After a two-year battle to save our gun rights from the relentless attacks of Joe Biden and the Radical Left, gun owners across America were hoping for a ‘Red Wave’ on Election Night.
In fact, many of us expected it. I know I did.
But as we all know, that’s not what happened in Washington.
The good news is that, as of this moment, gun owners appear to have kicked Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the House out of power…a ‘revenge vote’ for their attempt to disarm us through an onslaught of tyrannical gun control bills.
In the Senate, however, the results were not so good.
As I write this, it’s too soon to know which party will control the Senate for the next two years. Georgia is headed to a run-off and recounts are a possibility in Nevada and Arizona.
While there is still a chance that the Republicans could recapture the Senate, it’s very likely that Chuck Schumer will keep control of the chamber with a 50-50 “tie” — or even increase the size of his majority to a commanding 51-49.
Any way you look at it, at the federal level, this wasn’t a ‘Red Wave’ election that will end the threat to our gun rights in Congress. With an emboldened White House maintaining control of the United States Senate, you and I are in for a fight.
That’s why I hope that you will immediately renew your membership in Iowa Gun Owners for 2023, so that we can defend your gun rights in D.C., and expand them here in Des Moines!
We have major goals for 2023 and we’re counting on you!
You see, while gun owners didn’t experience a ‘Red Wave’ in Washington, D.C., we damn sure caused one on the ground here in
Iowa, where pro-gun candidates DESTROYED leftist gun-grabbers!
Thanks to mobilized gun owners, the State Senate now has a Super Majority for the first time in 50 years and the State House will likely end up with a staggering 64-36 pro-gun majority, vastly outperforming 2010’s 60-40 majority!
Cindy Axne, the sole Democrat left representing Iowans in Congress, lost her bid for re-election after backing 100% of Nancy Pelosi’s gun control agenda in D.C.
And gun owners sent a loud message in the Governor’s race as well. Deidre DeJear ran on a campaign of repealing Stand-Your-Ground and Constitutional Carry. It was truly bizarre.
IGO members unleashed on DeJear, reelecting Kim Reynolds by a vote of 58%-39%, a difference of over 225,000 votes!
But the most explosive event of the night was what happened to the Freedom Amendment! As you know, this amendment would add protections for our gun rights in our state constitution. Without this, a liberal judge could strike down our gun laws.
Every media outlet in the state opposed this amendment, as did Michael Bloomberg and anti-gun legislative candidates up and down the ballot.
But Iowa Gun Owners went ‘all in’ on this amendment, flooding the radio and digital airwaves with almost $100,000 worth of advertising designed to combat Bloomberg’s lies about what the Freedom Amendment would do.
As a result, the Freedom Amendment was approved by the voters by a jaw-dropping margin of 65%! In fact, the amendment passed in 97 of our 99 counties, including liberal counties like Polk, Linn, and Dubuque! It was a massive victory!
More specifically, it was YOUR victory.
You see, every piece of our election program — every radio ad, every text message, every digital ad — was paid for by the members of Iowa Gun Owners. And I can’t thank you enough.
But if there’s one thing that we’ve learned from the Democrats over the years, it’s to never let your foot off the gas in the majority, especially when you have the momentum!
And that’s why I hope you’ll renew your membership in Iowa Gun Owners, because we’re going to hit the ground running with an ambitious agenda in Des Moines in 2023.
First, we are going to be pushing legislation that would prevent Iowa from accepting federal money to enforce any form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation.
Gun owners are well aware of the danger of these ‘Red Flag’ laws, as they would allow your firearms to be seized by a court order before you’ve even been convicted of a crime!
But earlier this year, Joe Biden signed a massive gun control bill into law (a bill that Joni Ernst voted for) that gave the DOJ $750,000,000 to dole out to ‘red’ states that pass ‘Red Flag’ laws — making this a far more dangerous threat.
Our legislation would ban the use of federal money to enforce any form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizures’ laws.
Second, Iowa Gun Owners will be going ‘all in’ on the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), which instructs Iowa cops to enforce Iowa’s gun laws and prevents Biden from using them to enforce his tyrannical gun control agenda.
The election doesn’t change the fact that Biden can continue to attack our gun rights through Executive Orders.
But Biden’s handlers are counting on our cops to do his dirty work and enforce these Executive Orders. SAPA law would prevent that, and without the free use of Iowa cops, Biden simply wouldn’t have the manpower to enforce his agenda.
We had dozens of cosponsors on SAPA legislation this session, but it took a backseat in Des Moines to the Freedom Amendment. With that out of the way, it’s time for SAPA!
Finally, we will be working on legislation that would increase the protections offered to Iowans under our current Stand-Your-Ground law.
While we passed a version of this in 2017, our current laws still require us to prove that our actions were innocent following a self-defense shooting.
Dozens of other states have reversed that, giving the assumption of innocence to gun owners following a use of force, and requiring the state to prove their guilt in court.
Iowa needs these protections as well.
But the fact is that despite our massive majorities in Des Moines, passing bills of this size is going to be a big task.
Iowa Gun Owners is going to have to do what we do best; mobilize our army of gun owners using direct mail, internet and digital ads, and our powerful email program to inundate the Capitol with grassroots pressure from gun owners!
But running these programs — at the size we’ll need to run them — isn’t cheap. And after the massive amount we just spent on our wildly successful 2022 election program, we simply don’t have the funds we need to do all of this.
That’s why I hope that you will renew your membership in Iowa Gun Owners immediately, so that we have the ammo we need to keep fighting for you in 2023!
The amount of your renewal is up to you. But we have a tremendous opportunity to advance the Second Amendment in Des Moines this year.
I know that’s asking a lot, but the stakes are high and we MUST seize this opportunity.
(Any IGO member who renews for $75 or higher will receive a newly redesigned T-Shirt absolutely free as our way of saying ‘thank you’ for your continued support.)
The amount of your membership renewal is up to you, but with everything that we’re facing in 2023, please act fast!
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. While we didn’t see a ‘Red Wave’ in D.C. on election night, gun owners appear to have reclaimed the House, firing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker! At the same time, gun owners here in Iowa crushed gun-grabbers up and down the ballot!
This is the momentum that Iowa Gun Owners needs to advance a massive package of pro-gun bills in Des Moines during the upcoming legislative session!
But we need your help to mobilize gun owners. Please renew your membership for 2023 with a generous donation of $125, $75, or at least $35 right away!
Remember, all renewals of $75 or higher come with a FREE IGO T-Shirt so please be generous!