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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

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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

Filed under: Ammunition News, Gun Rights News, Hunting News by Ammoland No Comments »