We’re just days away from the start of the 2020 legislative session in Des Moines, and I have been working since Christmas to finalize our legislative goals for the year, along with the budget we need to run our legislative and election programs.
But I’m going to be honest with you, the situation in Des Moines is rapidly deteriorating.
In fact, I don’t remember a time when the momentum was so against gun owners in the dozen years that I’ve been fighting for IGO members in the State Capitol.
Consider what has taken place since the 2017 session, when we passed Stand-Your-Ground law.
Constitutional Carry law, our number one legislative goal after the passage of Stand-Your-Ground law, has been held up for two years in a row in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Public Safety Committee.
Caucus leaders in both the House and Senate are convinced that their best political strategy headed into the 2020 elections is to try to ‘get along’ with gun-grabbers and liberal news outlets — by not passing ‘controversial’ pro-gun bills.
(Even worse, House Majority Leader Matt Windshitl, has expressed public support for everything from banning bump stocks at the state level to passage of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ laws.)
And the wild-eyed socialists in the Democratic party have abandoned any pretense of trying to pass ‘reasonable gun control’ and are trying to put tens of thousands of Iowans in prison for the ‘crime’ of owning an AR-15, magazines that hold over ten rounds, or for owning a privately held firearm!
When you add all of that up, plus the fact that Michael Bloomberg (who spent $250,000 attacking pro-gun candidates here in Iowa during the 2018 election cycle) is widely expected to spend far more than that this year to buy legislative allies for his 2020 presidential bid, it’s clear that gun owners are in a fight.
That’s why I am contacting you today.
I have to make a very difficult decision about where to focus our resources in 2020. And since this has always been a member-driven organization, I would greatly covet your advice on how to proceed.
That’s why I have prepared and attached your 2020 Iowa Gun Owners Membership Ballot. I’m counting on you to read this update and sign your ballot RIGHT AWAY!
The fact is, without an IMMEDIATE infusion of funds to work with, I am afraid that we are going to eliminate key components of our 2020 program — at a time when we need to be fighting harder than ever!
There is nothing that I would hate more than taking our foot off of the political necks of our enemies in Des Moines, especially with so much on the line.
It is all but certain that some form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation will become a MAJOR ISSUE in Des Moines next session.
As I mentioned earlier, House Majority Leader Matt Windshitl openly bragged about supporting this bill when he appeared on Iowa Press, earning him the praise from the hyper-anti-gun media outlets like the Des Moines Register.
If passed into law, ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation would order government agents into your home to seize your guns even if you haven’t been arrested — much less convicted of anything!
Even worse, the way this bill is currently drafted, the hearing that determines whether or not you will be able to keep your firearms is ex-parte, meaning you would not even know about it until after the fact!
All it takes is someone to file a bogus complaint against you. Maybe it’s your liberal neighbor who doesn’t like the pro-gun bumper sticker on your vehicle. Or maybe it’s your anti-gun college professor who simply hates gun owners.
Or maybe it’s an ex-spouse who is looking to ruin you.
Of course, once your guns are seized, you’ll be spending weeks in court and thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees to try and get them back — if you ever get them back at all!
Some gun owners have allowed themselves to become complacent about this legislation, assuming that it is dead on arrival in Des Moines thanks to our Republican majority in the House and Senate.
But that would be a mistake.
As I already mentioned, it’s the Republican House Majority Leader who is openly talking about advancing this legislation!
Republicans are leading the charge for this bill right now in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas and Michigan –- and this list will grow larger, with dozens of legislatures gaveling into session this week!
Bottom line: you and I have to take this threat extremely seriously!
So if you think that stopping unconstitutional ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation needs to be our top priority in 2020, please mark OPTION #1, “STOP RED FLAG GUN SEIZURES” on your Member Ballot.
At the same time, despite the refusal of House and Senate leaders to pass Constitutional Carry last session, 2020 presents a monumental opportunity for us to advance this legislation!
You see, when Iowa House and Senate leaders killed this bill last year, they never imagined that THREE other states would be signing the identical bill into law at the same time!
And that’s exactly what happened, as South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kentucky all passed this legislation into law while Iowa lawmakers were busy blocking it.
Already I’ve heard from four different lawmakers who have said that those optics (killing the same bill that three other ‘red’ states passed) combined with the pressure of having to face the voters later this year, has both caucuses terrified.
So it’s vital that we crank up the heat on this bill now!
If passed, the Constitutional Carry Bill would allow every law-abiding citizens in the state to be able to carry a firearm for self-defense — WITHOUT having to add your name to a government database or pay fees to the government!
In other words, if you are legally able to own a firearm, you are legally able to carry it, just like our Founding Fathers intended it.
It’s been this way in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, N. Hampshire, N. Dakota, Vermont, W. Virginia, and Wyoming for several years now.
