The 2018 legislative session kicks off in just two days, and with it, our fight to pass Constitutional Carry goes into over drive.

And when the gavel drops on the opening day, gun owners in Iowa will be happy to know that this fight is being spearheaded in the legislature by none other than Senator Rick Bertrand!

Senator Bertrand is well known to gun owners, having spearheaded the multi-year, successful effort to pass Stand-Your-Ground law which wrapped up last year.

Rick knows what every other gun owner in Iowa knows: we accomplished a lot in 2017 but Constitutional Carry wasn’t one of them.

I don’t know about you, but the idea that we should just sit back this session and ‘kick the tires’ after our success last year is laughable.

Our political opponents in Des Moines have given us nothing, and they never let up.

We only passed Stand-Your-Ground law because IGO members across the state threw Mike Gronstal and his cronies out on the street during the 2016 elections.

More, even last session the anti-gun caucus was trying to ban magazines that hold over 10 rounds, make it illegal to give a gun to your nephew without government permission, and much more.

In other words, anti-gun activists and lawmakers never give up and we can’t either.

And that’s exactly why Senator Bertrand has agreed to carry this bill for us in 2018, to maintain the momentum that gun owners have here in Iowa and secure as much Second Amendment freedom as we can.

Of course, the liberal media that blankets Iowa, as well as anti-legislators, will distort the truth about Constitutional Carry, or just flat out lie about it.

So as a reminder, Constitutional Carry simply states that a law-abiding gun owner has no need to obtain government permission to be able to carry, nor would he have to add his name to a government database.

Constitutional Carry doesn’t allow felons or other prohibited persons to own or carry firearms.

Constitutional Carry doesn’t get rid of the current ‘shall issue’ permit system, which remains completely intact and available to any qualifying Iowan.

And Constitutional Carry doesn’t result in Iowans walking down Main St. getting into vigilante shootouts as so many in the media portray.

Honestly, the legislators and media outlets that keep hyping this spin are so full of hot air that Iowans should reject them outright.

After all, they made the same predictions when we passed ‘Shall Issue’ law in 2010.

And what happened?

Nearly 250,000 more Iowans have a permit now than they did in 2010, and crime rates have remained virtually unchanged!

They made similar predictions about the impact of passing Stand-Your-Ground law, only to be proven wrong again.

The same will be true when we pass Constitutional Carry.

After all, if passing this legislation led to an outbreak of violent crime, it would have shown up by now in the 13 other states that already have this law on the books!

But make no mistake, this is going to be an uphill battle all session long.

House leadership is weak and always trying to please the media, anti-gun legislators will fight to the end, and all of them will be aided by Iowa’s FAKE NEWS outlets.

So with the legislative session just two days away, please take a moment and do three things to help us get ready.

First, if you’ve not already done so, renew your support in Iowa Gun Owners for 2018!

It’s simple, our organization runs solely on the generosity of fellow Iowans. Unlike the ISSDA, we don’t receive a dime of taxpayer money nor is Michael Bloomberg funding us.

So please get involved as a member for 2018, if you haven’t already.

Second, please take a moment to sign your petition in support of this legislation.

Your signed petition tells your lawmakers where you stand on this issue, and what you expect them to do on your behalf!

So make sure your voice is heard!

Finally, please take a moment to thank Senator Bertand for his willingness to lead the fight for the Second Amendment in the Senate. His email address is [email protected].

Rick does far more than just introduce legislation.

From helping to find cosponsors, to giving you live updates via our Facebook videos, to fighting for the Second Amendment on the Senate floor -– Senator Bertrand is heavily involved in this fight.

For doing so, he gets attacked in the media and receives countless hostile phone calls, emails, and letters from anti-gun activists all over the country!

So please send him an email today, letting him know you appreciate his commitment to the Second Amendment.

The recent tragedies underscore what we all know to be true, the only thing that stops a madman with a gun is a good man with a gun.

Constitutional Carry legislation will ensure that even more law-abiding Iowans will have the means of self-defense readily available to them.

We have the votes to pass this bill this year in Iowa.

But having the votes and forcing nervous politicians to act are two different things.

So make sure you’ve renewed your membership and then make sure you’ve signed your petition in support of this bill.

Then get ready for what promises to be an action-packed session!