by Dave Funk | Dec 19, 2023
YOUR FREEDOM AMENDMENT VOTE MADE A DIFFERENCE
Your Freedom Amendment vote made a difference. Here’s an example: Illinois versus Iowa. On December 14, 2023, a couple dozen activists gathered in Davenport for an anti-gun protest. They somehow get a bit of press coverage, even though everyday Iowans are mostly ignored by the mainstream press. You know the Iowans I’m talking about–the nearly 750,000 Iowa voters who voted for the Freedom Amendment. The 750,000 voters we need to remind our legislators about.
Fortunately for all of us, we have honest journalists in Iowa, and even in Illinois. WQAD-TV ran a story on December 14th. My hat is off to them for once again reaching out to IFC to give our view, and for correctly quoting me. From the story by Jonathan Fong:
“…Also on Dec. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to not immediately block the Protect Illinois Communities Act, a law that bans the sale of some semiautomatic weapons.
“Doesn’t mean the federal circuit appellate courts are not gonna hear it and rule on it; they’re just saying we’re not going to take it up right now,” Iowa Firearms Coalition president Dave Funk explained.
Funk is confident the Supreme Court will overturn the law. “With the makeup of the current court, and it’s gonna stay this way for probably, at least another decade, maybe two decades, where you have a majority of pro-constitution or originalists on the court … we’ll see it overturned, we won’t see any change.”
It’s important to understand the federal appellate process, in the case of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). The PICA act is unconstitutional on its face. This is clear to anyone with any knowledge of the Second Amendment, its historical traditions, and the Bruen Decision. Jumping directly to the US Supreme Court, while similar cases from other states are working their way through the system, is not something SCOTUS likes. We all want SCOTUS to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, but we have to let the legal process work its way through.
GRASPING AT STRAWS
We all know those Dangerous Quacks are grasping for straws. Let’s keep them grasping here in Iowa. Help IFC fulfill its mission to you, and all Iowa gun owners, by purchasing your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th. Hopefully, I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning.
Help us educate Iowans on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
President, IFC
by Dave Funk | Dec 12, 2023
SOME OLD ISSUES WILL NOT DIE
Some old issues will not die when dealing with those Dangerous Quacks on the anti-gun left. Let me point out just a few:
The first one is from Gaza, of all places. Just earlier this year the Iowa Legislature punted on the issue of big banks trying to deny access to credit card processing services for lawful firearms businesses in the United States. Yet The Messenger reports banks are happy to extend credit to Hamas-butchers like Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh “dropped his credit card and fled”. The expired Visa card was found in the Gaza tunnels by an Israeli soldier. Like other despots around the world, a review of Haniyeh’s account history showed he was living high on the hog, while those under Hamas’ rule, were impoverished.
GunBusters or Myth Busters?
Then over at the Seattle Times; they have discovered the horrifying fact that not all “bought back” or confiscated guns are melted down for scrap metal! Instead, unless the agencies pay extra, companies will strip them down and only dispose of the frame or receiver, selling off the remainder of the parts. What the Dangerous Quacks don’t catch on to is that even when the parts are sold, rebuilding the gun requires compliance with Federal, State, and local laws.
This story is part of a new angle of the campaign to demonize anyone in the firearm or ammunition business. This has been going on since I was a kid — and I’m sixty-five years old! Like I said, some old issues just will not die.
Congress & the Supreme Court: Separate for a Reason
With the passing of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, I’d like to relay one of her greatest contributions to public discourse. Today we are finally starting to see her efforts coming to fruition. Regarding government overreach, in her dissenting opinion in the case of Gonzales v. Raich, she wrote this simple, powerful statement:
“If the Court always defers to Congress as it does today,” O’Connor wrote in her dissent, “little may be left to the notion of enumerated powers.”
Raich dealt with the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and the Federal Government’s interjection of its will regarding the private production of anything, even if it was not for sale. Much like the Bruen decision last year, incremental steps like her dissent in Raich laid the groundwork for future legislation to restore rights and guide subsequent court decisions.
My special thanks to Jacob Sallium over at Ammoland for reminding me of Justice O’Connor’s important dissent.
Supreme Court’s Historical Second Amendment Stance
The last thing I’d like to write about this week is the perception that the U.S. Supreme Court has only recently regarded the Second Amendment as important. Regardless of that perception, the historical record shows they have been very Pro-2A throughout their history. A rather long piece at the American Thinker titled “The Government’s Historic Failure to Limit Firearms“ by Michael Ange is very well written. Spend fifteen minutes reading it, to put things in perspective.
Freedom always needs defending! You can help by purchasing your tickets to the IFC-PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th. Will you be attending? I hope to see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning.
Help us educate Iowans on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
President, IFC
by Dave Funk | Dec 5, 2023
EVIL EXISTS: WHY DOES THE LEFT ALWAYS BLAME THE GUN?
Evil exists: why does the left always blame the gun? Think back to the Columbine School shooters, there is no question they were evil…or the Beslan School attackers, or the Hamas attackers in Israel on October 7th, or just a few days ago, the knife attacker in Paris.
In every one of these examples, along with the hundreds of other evil actors and deeds around the world, the anti-gun leftists all blame the gun instead of the evil or criminal person using it. Evil is evil whether the weapon used is a gun, a knife, a chainsaw, a vehicle, or something else.
