It’s time to finish this fight.
With the 2020 elections on the horizon, establishment political insiders in Des Moines are scared. They have a growing fear that the Iowa House could flip on election night.
To be blunt, I’m not sure that’s going to happen, as President Trump is likely going to drag a bunch of these suburban seats across the finish line all by himself.
But that’s not what I’m worried about.
With the Iowa House shedding 5 seats between election night 2018 and a defection last session, it’s all-but a forgone conclusion that gun-grabbers will take control of the House in two short years — as President Trump won’t be on the ballot.
That is why it is essential that lawmakers in Des Moines do their job and finally pass Constitutional Carry law here in Iowa!
Constitutional Carry is a very simple concept.
It states that if you are legally allowed to own a firearm, you could legally carry that firearm for self-defense without having to pay a fee for that right — and without having to add your name to a government database!
Of course, the media and anti-gun lawmakers in Des Moines are already lying about the impact of this bill, trying to kill it before it even gets off the ground.
No, Constitutional Carry does not mean that criminals can own firearms. Stopping violent criminals from harming our loved ones is why we carry firearms in the fist place.
And no, passing Constitutional Carry does not mean that the current ‘Shall Issue’ system would be eliminated. Nothing about the current law would change, except that it would be optional!
Nor would passage of Constitutional Carry lead to a spike in violent crime.
On the contrary, every single state that passed this legislation over the last ten years saw their murder rates decline immediately!
These fear mongering tactics are FAKE NEWS, and nothing new to gun owners here in Iowa.
In fact, you and I have become quite used to these antics over the last ten years, as the media and anti-gun lawmakers predicted the sky would fall when we passed ‘Shall Issue’ and Stand-Your-Ground law in 2010 and 2017, too.
They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. As I said before, every state that enacted Constitutional Carry over the last ten years has seen a decreasing rate of violent crime.
While that’s not a surprise to you and me (we know the LAST thing a violent criminal wants to encounter is an armed ‘victim’,) weak-kneed caucus leaders in Des Moines may try to kill this bill again this year, concerned about ‘election year optics.’
Gun owners need to crank up the pressure — fast!
You see, the good news is that the bill (S.F. 165) has been filed, has a solid dozen cosponsors, and we were able to advance the bill through the sub-committee process last session.
The bad news is that the Senate Judiciary Committee is trying to hold this bill back again this year, more worried about offending the liberal Des Moines Register than they are betraying gun owners in their districts!
That’s why this petition insists that the Senate Judiciary Committee advance S.F. 165 through the committee and onto the floor — with no further delays.
With the session calendar moving quickly, I hope that you will take action right away, as we simply must get S.F. 165 through the committee as soon as possible.
With a whopping 16 states having already passed this legislation into law — including our neighbors in Missouri and South Dakota — it should be an easy bill to pass in Iowa.
But as IGO members know, a growing number of Republican moderates are standing in our path, doing everything they can to block this bill in the Judiciary Committee.
One of those moderates is Dan Dawson. Dawson, the Vice-Chair of the Judiciary for the last several years, vowed in writing to support this legislation when he ran against Mike Gronstal four years ago.
Because of that written promise, Iowa Gun Owners flooded Council Bluffs and Carter Lake with mail, radio ads, TV ads, Facebook and digital ads and much more — spending almost $40,000 in just a few weeks’ time, only to see Dawson stab us in the back now.
Senator Amy Sinclair is another example of a Republican lawmaker who signed our candidate survey promising to fight for Constitutional Carry, only to attack gun owners who ask her to keep her word now that she is in office.
As gun owners, we have a decision to make. Are we going to sit back and give these lawmakers a pass because they are Republicans, or, are we going to demand that they keep their campaign promises and vote for Constitutional Carry?
To me, the choice is clear.
We need to send a message to lawmakers in Des Moines — and fast — otherwise more moderates will join the ranks of Senator Dawson and Sinclair, and our gun rights will suffer for it!
Gun owners in South Dakota played nice for too long, now moderate Republicans are sponsoring ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation in Pierre this year.
Gun owners in Pennsylvania played nice for too long, now moderate Republicans are supporting Michael Bloomberg’s ‘Universal Background Check’ legislation this year!
Gun owners in Florida played nice for too long, now sweeping gun control has passed into law in Florida and moderate Republicans are taking $500,000 donations from Michael Bloomberg himself!
The situation is crystal clear: we need to keep our foot on the necks of moderate Republicans in Des Moines or we’ll quickly see them turn on us and begin to advance gun control!
So please sign your petition immediately.
Already we’re running an aggressive mobilization program statewide using digital ads and I’m doing everything I can in the Capitol to muster support for this bill.
But I’m counting you to help us crank up our mobilization program to get more gun owners involved!
Every dollar you can give will go to helping Iowa Gun Owners build support for Constitutional Carry — so I hope you’ll be generous.
Of course, if $100 is just too much, please agree to $50 or at least $25, or whatever you can do.
Lawmakers here in Iowa love to tell us how pro-gun they are when they are running for office; it’s time to make them prove it!
If you agree, please sign your Constitutional Carry petition IMMEDIATELY, and please send a generous contribution of $100, $50 or at least $25 TODAY!
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. With the 2020 session moving fast, I hope that you’ll immediately sign the petition that we have prepared for you — insisting that the Senate Judiciary Committee advance Constitutional Carry (S.F. 165) immediately!
Not a member, join here.
Already a member, donate here.