IT’S TIME TO CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW!

It’s time to CALL your Senator now! Seriously. This week is the second ‘funnel week’ at the Senate, and if the priority bills that IFC is supporting, do not get action from the Senate by this Thursday – that’s it. Those bills will be dead and will get no further action during this legislative session.

IFC’s volunteer lobbyist, Richard Rogers, and other IFC Board Members have worked tirelessly on your behalf this session. The House legislators also worked very hard to get these bills passed out of the House to the Senate. For whatever reason, the Senate has yet to take action on these bills…And, again – you are reading this on Tuesday. If the Senate is not flooded with calls today and Wednesday, these bills will likely not move. As in – DEAD.

So now it is your turn to do your part. Pick up the phone and CALL YOUR SENATOR. The three Priority Bills that are subject to this Thursday’s funnel deadline are:

• HF2586 – Students First Safety Act – Click HERE to read more about this bill.

• • The Senate Education subcommittee recommends passage, awaiting committee action.

• HR2566 – Establishes a schedule of damages that may be assessed against political subdivisions (cities/counties, etc.) that attempt to regulate weapons in violation of the state preemption (Iowa Code 724.28)

• • This bill is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

• HF2421 – An act relating to firearms by limiting civil liability of federal firearms licensees who enter into voluntary firearm ‘hold agreements’ with individuals.

• • The Senate Judiciary subcommittee recommends passage – awaiting committee action.

BUT…

Too busy to call? Not comfortable calling your Senator? They are, in fact, everyday Iowans, from all walks of life, who have taken on a difficult job. They answer to their constituents who all compete for their time and have different points of view. The legislators must make decisions that they believe are in line with the people they represent. If they only hear from folks on one side of an issue (or, worse, don’t hear from anyone), then they decide without complete information. They need to hear that you support these three bills, and that you want them to vote YES in support of each of the bills.

HOW…

All you need to do is call their office. Ask to speak with them, tell them that you are one of the people they represent, and ask them to get the bill moving and to vote in favor of each of these three bills. They may tell you they are not on that committee or subcommittee. If so, ask them to work with the Senators who are, and to get the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

Remember, they are busy. They are not going to engage you in a long discussion about the details of the bill. Your job is to just ask them to move these three bills forward and vote in favor of them. Truly, it is not hard. Over time, you will begin to build a relationship with them which makes things easier for everyone involved.

You may reach a staffer if your Senator is not available. In that case, just relay the same message to the staffer and ask that they convey it to the Senator.

TOOLS…

IFC makes it easy for you. Not only do Board members do the ‘heavy lifting’ with the legislature, but IFC also provides tools to help you. Here are a couple of them:

The IFC-PAC page has a “Bill Tracker Monitor List” which lists the bills currently in play and provides a summary of the bill for your information.

• • Note: You will see other bills listed on the Bill Tracker Monitor List, in addition to the three we are focusing on now, and those bills are also important. You may personally care more about some of those other bills. However, these three bills are time-sensitive, since they will “die on the vine” this week if they aren’t moved forward.

The Iowa Firearms Coalition page also has a Take Action option.  From there you can get to the Action Center. At the Action Center, you can find current action items to send an email to your legislators, the Governor, and others. You can also sign up to receive email alerts for future action items.  You need to become familiar with these tools and this process if we are to be successful at getting important legislation passed.  It takes all of us.

PERSONAL NOTE…

IFC is your state gun rights organization.  Gun rights are under attack in nearly every state, and certainly at a federal level.  We HAVE to advocate and educate legislators and policy makers if we want to continue to enjoy our Second Amendment rights.  There are things going on right now in this country that just a few years ago, were unthinkable.  Don’t let our gun rights become one of the casualties. It could happen here, as it has in other countries.

I talk to members at Gun Shows and IFC events throughout the year and am always asked about legislation we are working on. Everyone has their favorite thing they would like to see changed. But to get these things accomplished takes engagement by everyone IFC represents. We are all volunteers and we are asking you to help us, help you.

If you do nothing, you may get nothing. Let’s get on the phone and get the Senate to take action on these bills!

Second Amendment Matters