Over the years, in debates with those anti-gun dangerous quacks, I’ve observed one consistent trait. They all share what economist Dr. Thomas Sowell famously observed:
“People convinced of their own superior wisdom and virtue have no time to spare for what other people want, whether in housing or health care or a whole range of other things.”
KNOW YOUR HISTORY
Amazingly, the anti-gun quacks also cannot seem to comprehend that others have any different views than theirs. They actually believe that if we all were just disarmed, the world would be a safer place. What I find terrifying is that those same people have ignored all of human history and man’s capacity for evil towards other men. But yet they want governments to have a monopoly on power?
During the tyrannical COVID lockdowns brought upon us by Dr. Fauci, our own government saw how easy it is to create fear and get people to submit. Now the CDC and leftist lawmakers want to treat “gun violence” as a virus. Guns are inanimate objects, they are not self-aware or capable of independent action, and they certainly can’t make copies of themselves, as a virus does.
Evil is the issue, and it can never be reasoned with, or regulated. It can only be destroyed by those willing to stand up to it. Help us educate Iowans on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Have you purchased your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th? Hopefully, I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
President, IFC
by Dave Funk | Nov 28, 2023
Restraining Orders Are Not Worth The Paper They Are Printed On
That’s right, restraining orders are not worth the paper they are printed on. You may know them as no-contact orders, or domestic violence protection orders. Why are they big news right now? Because the US Supreme Court just heard oral arguments in the Rhami case. Now, Rhami is not a guy any of us want living near us, or our loved ones. At issue here is whether Rhami, or anyone for that matter, can be denied their Second Amendment Rights based solely on a civil standard, without representation in an actual hearing.
The Bruen Standard
Under the Bruen standard, as laid out recently, the answer is clearly “No”. You will remember the Miranda warning case from the 1960’s, that caused a lot of bad guys to escape prosecution, because the police did not follow the Constitution. We all know about Miranda from watching police shows on TV. You know your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent (even if you can’t because, as comedian Ron White says, “…I had the right to remain silent, I just didn’t have the capability”!)
As an Iowa police officer for nearly twenty years, I like that we have rules when it comes to catching criminals. The Framers knew that the government would abuse its authority. That’s why we have a Bill of Rights—to limit the monopoly on power and prevent arbitrary prosecutions. As we see in national news every day, our current administration is targeting its political enemies, just as the Framers experienced in the lead-up to the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. John Lott, President of Crime Prevention Research Center, has recently penned an OpEd over at Real Clear Politics, titled “Domestic Violence Protection Orders Don’t Pass Constitutional Muster”. You can read it here. The learned Professor once again lays out the arguments in a brilliant fashion regarding Rhami. I suggest you follow the link and read the entire OpEd.
Upcoming IFC Events
Speaking of links, have you purchased your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th? Hopefully I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning.
Help us educate Iowan’s on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
President, IFC
by Dave Funk | Nov 21, 2023
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR 2A DAY EVENTS!
2A LOBBY DAY 2024!
Mark your calendars NOW! The 2024 IFC 2A Lobby Day is scheduled for January 18th. This year it’s going to be in the morning, from 9:00 a.m. – Noon, at the Iowa State Capitol Building. By holding the event in the morning, this will give you more time to actually meet with your legislators that day. Our special guest speaker is Gabby Franco: Olympian, Top Shot contender, firearms instructor, author and more. She has an amazing story to tell.
This free event also provides an opportunity to learn about current proposed 2A legislation in Iowa and to meet with your elected representatives at the Capitol. Arrive at 9:00 a.m. to meet IFC’s Sponsors, and some of our Trusted Partners to see what they have to offer. The official program is from 10:00 – Noon.
The 2A Day events for 2024 are sponsored by:
Parking shuttle service will be provided, as always.
ANNUAL IFC-PAC DINNER EVENT!
Capping off the 2024 IFC 2A Day events is the IFC-PAC dinner, which will feature a prime rib supper. After the meal, you will have an opportunity to hear more about Gabby’s compelling story of escaping from an oppressive government regime and immigrating to the USA to become a U.S. citizen. She tells her story widely, to warn people about the gradual erosion of gun rights. Gabby is recognized internationally for her shooting skills and is an inspiring woman in the 2A community. There is so much to Gabby’s life story that you will be left amazed & inspired!
Also, (our members asked for it) and we are moving the IFC-PAC dinner event to a bigger venue this year! It will be held at the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine in Altoona, located at 1100 Shriners Pkwy, Altoona, IA, 50009, with convenient access from Interstate 80. Doors open at 5:30pm; dinner starts at 7pm.
Purchase your tickets for the IFC-PAC Dinner at this link. Don’t wait! Tickets are going fast.
As always, we will have raffles and door prizes! My special thanks to our IFC Events Coordinator, Eric Hansen, for his work to make this a great event.
This event is a way to help IFC-PAC to protect your 2A Rights to remain Ready at All Times.
I look forward to meeting each and every one of you at IFC 2A Day and the IFC PAC Dinner that evening.
Help us educate Iowan’s on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
President, IFC
Let’s keep them grasping here in Iowa. Help IFC fulfill its mission to you, and all Iowa gun owners, by purchasing your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th. Hopefully, I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning. 
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