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Gun grabbers are constantly trying to find new ways to come after our gun rights. While banning specific guns always appeals to anti-gun radicals, they know that they can get closer to their ultimate goal of doing away with gun rights completely by simply going after groups of people as a whole. Veterans have paid a huge price, for example, under this approach as mental health staffers use PTSD cases to simply ban guns from hundreds of thousands of honorably discharged veterans. Mental health issues related to the 2nd Amendment remains perhaps the biggest threat that we’ll face at the state and federal level for some time to come. In the meantime, the anti-gunners are going after another classification of people these days with great effect: domestic violence offenders. Last week we saw another offensive launched against our rights using domestic violence as the cover being used by liberal media and anti-gun special interest groups. And it’s ugly. I need you to make some calls right away, but first, some background. Anti-gunners understand that the mere mention of the phrase ‘domestic violence’ usually sends even the most pro-gun activist running in the opposite direction. After all, no one wants to be accused to wanting to arm “wife beaters.” Iowa’s own Chuck Grassley has fallen prey to this at times, too – more on that in a moment. As a result, for years now, state by state we’ve seen state legislatures pass state equivalents to the federal Lautenberg Gun Ban which states that anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence will be barred from owning any firearms for the rest of their life. Of course, this was a feel good measure in the first place as everyone knows that criminals who intend to commit murder don’t go down to the neighborhood sporting goods store to buy a gun. The real purpose behind the Lautenberg Amendment was to erode the generations-long legal practice of not banning guns over misdemeanor convictions. Felony convictions have always been the threshold required before someone would lose their constitutional rights. And while this happened in Iowa just as Iowa Gun Owners was being formed, years ago, leaving us too small to wage an effective battle against it, we were able to ensure that accused offenders would at least have due process rights ensured throughout this process. That would all change now, under the new proposals being unveiled in DC last week. You see, the anti-gunners want to change the ways protective order hearings are run (where, if granted, you’ll lose your guns for a time or forever) to allow for ex parte hearings where the accused party would not even be present! So if a mother spanks her child for running into the street, against her spouse’s wishes, he could pursue a protective order against her that could result in her losing her firearms WITHOUT HER EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT until it was all over. Similarly, if a person does intend to criminally assault their spouse, all they would need to do to disarm their spouse is give a one sides account of the ‘facts’ in seeking an order of protection and since the other spouse wouldn’t even be in the hearing, the intended victim would have their guns removed and have no way of defending themselves against a future attack! That’s why we fight for due process rights. Otherwise your rights and freedoms would come down to who can get in front of a judge first. Sadly, the institutional gun lobby supported this measure in Iowa some years ago and it’s now settled law. Understand that if the federal code is changed, it’s only a matter of time before the states begin to update state code to mirror the federal language. That’s why we resisted this language being put into state code in the first place. As Iowans we are uniquely able to be involved in this process as our own Senator Chuck Grassley is the “Ranking Member” (the minority party member with the most seniority) of the Judiciary Committee and as such wields considerable sway over this process. And while Grassley seems to be on the right side of this bill, his actions are troubling to us. Grassley stated at the onset of his comments on this bill that, “In 1996, I had the pleasure of voting for the Lautenberg Amendment.” This was before going on to state that he wants to see more and more states update the feds with lists of those who can’t own guns before we add to the existing federal code. More, Grassley seems to continues to want to work to put bills on the Floor in a “bi-partisan” manner, as he did last year, when it’s obvious that any bill that is put on the Floor right now will be amended into something much worse! Last year, after casting the only Republican vote for a terrible bill, Grassley seemed surprised and confused that when the bill came to the Floor, it was ladled with amendments including a ban on modern sporting rifles, a ban on magazines over 10 rounds, Michael Bloomberg’s Universal Registration language, and more! It’s clear, to gun owners at least, that the ONLY course of action that can be taken with Barack Obama and Harry Reid calling the shots is NO action. Understand this. ANY bill brought to the Floor right now will be cut up, amendment, and totally redone by the likes of Senator Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Schumer (D-NY), Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) and other anti-gun zealots. So there can be no ‘deals’ made right now. We don’t want to see how effectively Senator Grassley can ‘reach across the aisle.’ And we certainly don’t want Senator Grassley to work to enhance the effectiveness of the Lautenberg Gun Ban when everyone knows how abusive the process can be! We don’t know this bill’s future, but we know it would be a whole lot more likely to fail if Senator Grassley and his Republican colleagues would loudly and adamantly ‘dig in their heels’ and oppose any gun bills from moving forward at this time. Already the most radical anti-gunners on the Judiciary Committee, like Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, are looking to expand this bill even further to include any and all dating relationships! So Johnny takes a girl to senior prom on a first date, they have an argument because Johnny danced with another girl at prom, she gets angry and gets a protective order against him, ex parte no less, and Johnny loses his guns, maybe for life? This is madness – and it will continue as long as we allow our ‘allies’ to play nice with anti-gunners. So please contact Senator Grassley right away, at 202-224-3744, and insist that he stop playing games with anti-gun proposals and vote AGAINST moving any gun bills to the Floor as it’s obvious what happens to them once they get there! While the Senate is in recess, you have a unique chance to visit with Senator Grassley in person about these issues, especially if you live in NW IA. Please stop out and see him and make sure he knows how you feel about these latest attacks on our gun rights and his tepid response. While he has made numerous good votes related to the 2nd Amendment, his actions over the last few years have been very concerning. Make sure he hears from you. Here is the schedule: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 Lyon County Town Meeting Osceola County Town Meeting O’Brien County Town Meeting Clay County Town Meeting Wednesday, August 13, 2014 Pocahontas County Town Meeting Humboldt County Town Meeting Thank you for your activism in defense of our 2nd Amendment rights! For Freedom,
This would mean that you could lose your gun rights, based on a spouse, or boyfriend, or any other previous partner giving a one-sided complaint to a judge without you even being in the room! Forget due process – the right to have counsel present, the ability to confront witnesses and bring forth your own evidence – this bill would gut all of that leaving you vulnerable to the whims of a jealous ex who resents you. And that’s just the beginning as anti-gun Senators have made it clear that they want to tack on a laundry list of amendments to this bill! Senator Grassley, while seeming to oppose this, appears to be working to make a deal just like he did last year, and if this bill gets to the Floor it will be amended, just like last year’s bill was, to something far worse. So please call Senator Grassley right away at 202-224-3744 and tell him to stop playing nice with radical anti-gun legislators. NO deals, NO compromises, NO to gun control in any form! And if you live in NW Iowa, please be sure to visit with Senator Grassley as he’ll be in your neighborhood during the August recess. To find a list of dates and locations, read our email above. |
Iowa Gun Owners is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose organization dedicated to preserving
and protecting the Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms through an aggressive
grassroots program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The address for
Iowa Gun Owners is PO Box 3585, Des Moines, IA 50323. You can call us at 515-309-7858.
Our website can be located at www.IowaGunOwners.org.