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010, currently SF2357.

To find out who your State Representative is please FIND OUT HERE.

To find the email address of your State Representative please click EMAIL.

To call your State Representative please call 515-281-3221 and ask to be transferred.

In addition, please take a moment to thank State Senator David Hartsuch for his courageous fight on behalf of our 2nd Amendment rights last week. He stood alone, with no help, and did what no other Senator was willing to do and deserves to be commended for that. His email address is: david.hartsuch@legis.state.ia.us.

For those of you who contacted Senator Kreiman after receiving the email alert we sent last week, we thank you. The reply you got from him was typical anti-gun drivel and was bending the truth because he is feeling pressure from pro-gun forces in his district and around the state. Please keep it up!

Feel free to contact your State Representative today using the pre-written email below, or compose one of your own.

————————————————————

(Pre-Written Email)

Dear Representative __________________,

As an Iowa gun owner I am very concerned about the status of the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 making its way to the House, after having been passed through the Senate last week.

This bill, most recently known as SF2357, allows an anti-gun court to take my weapons and ammunition away from me before I am ever convicted in criminal court of anything. And there is no certainty that I can have counsel at the hearing or be given time to make a defense.

The bill sets a dangerous precedent in Iowa by allowing Iowans to lose their guns, for life, because of mere assault misdemeanors. What misdemeanors will be next?

The bill would attempt to codify the federal language regarding prohibited persons into Iowa code in general. I have voted to elect you to represent me and decide what is best for Iowans. So don’t let someone tell you that ‘this is already federal law so we have to do this.’

If that were true, than we wouldn’t need an elected legislature in the first place.

Please vote NO on the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010, in whatever form it comes to your desk. I will be waiting to see how you vote.

Sincerely,

————————————————————

Thank you for your continued activism and your willingness to help us as we fight for your right to keep and bear arms!

For Freedom,

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

Ducks Unlimited

EARLY, Iowa –-(AmmoLand.com)- Ducks Unlimited and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently restored a marsh that will help improve downstream drinking water for Des Moines area residents.

With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency’s 319 Program, Iowa DNR and DU restored a 45-acre wetland on the Kiowa Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Sac County. The marsh is located in the Indian Creek watershed, which flows directly into the North Raccoon River, a major water source for Iowa’s largest and most populated city.

“Wetlands serve as Mother Nature’s kidneys. They are able to absorb and filter excess sediments and nutrients from entering downstream watersheds,” said Eric Lindstrom, DU regional biologist for Iowa. “By restoring Kiowa Marsh, not only are we providing critical wildlife habitat, but we are also helping to reduce the amount of pollution that enters downstream waters.”

Iowa’s Raccoon River fails to meet state drinking water standards due to high nitrate, phosphorus and E. coli levels. In fact, the river has the highest average nitrate concentration of any of the 42 largest tributaries in the entire Mississippi River Basin.

“The Raccoon River provides critical drinking water for more than 450,000 Iowans or roughly one-sixth of the state’s entire population,” said Chris Jones, Des Moines Water Works laboratory supervisor. DMWW, a public utility, treats water directly from the Raccoon River and its aquifer near downtown Des Moines and helps purify it for human and industrial use.

“On average, we will operate our nitrate removal system approximately 40-50 days per year, but the Raccoon River facility has operated as many as 106 days in a single year,” Jones said.

Once a drained shallow wetland, Kiowa Marsh is now part of a 1,200-acre public WMA owned and managed by the Iowa DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To restore natural wetland functions back to the marsh, DU engineers designed and constructed an earthen levee and installed a box culvert structure to periodically manipulate water levels. This structure was also designed with a fish barrier to deter non-native fish, like common carp, from entering and destroying the ecological balance of the wetland.

Two small excavated wetlands were also created upstream to filter runoff going into two drainage ditches that empty into the marsh. Lindstrom says these man-made drainages have for years served as a superhighway for soil particles and nutrient runoff that enter Kiowa Marsh and eventually flow into downstream creeks, rivers and reservoirs.

The total cost of these restoration efforts was nearly $300,000 and will pay back significant dividends to Des Moines area water users. Using high-tech computer mapping and modeling software, the Iowa DNR is able to evaluate downstream water quality benefits of these wetland restoration efforts. Their modeling results predict that the restored wetlands will reduce sediment delivery to Indian Creek by approximately 652 tons/year and will help trap and recycle an estimated 847 tons of phosphorus per year.

