As thousands of Iowans have learned over the last few days, ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation (H.F. 2367) has been filed and is on the move here in Iowa.
We detailed this bill in our alert last night, and also gave you a link to enable you to automatically email your lawmakers in opposition to this bill. If you haven’t sent your email opposing this legislation, do so at once!
But I wanted to make you aware of a more dangerous threat that gun owners need to be aware of — and that we need to be prepared to guard against.
You see, the legislation filed in Des Moines is horrible.
It allows your guns to be seized via secret court hearings, based on complaints that can be phoned in, based on ‘evidence’ no more substantive than the fact that you recently purchased a firearm.
But as bad as those details are, they aren’t anywhere near as dangerous as the fact that these ‘Red Flag’ orders allow you to be stripped of your gun rights before you’ve been charged or convicted of anything!
The old idea that as Americans we are innocent until proven guilty would be obliterated under this law.
Your due process rights, guaranteed under the Constitution, would be suspended under this law.
I’m sure you’ll agree that the idea of taking someone’s rights and property (firearms) from them before they’ve had their day in court is the ultimate problem with this bill!
As a result, there is NO version of this bill that you and I can go along with, NO compromise that can be made with gun grabbers in the Capitol that we’ll support, and NO way that Republicans can ‘make some minor adjustments’ that would make this bill acceptable to us!
And that is exactly what I’m so concerned about; a group of moderate Republicans convincing themselves that their hope of winning on election night in 2020 is to ‘make a deal on guns.’
Maybe moderate Republicans take out the secret, ex-parte provision of the bill, telling gun owners that ‘at least you can attend the hearing.’
Maybe they remove the section that allows these complaints to be phoned in, telling gun owners that ‘at least the complaint has to be filed in person.’
Or maybe they take out the section that currently allows the recent purchase of a firearm to be used as evidence against you, telling gun owners that ‘we made it a little harder for them to get the seizure order.’
To be very clear: none of this changes anything. Because a gun owner can still have his rights denied and his firearms confiscated before he’s been arrested, charged or convicted of anything!
But these compromises are exactly how twisted Republicans all across the country are advancing this legislation, by convincing gun owners that ‘they’ve made it all better.’
So when you email your lawmakers and tell them to oppose this legislation at every step in the process, be very on guard for a reply that talks about ‘making the bill better.’
This bill is evil! The people pushing for it are evil! And the ramifications of this bill are nothing short of evil!
So send your pre-written email opposing this bill today, using the link above.
But don’t settle for a timid response from your lawmaker!
They need to destroy this bill, set it on fire, and throw it in the dumpster behind the Capitol!
To make sure they are receiving that message, Iowa Gun Owners is spending thousands of dollars per week right now on digital ads, and pouring emails into the Capitol against this bill.
I sure hope that you can make a generous donation to help us maintain this fight!
If you can afford a donation of $500, please make it now. If $5 is more appropriate for you at this time, please make that donation now.
Whatever you do, don’t fall for any lawmaker who tells you that ‘I’ve listened to gun owners, I am going to be modifying this bill, and we’re going to take the bad parts out of this bill.’
That is a trap.
Don’t fall for it.
Email your lawmakers now!
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. With Iowans mobilizing against ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation, gun owners need to be careful not to fall for bait and switch tactics from moderate Republicans. There can be no compromises, no deals, and no modifications to ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ that would make it acceptable to gun owners!
Please read the email above, so you know what to be on the lookout for, and then send this pre-written email to your lawmakers, insisting that they stop this legislation!
And please make a donation to Iowa Gun Owners, to make sure that we have the resources we need to continue fighting for you in Des Moines!