When Iowa Gun Owners was founded, back in 2008, Iowa had some of the worst gun laws in the Midwest.
We had an abusive ‘May Issue’ permit system. We didn’t have Stand-Your-Ground law. It was a crime to teach your 11-yr old son to shoot a pistol on your farm. And passing Constitutional Carry was a dream that we longed for in Des Moines.
In fact, when IGO got started, Republicans in Des Moines (like former Senate Minority Leader Mary Lunby and Senator Maggie Tinsman) were sponsoring legislation that would make it a felony for you and me to own an unregistered AR-15!
These days, everything is different.
Working together, Iowa Gun Owners passed one of the nation’s leading ‘Shall Issue’ laws in 2010. We legalized suppressors in 2016. We passed Stand-Your-Ground law in 2017 — eliminating the ban on teaching your kids to shoot at the same time — and we finally passed Constitutional Carry last year!
None of this was easy and none of it ‘just happened.’
The members of Iowa Gun Owners had to get nasty, forcing the politicians in Des Moines to stop telling us how pro-gun they were, and start showing us, by passing these bills.
More than that, we had to get down in the ditch during the 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 election cycles, exposing gun-grabbers in Des Moines using digital ads, radio ads, TV ads, direct mail and more.
It was expensive, but these programs lead to gun owners flipping the Governor’s mansion and the Iowa House in 2010 and the State Senate in 2016 and paved the way for much of the success outlined above.
As a result, Iowa went from having some of the worst gun laws on the books in the Midwest to some of the strongest laws in the nation in the space of just under fifteen years!
But all of that could change in the blink of an eye if Iowans don’t ratify the ‘Freedom Amendment’ when it comes up on the ballot later this year!
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You see, Iowa is one of just six states that does not possess protections for our right to keep and bear arms in our State Constitution.
This means that at any time, a leftist judge in Des Moines could issue a ruling striking down Iowa’s Constitutional Carry, Shall-Issue, or Stand-Your-Ground laws!
Honestly, the fact that it hasn’t happened already is a combination of God’s providence and good old fashion luck. But I’m sure you’ll agree, we need to do everything we can to put these protections into our State Constitution, too.
If ratified by gun owners here in Iowa, this is the language that would be added into Iowa’s Constitution:
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
While 44 other states recognize and protect the right to keep and bear arms in their state constitutions, only a few states have the important ‘strict scrutiny’ language in them!
Simply put: ‘strict scrutiny’ is the most rigorous form of judicial review that could possibly be added to this amendment. If ratified, our gun rights will be largely protected from an activist judge who wants to strike them down!
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But we can’t count our eggs before they hatch.
After all, this vote of the people has been delayed for years due to a combination of bureaucratic screwups and incompetence on the part of other organizations that were pushing for this legislation in years past.
Now that this language is headed to the people of Iowa for
their vote, you can bet that Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and every leftwing organization in America will be spending heavily to defeat this amendment in the fall.
For these enemies of freedom, this is a win/win.
They can go ‘all in’ trying to defeat the Freedom Amendment while mentioning anti-gun Congressional candidates like Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis — giving them massive amounts of free airtime during their campaigns!
In fact, our sources indicate that Michael Bloomberg may spend over $2,500,000 in digital and radio ads trying to convince Iowa to vote down the ‘Freedom Amendment.’
And if George Soros weighs in through his 1630 Fund, which spent a fortune getting Ketanji Jackson installed on the US Supreme Court last month, this number could soar well above the $5 million mark!
That’s why I am emailing you today.
Iowa Gun Owners needs to get prepared for this battle. In fact, our preparations are well underway. Our media buyer is already locking down the airtime that we need to run our scorched-earth style digital, radio, and TV ads this fall.
By locking in this airtime now — in the early summer — we can usually save between 20%-30% over the cost of buying this airtime in the fall, when everyone from Congressional to state legislative candidates are bidding for that same time.
<<< HELP IGO PASS THE FREEDOM AMENDMENT THIS FALL! >>>
Honestly, this is what we’ve done for the last several election cycles. And we’ve learned that while we can never hope to spend as much as Michael Bloomberg and George Soros will spend, we don’t have to.
We went head-to-head in the 2020, 2018, and 2016 election cycles against Bloomberg’s money and we whopped his a$$ every time because freedom is contagious, and his message of tyranny and gun control is not very popular here!
But that doesn’t mean that we can ignore this threat.
On the contrary, Iowa Gun Owners is hoping to spend between $185,000 – $225,000 later this year to remind Iowans about this important vote and what is at stake if we lose it!
Sure, I would love to spend more. But we believe that this number is realistic, while still leaving resources for state level races and the 2023 legislative session in Des Moines.
This would allow us to saturate the radio waves across the state, run social media and YouTube ads to catch people who simply don’t tune into traditional media, and leave a sizeable budget for last minute TV buys.
And, like I said, by locking in this airtime now with radio and TV markets, we can get these ads at a much cheaper rate.
But, before I lock this budget down, I need to be able to pay for it. And that’s why I hope you’ll agree to make an extremely generous donation of $150 or even $200 today!
<<< HELP IGO PASS THE FREEDOM AMENDMENT THIS FALL! >>>
I know it’s a lot. But you’ve seen the impact that your support has had over the years.
Now, all that we’ve accomplished together is at risk and could be struck down by a liberal judge who hates that fact that gun-grabbers have no power here in the legislature.
So if $150 or $200 is just not possible, I hope that you’ll consider $100 or at least $50 today.
Every dollar you donate is another ad locked in for our fight for freedom. Every dollar you donate is you sending a message to Michael Bloomberg that Iowa stands for freedom!
Please hurry. Like I said, ads that we can lock in today are far cheaper than they will be in September and October!
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. IGO members have reshaped the Iowa political landscape over the last fifteen years, passing a massive amount of pro-gun legislation — and flipping the legislature and Governor’s mansion!
But until we pass the ‘Freedom Amendment’ and secure our right to keep and bear arms in the Iowa Constitution, every expansion of gun rights that we’ve passed is at risk!
IGO is gearing up for a battle this fall. But every radio/TV ad that we lock in during the summer is MUCH CHEAPER than they will be in the fall.