“Kiowa Marsh represents a win-win project with dual wildlife and water quality benefits for Iowans that use the Raccoon River drainage system, said Mike Mahn, Iowa DNR Area Wildlife Manager. “By itself, it may seem somewhat inconsequential, but as one project in a suite of other positive land use changes that can occur throughout the watershed, we will begin to see substantial improvements in downstream water quality.”

Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.

Map depicting ducks banded in Saskatchewan and harvested in Iowa from 1923-2008.

Ducks Unlimited

DES MOINES, Iowa –-(AmmoLand.com)- Since 1973, Iowa duck hunters have harvested 8.3 million ducks, most of which according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates originated from the Prairie Pothole Region.

Throughout this 37-year period, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has contributed over $1.1 million to support the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which provides vital funding for habitat conservation work in Canada, a primary source of Iowa’s ducks.

“We commend the Iowa DNR for their commitment and significant contributions to conserve quality habitat in key areas of Canada. These areas provide critical breeding habitat for waterfowl that migrate through the state each year,” said Eric Lindstrom, Ducks Unlimited regional biologist.

The DNR’s investments are matched two-to-one by Ducks Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited Canada and leveraged with additional funding from North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants. With this international partnership, each dollar invested by Iowans is leveraged into over $5 of habitat conservation work in Canada.

“It is imperative to understand the importance of prairie Canada to waterfowl migration,” said Greg Drees, chair of Iowa DNR’s Natural Resource Commission. “When waterfowl grace Iowa wetlands each spring and autumn during their grand passage, many of these birds are bound for, or arriving from, life-giving Canadian sites. The Iowa DNR and many of its partners are committed to help sustain invaluable habitat conservation efforts in Canada.”

In January, the Iowa DNR renewed its commitment to keeping Iowa’s duck hunting heritage alive by committing $36,000 to DU’s state grants program that is working to conserve waterfowl habitat in the Lightning Creek region of Saskatchewan. These funds are derived from roughly 15 percent of Iowa’s migratory bird stamp sales. The state grants program represents a unique international funding partnership that preserves critical waterfowl habitat in Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada, while working towards achieving the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Recognized as a continentally important waterfowl breeding and staging area, Lightning Creek is comprised of 2.9 million acres including 31,000 acres of conserved habitat on over 200 DU Canada projects. Waterfowl harvest and band recovery data complied from 1923-2008 confirms that Saskatchewan, and the Lightning Creek region in particular, are the primary source of ducks harvested in Iowa (see map). The area averaged 250,000 individual wetland basins in May, which supported an estimated 603,909 breeding duck pairs in 2009.

Due to a lack of strong federal and provincial wetland protection policies, however, wetlands across Canada remain at risk of future drainage and degradation. “The future recovery of species of concern, like northern pintail, hinges greatly on our ability to protect and restore large contiguous blocks of grassland and wetland habitat and help advance positive agricultural policies throughout the region that benefit both producers and ducks,” Lindstrom said.

Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved nearly 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever.

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- To recap, currently in Iowa if you want to carry a weapon to defend yourself or your family you need to get permission from your sheriff to do so. In certain parts of the state you can get these permits pretty easily.

In others, you can not get permits at all. There is no one else to apply to either, leaving the sheriff with the complete power to decide who’s life is worthy of defense and whose is not.

Further, in many counties, while you can get a permit, it can be regulated so heavily as to be virtually worthless – leaving you with a permit that is only good in very specific cases.

Iowa Gun Owners is promoting the REAL Right-to-Carry bill as the answer to this abusive system. The REAL Right-to-Carry Bill would allow any law abiding Iowan the right to carry a weapon for self-defense WITHOUT having to first beg government permission. This is patterned after the common sense gun laws in Vermont and Alaska where permits are not required of law abiding citizens.

Last session, Iowa Gun Owners, working with our bill sponsor Rep. Kent Sorenson, was able to secure a tie procedural vote on this historic legislation.

This session our bill, HF596, is lodged in sub-committee. Continue reading below for more information of who is supporting the REAL Right-to-Carry bill and who is not.

Enemies of the REAL Right-to-Carry
Politicians are human beings, just like you and me. As such they get nervous from time to time. Right now in Des Moines, there are a lot of nervous anti-gun politicians who are watching the days go by and trying to figure out a way to win their re-election bids later on this year. They are aware of the anti-incumbent wave that is sweeping the nation and they are scared.

