Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010

Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010

Iowa – -(AmmoLand.com)-After reviewing the legislation being proposed by the Attorney General’s office, and consulting with attorneys both here in Iowa and in Washington, D.C. – Iowa Gun Owners is still very much alarmed about the domestic violence gun bill that we alerted you to last week.

We have named this bill the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010. This bill goes by a variety of numbers: HSB46, SSB1033, and SF2357 are some of the versions that this bill has undergone.

Before we discuss the current version of this bill it is important that you understand that as bad as this bill is – it was even worse before you went to work.

In previous versions, the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 amounted to a lifetime gun ban because there was no mechanism that the guns be returned once the protective order was lifted!

That has been fixed due to your efforts. Now, within 5 days of the ‘no contact’ order being lifted your guns will have to be returned to you thanks to an amendment offered by Senator Hartsuch.

In previous versions of this bill the government was allowed to come into your home and take your guns if these protective orders were filed against you and charge you a fee of $50 per firearm for the privilege of taking your guns! The way it now reads you will have the option to give them to a qualified person and while the sheriff may have to store them for you while you find someone qualified, you are not going to be charged for them coming to take your weapons. Once you find someone ‘qualified’ that person can get your guns back.

That said the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 is still a terrible bill, and the modest progress that we made in this bill does not change that fact.

This bill still:

• allows you to lose your gun rights, for years, without ever having been convicted in criminal court of anything;
• allows an anti-gun court to decide who is qualified to take possession of your guns;
• incorporates the Lautenberg Amendment (brought about by Sarah Brady of Handgun Control Inc.) into Iowa code whereas current Iowa law does not recognize this anti-gun language;
• gives the anti-gunners one more foothold into your rights; if misdemeanor domestic violence is grounds to lose your gun rights then what other misdemeanor crimes will be grounds for losing your gun rights?

All this can be done to a person who has not been convicted of anything in a court of law. And again, there is not a guarantee that you can be present at the hearing, or bring legal counsel, or have time to prepare a defense.

Despite our efforts we were unable to stop this bill in the Senate. Working with our bill sponsor in the Senate, Senator David Hartsuch (R-41), we offered five amendments to this legislation. Only one amendment passed.

Your gun rights were sold out in a major way by multiple State Senators, who claim to be “gun guys.” We will bring the details of this to your attention later on.

For now the fight goes to the House, where we have a greater chance at stopping this dangerous legislation.

It is vital that you contact your Representative as soon as possible and urge him or her to vote no on the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010, currently SF2357.

To find out who your State Representative is please FIND OUT HERE.

To find the email address of your State Representative please click EMAIL.

To call your State Representative please call 515-281-3221 and ask to be transferred.

In addition, please take a moment to thank State Senator David Hartsuch for his courageous fight on behalf of our 2nd Amendment rights last week. He stood alone, with no help, and did what no other Senator was willing to do and deserves to be commended for that. His email address is: david.hartsuch@legis.state.ia.us.

For those of you who contacted Senator Kreiman after receiving the email alert we sent last week, we thank you. The reply you got from him was typical anti-gun drivel and was bending the truth because he is feeling pressure from pro-gun forces in his district and around the state. Please keep it up!

Feel free to contact your State Representative today using the pre-written email below, or compose one of your own.

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(Pre-Written Email)

Dear Representative __________________,

As an Iowa gun owner I am very concerned about the status of the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010 making its way to the House, after having been passed through the Senate last week.

This bill, most recently known as SF2357, allows an anti-gun court to take my weapons and ammunition away from me before I am ever convicted in criminal court of anything. And there is no certainty that I can have counsel at the hearing or be given time to make a defense.

The bill sets a dangerous precedent in Iowa by allowing Iowans to lose their guns, for life, because of mere assault misdemeanors. What misdemeanors will be next?

The bill would attempt to codify the federal language regarding prohibited persons into Iowa code in general. I have voted to elect you to represent me and decide what is best for Iowans. So don’t let someone tell you that ‘this is already federal law so we have to do this.’

If that were true, than we wouldn’t need an elected legislature in the first place.

Please vote NO on the Iowa Disarmament Act of 2010, in whatever form it comes to your desk. I will be waiting to see how you vote.

Sincerely,

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Thank you for your continued activism and your willingness to help us as we fight for your right to keep and bear arms!

For Freedom,

About:
Iowa Gun Owners (IGO) was formed in January of 2009 to combat the oppressive gun laws in the State of Iowa. IGO does not believe that you, as a law abiding citizen, should have to beg permission from the government to be able to defend yourself and your family. That’s why we are working so hard to get a Vermont/Alaska style carry law passed in Iowa. In these states, unless you are a convicted felon or otherwise barred from possessing weapons, you don’t need a permit to carry a gun for self-defense! Join us now! Visit: www.iowagunowners.org