For almost 7 years now, Iowa Gun Owners has been leading the fight in Des Moines to defend and advance the 2nd Amendment rights of all law abiding Iowans – as well as to expose any politician who would threaten those rights.
The need for Iowa Gun Owners was obvious as, back in 2008, Iowa suffered under an abusive “may-issue” concealed carry law that allowed sheriffs in Iowa to deny permits for any reason they wanted.
Additionally, legislators in both political parties were introducing radical legislation that would redefine what an “assault weapon” was, to include many of the everyday shotguns that Iowans use to hunt with – as well as modern era rifles and handguns we use for self and home defense.
To be blunt, legislators were “getting away with murder” because no organization would dare try to stop them.
In fact, it was even worse.
Iowa Gun Owners members by now understand all too well how the game is played in Des Moines between the legislature and most other organizations.
Simply put: they like to play the old ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ game.
In political speak that means “our organization will forgive you for your attack on our rights (again) and tell our members that you’re not that bad – in return you come and speak at our event or sign emails telling our members that we did our best and we’ll try again next year.”
It’s disgusting.
In the midst of that betrayal, Iowa Gun Owners was born.
We don’t play games in Des Moines. We don’t protect anti-gun politicians. We don’t go out for cocktails after hours or post ridiculous ‘selfies’ with the legislators we are cutting back-room deals with.
We fight for you.
We fight for the 2nd Amendment.
And the results speak for themselves.
Over 100,000 additional Iowans have now acquired permits to carry concealed firearms since we helped change the laws from ‘may’ to ‘shall’ issue.
Almost 30 anti-gun legislators, both Democrat and Republican, have been booted out of office after we exposed their hidden anti-gun votes to their voters through direct mail, social media, mass email deployments, boots-on-the-ground, literature drops, robo calls, and some of the hardest hitting radio ads Iowans have ever heard over the last 3 election cycles.
Every town gun ban introduced in Iowa in 2014 was defeated. Every one! Not a single town has even tried to pass a local ban this year.
Gun owners in Iowa, these days, are holding politicians accountable like never before – and the anti-gunners in Des Moines are running scared.
This is the goal. Holding legislators accountable, and not selling out our members to boost our personal ego.
In state after state now, pro-gun organizations like Iowa Gun Owners are springing up and passing pro-gun laws, exposing anti-gunners to their voters who often boot them out of office, and holding the line on gun control legislation.
I’m particularly pleased to report a sister organization in Minnesota – Minnesota Gun Rights!
Minnesota Gun Rights is fighting tooth and nail in Minnesota to stop gun control, expose anti-gun legislators, and advance pro-gun bills in exactly the same manner that we do here in Iowa.
As an immediately neighboring state, we wanted to make sure that Iowans – especially in the northern portions of Iowa – know about this wholly separate organization so they can pay attention and make sure their friends and family in Minnesota get actively involved.
In just the last two legislative sessions, Minnesota Gun Rights has stopped Senate Judiciary Chairman Ron Latz’s dreadful “red tag orders” bill that would take guns away from people after ex-parte hearings where you’d lose your guns without ever being present in some cases.
In 2015 they were able to force a record, roll-call vote in the Senate on Constitutional Carry legislation – putting every member of the Senate on the record for or against Constitutional Carry!
This means that they’ll be able to expose anti-gunners at election time who were finally forced to declare themselves for or against Minnesotans’ right to keep and bear arms.
Perhaps even more exciting, the educational work of Minnesota Gun Rights in the last election cycle resulted in multiple anti-gun legislators being kicked out of office – including some who were personally endorsed by Michael Bloomberg’s organization!
Other organizations in Minnesota are busy playing nice with anti-gun legislators.
In fact, one “pro-gun” group in Minnesota, Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance, is so horrendously compromised that they actually endorsed the very sheriff (in the Minneapolis metro area) that flew out to the White House in Washington DC and helped Obama draft sweeping gun-control legislation in 2013!
Outrageous.
Thankfully, Minnesotans have a No-Compromise voice in the fight for the 2nd Amendment in Minnesota Gun Rights, and they are already making gun-grabbers pay a devastating price for betraying gun rights.
So if you’re in Northern Iowa and pay attention to news in Minnesota, or have family or friends in Minnesota – make sure they check out Minnesota Gun Rights.
They can sign up for emails by visiting MGR’s website and entering their information in the upper right corner. Membership options are available there as well.
Air Force flight crews have a saying that, “You know you’re over the target when you start taking flak”.
Based on how much anti-gun legislators, sold out phony “pro-gun” groups, and the media in Minnesota has been attacking Minnesota Gun Rights over the last 24 months – I can assure you they are right on target!
In fact, it’s eerily familiar to the way all the enemies of the 2nd Amendment in Iowa treat us. I guess both Iowa Gun Owners and Minnesota Gun Rights are right over the target.
Check them out!
For Freedom,
Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
P.S. Most of the time, organizations that pretend to fight for their members in the state legislature are really interested in maintaining personal friendships with those legislators rather than fighting for what their members want.
Iowa Gun Owners was founded to address Iowa’s dreadful “May-Issue” law that was denying carry permits to over 100,000 Iowans – a situation that was allowed to continue because sold-out organizations in Des Moines were unwilling to hold anti-gun legislators accountable.
Those days are behind us now in Iowa.
We’re happy to report that gun owners in our neighboring state of Minnesota now have a wholly separate, effective, No Compromise, gun rights group to represent them in Minnesota Gun Rights – a group that we wholeheartedly endorse!
The things that Minnesota Gun Rights has accomplished in their first two legislative sessions is amazing.
So if you’re in Northern IA and monitor gun rights across your northern border, or have family or friends in Minnesota – make sure they “Like” Minnesota Gun Rights on Facebook and sign up for email alerts on their website.