So in an attempt to bolster their image with the voters in their districts these anti-gun and closet anti-gun politicians are seeking political cover.

This is only possible if another gun bill, besides the REAL Right-to-Carry bill, is introduced into the General Assembly that is so compromised that even an anti-gunner can vote for it.

Unfortunately, one such bill has emerged this session. House File 2255, sponsored by Rep. Clel Baudler, would do the following things:

• Still require that law abiding Iowans beg permission from the government to be able to carry a weapon for self-defense.
• Raises the age on applicants for a carry permit from the present 18, to 21.

So if you are a veteran, returning home from war and are still under the age of 21, you would not be able to carry in Iowa because you are not considered mature enough to carry a gun. Even for those who are not vets, this bill denies young Iowans their right to keep and bear arms for an extra 3 years!

Incorporate federal language into Iowa code regarding mental health that makes it easier for some psychologist to deny you your gun rights based on their say so.

This dangerous policy, as interpreted by the BATFE, has lead to some 200,000 vets having their gun rights taken from them. This has been aptly tracked by Gun Owners of America and more information can be found about this on their website. This issue is so divisive that just last week, on Capitol Hill in Washington, the Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously, and with bi-partisan support, passed a bill out of their committee that would finally provide vets with the needed due process protections that they currently lack. Clearly even the politicians in Washington realize how abused this current language is – and the Baudler bill would bring that same mess into Iowa.

Incorporate the dangerous Lautenberg language into Iowa code. This is the idea that anyone with a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction can’t possess or carry a handgun. While this is federal law right now, it’s not been put into Iowa code yet and we see no reason why a “pro-gun” bill should do so. In fact, recently the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of a man who was convicted of having a weapon after having been declared prohibited due to a domestic violence conviction.

The court said that the defendant’s 2nd Amendment rights were not forfeited on account of a mere misdemeanor.

We could not agree more – and we can’t understand why anyone would want to throw up more roadblocks to gun ownership here in Iowa.

We could go on – but likely you get the idea. (In addition, IGO members deserve a major round of applause here because as bad as this bill is, it was far worse in its original form. Your constant pressure being expressed to your elected officials regarding this bill has directly impacted it and made it “better” according to sources at the Capitol.)

What is starting to become evident now at the Capitol is that those who are not truly pro-2nd Amendment want to kill the REAL Right-to-Carry bill by leaving it stuck in committee where they will never have to vote on it. Instead, these anti-gun folks want to be able to vote on another bill, being touted as pro-gun, to receive the political cover for being pro-gun, when as we’ve shown above, this bill is clearly not.

If these politicians want to prove their commitment to your gun rights they should simply move the REAL Right-to-Carry bill out of sub-committee and then onto the floor and pass it.

Anything less than that is making concessions up front to anti-gun politicians. Why would a “pro-gun” organization, or Representative, make this kind of deal?

We’ve spoken to Representative Baudler about this but he needs to hear from you as well. Please take a moment to contact Representative Baudler and demand that he support the REAL Right-to-Carry bill – the same bill he voted in support of last legislative session – by working to move it off the sub-committee where it currently is stuck. (Rep. Baudler is on the sub-committee and could do a lot to see it passed onto the full committee.) Tell him that his bill is dangerous as it takes guns out of the hands of many Iowans and makes dangerous concessions to the anti-gun lobby in Des Moines.

You can contact Representative Baudler by calling 641.431.3309

In addition, in the last few days at the Capitol, representatives from Iowa Gun Owners have received very hostile responses from Rep. Ray Zirkelbach. Zirkelbach, who says he is in favor of gun rights, refuses to even speak to us at the Capitol and needs to hear from you as well. Rep. Zirkelbach can be reached at 319.480.0296

You should know that the calls you make and the emails that you send are having a major impact at the Capitol. I see it every day down there. Elected officials are telling us daily that they are receiving constant emails and phone calls regarding the REAL Right-to-Carry. Some have even asked us to stop the calls. We tell them that the calls will stop when they vote the right way. So thank you for all your work so far and please take a moment to call these individuals today. In addition, you can email them the pre-written email below by using the following email addresses:

• clel.baudler@legis.state.ia.us
• ray.zirkelbach@legis.state.ia.us

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Pre-Written Email

Dear Repsentative _____________________,

As a 2nd Amendment supporter in Iowa I am very concerned about House File 2255 that is currently being touted as a pro-gun bill.

