Iowa Gun Owners Gear Up for 2010 Legislative Session
Iowa – -(AmmoLand.com)- Since coming so close to passing the REAL Right-to-Carry bill in the Iowa House last session Iowa Gun Owners has continued to grow and expand our membership base across the state. This is great news as the more people we can involve the more pressure we can place on the politicians in Des Moines to support our right to keep and bear arms.
The politicians now know that we will hold them to account if they vote in a way that jeopardizes our constitutional rights. With the 2010 elections coming quickly, and the anti-gunners hoping to save themselves from a possible anti-gun backlash, this will be a great year to press ahead for your right to keep and bear arms.
As you know, our bill would allow anyone in Iowa who is not a felon or barred by federal law the right to carry a weapon for self-defense, openly or concealed, without having to first obtain government permission. We believe that this is what the 2nd Amendment intended and this is what we are committed to fighting for.
As we continue to talk with more and more of you at gun shows, through the mail, and over the phone it’s clear that you, our members, support this vital effort. For far too long law abiding Iowans have had to beg the government for the right to keep and bear arms and we are seeking to totally overturn that.
What’s important now is that the politicians in Des Moines are not allowed to take the easy way out and pass a lesser quality gun bill. Many would like to do this so as not to anger the anti-gun crowd in their district. They want to be able to claim to be pro-gun while being open to “reasonable gun control” at the same time.
As you and I know, there is no such thing as “reasonable gun control.” If given an inch, the anti-gunners will go for a mile. We must not allow that to happen.
There are bills being proposed right now that claim to be pro-gun but are very dangerous to your rights and we want you to be aware of them.
One such proposed bill says that if you are caught carrying while intoxicated your right to carry weapons can be denied for good. Of course we don’t want someone carrying a gun while intoxicated. But there is no definition of intoxicated in this proposal. Will drinking one beer at a friend’s house and then walking home while carrying concealed be considered carrying while intoxicated? Two? No one knows. And to deny someone’s right to keep and bear arms over suck ambiguities is not right.
Another provision of these dangerous proposed bills would mandate that you go through up to 8 hours of government training before being able to carry a weapon for self-defense. IGO encourages all of our members to seek training when carrying a weapon for self-defense. Many of our members seek this out on their own accord.
But to allow the government to mandate it sets a dangerous precedent. The 2nd Amendment doesn’t say anything about having to sit in class, pass a test, and pay a fee before being allowed to exercise your constitutional rights. You should know that several other states have no requirement to sit through government training including our neighbors in South Dakota.
But it gets even worse. Should this proposed bill pass, the government would be able to deny you a permit if you were ever arrested for any crime of violence. Please note I did not say convicted or sentenced for a crime of violence, I said arrested. If this bill becomes law you can be arrested for a crime that you did not commit, go to court and be cleared of all charges, and then, apparently, still be denied your constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms.
There are other bad provisions, such as raising the age on those who can apply for permits, incorporating vast amounts of federal language into the Iowa code, etc but you can take our word for it, no other gun bill in the 2010 legislative session will be as pro-gun as the REAL Right-to-Carry bill.
Now is the time for you to contact your elected officials, in the House and Senate, and urge that he/she support and move for passage of the REAL Right-to-Carry bill, sponsored by Rep. Kent Sorenson (in the House) and Sen. David Hartsuch (in the Senate.) Tell them that no other bill is as strong on the 2nd Amendment as this one and you expect their full support for this bill.
You can also tell them that by supporting a watered down gun bill they will be providing political cover to anti-gun politicians who are desperately seeking to campaign as being pro-gun in the 2010 election races.
We must not let this happen. Please call your Representative and Senator today. You can find their numbers by clicking HERE.
In addition, if you would prefer to use email, or want to do both, you can use the pre-written email found below. You can find your representative’s email address by clicking HERE. Once you get to this point, search for your elected officials by name and you can locate their email address.
Thanks for your help. This promises to be a big year in the fight to keep and bear arms in Iowa!
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