Dear IFC Members,
240 years ago today, on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress began signing the Declaration of Independence, thus officially severing the American colonies’ allegiance to the Crown of England forever, and setting into motion a war that at times very nearly destroyed us.
11 years later, on the last day of the Constitutional Convention which was made possible by the Declaration, the representative from Pennsylvania, one Benjamin Franklin, was reportedly approached by a woman. According to the legend she asked Mr. Franklin, “what have you given us, Sir?” To which Mr. Franklin famously replied, “a republic, Ma’am, if you can keep it.”
I know times are tumultuous now. Our politics is in disarray and it seems like there is great division and discord in America. But as fragile as it seems right now, it has been because of people like you that for over two centuries we have managed to keep our republic. 78 years after winning our freedom, people like you stood up against slavery. Then, 100 years ago, the fight was for women’s suffrage, and 60 years ago the fight was against Jim Crow and for the equality of all. And in 2016, it falls to us that our share of the duty in ensuring freedom for future generations is by standing in the gap and fighting for the rights guaranteed and protected by the Second Amendment.
You are all a part of a long line of Americans who have stood up for the right thing. That tradition runs through you, in a straight line leading right back to those early patriots this country reveres so dearly, like Thomas Jefferson, whose glorious and immortal words we remember today:
These words do not live on a sheet of paper housed under armored glass in Washington D.C.; they live within all of you, and because of that the principles those mere words convey cannot ever be destroyed. You–all of us together–are the genuine vessel of freedom. You are the torch bearers, carrying the flame forward until our children and our children’s children can take it up and themselves carry it forward. And for this truly amazing and sublimely beautiful thing, I give you all my most gracious and humble thanks. I thank you for doing everything you do to keep American values, virtues, and traditions alive, especially now that they are seemingly under attack from multiple sides.
And to IFC’s amazing volunteers, I want to express my gratitude to your families as well, for it is because of their sacrifice in time away from you that you are able to do what you do to protect the civil rights of every single Iowan in this state. Please pass along my thanks to them.
Happy Independence Day, IFC. This day is for you!
With the levity of a joyful heart,
Proudly standing by you to protect the Second Amendment in Iowa,
Yours truly,
Barry B. Snell
President, Iowa Firearms Coalition
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