This bill makes it easier for Iowans to lose their gun rights if they are: young Iowans, vets returning from military service, or people with certain mere misdemeanor convictions.

Any bill that weakens Iowa’s gun laws is a bad bill and I would urge you to drop your support of this bill and instead support the REAL Right-to-Carry bill. This bill eliminates the need for law-abiding Iowans to have to seek government permission for the right to defend themselves and their families. This bill, House File 596, needs your full support. I would ask that you drop your support of the dangerous HF2255 and support HF596 instead.

2nd Amendment enthusists across Iowa are now watching to see who truly supports the 2nd Amendment and who just says they do.

Sincerely,

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Supporters of the REAL Right-to-Carry
Often you receive alerts from us telling you about an anti-gun politician who needs to hear from you immediately about some anti-gun bill he’s promoting or an anti-gun vote that he needs to vote no on.

Today I’m happy to tell you about some supporters of the REAL Right-to-Carry bill, besides our bill sponsor Rep. Kent Sorenson, at the Capitol that have stood fast and not supported a compromised carry bill.

These Representatives needs to hear from you as well – they are under a lot of pressure – yet they have remained true to the 2nd Amendment.

They are:

• Rep. Matt Windschitl (matt.windschitl@legis.state.ia.us)
• Rep. Jason Schultz (jason.schultz@legis.state.ia.us)
• Rep. Chris Hagenow (chris.hagenow@legis.state.ia.us)

Please take a moment to email these Representatives and thank them for their stance on the 2nd Amendment. Your calls and emails played a major role in keeping their feet anchored and they deserve to hear from you now.

Yours for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,

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

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa – -(Ammoland.com)- As we’ve told you before in these alerts, Iowa is one of only 14 states that requires law abiding citizens to get government permission to buy and sell handguns between private parties for self-defense.

In most of the rest of the nation you and I can legally sell handguns between ourselves, provided that none of us are felons, without a permit. Not so in Iowa.

This is wrong and Iowa Gun Owners is trying to stop it with our REAL Right-to-Purchase legislation.

This bill, currently without House or Senate numbers, would allow private transactions of handguns to take place without needing government permission first.

As some have already pointed out eliminating this permit would require a NICS check at a gun show or gun store. That’s only partially true, as a concealed weapons permit in Iowa allows you to buy a handgun.

So when this bill passes, you would be able to buy and sell handguns freely amongst yourselves, and for those sales that are conducted in a FFL situation, your concealed carry permit (should you choose to obtain one) would cover you there.

This is the best of both worlds!
This bill is being sponsored in both chambers and already we have 14 cosponsors in the House!

Please contact your elected officials today about this bill and urge that they co-sponsor while there is still time.

Click Legislators for information on how to find out who your Representative/Senator is.

Click Contact to find out the phone number and email address of your Representative/Senator.

Feel free to use the pre-written email below if you choose.

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(Pre-Written Email)

Dear Representative _______________,

It is alarming that Iowa is one of only fourteen states that requires law abiding citizens to get government permission to purchase handguns for self-defense.

As a mid-western state Iowa should be a leader in the fight for the 2nd Amendment.

That’s why I’m writing you today to ask for your support for the REAL Right-to-Purchase bill being introduced into the Iowa House this session by Rep. Kent Sorenson.

This legislation would allow all law abiding Iowans the option to buy and sell handguns, as private parties, without government intrusion, the way most of the rest of the states do.

For those who buy at gun shows or from gun stores, their concealed carry permit will still provide the necessary background check that the NICS system requires.

Please cosponsor and fully support this important legislation today!

Sincerely,

———-

Dear Senator _______________,

It is alarming that Iowa is one of only fourteen states that requires law abiding citizens to get government permission to purchase handguns for self-defense.

As a mid-western state Iowa should be a leader in the fight for the 2nd Amendment.

That’s why I’m writing you today to ask for your support for the REAL Right-to-Purchase bill being introduced into the Iowa Senate this session by Senator David Hartsuch.

This legislation would allow all law abiding Iowans the option to buy and sell handguns, as private parties, without government intrusion, the way most of the rest of the states do.

For those who buy at gun shows or from gun stores, their concealed carry permit will still provide the necessary background check that the NICS system requires.

Please cosponsor and fully support this important legislation today!

Sincerely,

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