And with Constitutional Carry passing in South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kentucky last year, gun owners in almost 33% of the country are already enjoying the benefits of this bill!
So it’s time that Iowa lawmakers stop playing games and pass Constitutional Carry this session.
Passage of this bill wouldn’t just mean a massive expansion of freedom for gun owners here in Iowa, it would also be a great political tactic, as well.
Nothing would demoralize Bloomberg’s forces in Des Moines more than seeing the legislature ignore their lies and spin and ram Constitutional Carry legislation into law before the 2020 elections!
So if you think that passing Constitutional Carry legislation in Iowa should be our top priority in the 2020 session, please mark OPTION #2, “PASS CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY” on your Member Ballot.
But before you do, we can’t ignore the fact that the 2020 elections are coming at us at warp speed.
Of course, the noise of the Presidential election drowns out almost everything here in Iowa every four years, but this is also our chance to hold state level gun grabbers responsible for their actions, as well!
Out of control socialist Democrats like Representative Art Stead, Monica Kurth, and Tracy Ehlert (and more than a few members of the Iowa Senate) have declared open warfare against law abiding gun owners here in Iowa –- and they are gaining support in Des Moines.
We absolutely must fight back, just like we’ve done over the last five election cycles!
In fact, given everything that’s at stake, I am hoping to run the biggest election year program in our history, to remind lawmakers of what happens when they support radical gun control!
Over the past few years, Iowa Gun Owners has become one of the most FEARED forces in state politics, especially at election time, as dozens of lawmakers in the House and Senate have been thrown into the gutter of Iowa political history for their support of gun control!
But we can’t simply rely on our previous success at holding gun-grabbers accountable, we have to stand up and fight back again and again and again.
Our plan is to go on the attack ahead of both the 2020 primaries and General Election, ensuring that every anti-gun member of our General Assembly in BOTH parties is exposed.
I’ll use every tool at my disposal from mail and email, to social media, to hard-hitting radio, newspaper and even TV ads if I can raise the resources.
Of course this program is going to be very expensive. But if we don’t make gun-grabbers pay a price for their behavior at election time, we are practically begging them to attack us that much harder in the future!
So if you think exposing gun-grabbers during the Primary and General elections in 2020 should be my top priority, please select Option #3, “EXPOSE THE GUN-GRABBERS” on your Member Directive.
I’m sure you can see why I’m so torn. There just aren’t any easy options, as stopping ‘Red Flags,’ passing Constitutional Carry, AND the 2020 election cycle all deserve our full attention.
But I have to be realistic.
And right now, I just don’t have the funds to run a full-scale program to stop ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation while simultaneously fighting to advance Constitutional Carry law and still ensuring that we have the resources to expose gun-grabbers at election time.
That’s why I’m counting on you to please fill out and return your Iowa Gun Owners’ Member Ballot and tell me where to focus the resources that we have.
Of course, when you do so, you’ll notice that I have included another option on your membership ballot — an option that we haven’t talked about yet, because it’s just not possible without a major influx of funds.
Nevertheless, it’s the option that I am secretly hoping you will choose. And that’s OPTION #4: “FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BLOCK RED FLAG GUN SEIZURES WHILE ALSO DOING EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO ADVANCE CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY! DON’T GIVE GUN-GRABBERS AN INCH!”
But please note that if you select this option, I need you to dig deep and be as generous as possible, to help us put this plan into action.
I simply can’t afford to run these programs simultaneously without it.
In fact, without considerable help from gun owners like you, running even ONE of these programs at the scale they would need to be run without immediate assistance will be very tough.
But with gun-grabbers getting more aggressive every day in Des Moines, WE MUST PUSH BACK AS HARD AS POSSIBLE!
That’s why my hope is that you will agree to a generous gift of $100 right away.
I know that’s a lot. I know I’m asking you to dig deep.
But stopping radical gun seizure legislation, advancing Constitutional Carry, and exposing gun grabbers at election time is a must if we want to preserve our Stand-Your-Ground and Shall Issue laws.
So if $100 is just too much, won’t you please agree to $75, $50, or at least $25 today?
Things are moving fast in Des Moines, I simply must hear from you right away.
Please don’t delay.
Please fill out your Membership Ballot and consider your most generous contribution right away.
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. The 2020 legislative session is moving fast, and I need to make some very difficult decisions about where to focus our resources and our time this session.
We just don’t have the resources we need to advance Constitutional Carry, fight against ‘Red Flag Gun Seizures,’ and expose gun grabbers at election time — even though we desperately need to do all three!
So I need your immediate advice!
Please fill out your Membership Ballot and submit it to me along with your most generous gift TODAY!
Not a member, join here.
Already a member, donate here.
