Welcome to the IFC #2A4IA Weekly Roundup. As you may already know, this is my first week as past President of IFC. Going forward, my weekly column will continue, but now it will be all about 2A News, and my opinions, for what they are worth.
SAVING DEMOCRACY AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS?
After Biden’s total meltdown on the debate stage just a few weeks ago, it didn’t take long for Obama to exert his dominance when he forced Biden off the Democratic ticket for November. Instead, we get their fellow traveler, the most unlikable and incompetent Vice President ever; “Heel’s-up” Harris.
The professed communists who allegedly are out to “save democracy” by destroying it, showed their card last week. But they clearly don’t care about the fourteen million Democratic Party voters who chose Biden in the rigged primaries. Not to mention that Heels Up has not received a single delegate in either 2020, or 2024. But let’s not let the voters decide, it’s up to Obama, the party apparatus, and the big donors to determine who runs America.
As one of the best researchers on the importance of firearms in civilian hands to curb crime and act as a check on the government’s monopoly on power, Dr. John Lott just wrote in The Federalist:
Harris pushed for gun control this week in her first campaign speech as the presumptive Democratic nominee. And she has a long history of pushing for gun control. In early 2008, Harris argued for the constitutionality of gun bans in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. She claimed there is no individual right to self-defense.”
Love him or hate him, a vote for President Trump is the only check on Obama getting a fourth term in office, and stopping him from “fundamentally transforming” America as he promised back in 2008. If you don’t vote for freedom, America will become like Venezuela, where the once wealthiest country in South America has suffered an 80% decline in its economy since its population voted in socialism. Now they are going to have to shoot their way out of it. The problem for Venezuelan citizens is that the dictators took their guns away. Don’t let it happen here in America.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by donating to IFC-PAC today. Those small recurring monthly donations of $10, $25, or $100 do make a huge difference in our ability to get the message of freedom out there.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk Member, Board of Directors Iowa Firearms Coalition
It has been an honor to serve as your President of the Iowa Firearms Coalition these last nearly six years. One of the first challenges a new leader has, who takes on the position of president of an all-volunteer organization, is to identify your assets and set goals. Let me summarize some of them here:
FREEDOM AMENDMENT CAMPAIGN
The first and foremost task was to develop a successful campaign strategy to pass what you all know as the Freedom Amendment. We as an organization did that by creating an incredibly successful social media campaign. We won 97 of 99 counties — and 65.17% of the vote — in November 2022, adding the 49th Amendment to the Iowa State Constitution.
65% voted for Iowa’s Freedom Amendment
IFC joined up with Five Seasons Media of Cedar Rapids to not only handle the social media side of our effort, but also to help IFC become recognized as the Firearms Experts here in Iowa and surrounding states. We could not have done it without their help, and at a fraction of the price of traditional political campaigns.
2022 NRA STATE ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
It was a great honor to represent IFC at the 2023 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting in Indianapolis last year to accept the 2022 NRA State Association of The Year Award. I was invited back to speak on effective social media operations at the 2023 NRAAM this year in Dallas.
BUSINESS SIDE OF IFC
In my position as President of the Iowa Chapter of Safari Club International, I spent time my first year developing a budget and cleaning up the business side of the Chapter. The next three years were devoted to laying the foundation for future growth of the chapter’s fundraisers, political action effectiveness, and chapter project support processes.
At IFC, the Board of Directors, our executive team, and I have done the same thing. We did not just clean up our records. We ensured near perfection in our State and Federal tax and regulatory filings and compliance for the last five years. While the cutover to a far more cost-efficient and effective membership management system in 2023 brought a new set of problems, we have been effectively working through those issues.
MONROE COUNTY LITIGATION
While we were in the middle of the Freedom Amendment Campaign, Monroe County sued both IFC, and one of our members. This was after that member asked them to follow the Iowa Code on firearms preemption. It was a great distraction, but IFC ultimately smacked down the Monroe County Board of Supervisors and won. We won not just on the issues, but had our legal fees paid-in-full by the plaintiffs. In addition, $100,000 was paid to IFC to settle the First Amendment Claim that we brought.
STEPPING DOWN
I could probably write a book just on how these last six years have evolved and how my life has changed in many ways during this period. However, I’d like to introduce you to the new IFC President, Billy Wilson. Billy has a background in successful nonprofit management, and fundraising in the Des Moines area. He has acted as our Gun Show Director and is our current Executive Vice-President.
Here is Billy’s bio on the IFC web pages:
Supporter of the Second Amendment and a lifetime member of both IFC and NRA, Billy joined the IFC to help spread awareness and to help defend Iowa’s Second Amendment rights. He is also a member of the IFC-PAC Presidents 100, and Spartan. Billy grew up in a family with a long history of serving in the military and hunting. Billy enjoys hunting, camping, hiking, and sport shooting with his family. He also enjoys building and tinkering with firearms in his personal collection. He is a Superintendent for a commercial construction company. He currently resides in Ankeny, Iowa.
Please reach out toBilly with your questions, suggestions, and support as he takes IFC to the next level.
As for me, I’ll remain on the IFC Board of Directors in an ex-officio status, assisting Billy and the whole IFC team with the transition in this change of leadership, which is effective August 1, 2024. I cannot thank each of you enough for your support and confidence in me. But a special shout out to Michael Ware, Richard Rogers, Pete Brownell, and especially my wife Bridget for all their support and counsel during my tenure.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by donating to IFC-PAC today. Those small recurring monthly donations of $10, $25, or $100 make a huge difference in our ability to get the message of freedom out there.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
SCOTUS and the Federal Circuit Courts’ showdowns are in the making. Anytime the Federal Circuit Courts rule differently on the same legal issues, it can set a precedent, compelling the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) to intervene and sort out the real Constitutional answer.
“Anyone hoping that the Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision (which I analyzed here) would represent a roll-back in recognition of Second Amendment rights must be in for a surprise with the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Worth v. Jacobson. Authored by Judge Duane Benton, the court affirmed the decision of the district court. It held that Minnesota’s limitation of gun carry permits to persons 21 years or over violates the right to bear arms of persons aged 18-20.”
This ruling affects Iowa as it is in their Jurisdiction.
9th “CIRCUS” STEPS IN IT AGAIN
The recent very Pro-2A Duarte non-violent felon in possession conviction decision out of the 9th Circuit Court ruled as follows as reported by the LawCommentary:
“It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year…to…possess…any firearm…” – Unlawful Acts, 18 U.S Code §922 (g) (1).
But should it be? Stuart Duarte, a man with five California criminal convictions, all non-violent and all punishable by more than one year, challenged the Unlawful Acts section of the U.S. Code cited above, arguing that his constitutional rights had been violated. The Ninth Circuit ruled on May 9 that Duarte, even though an ex-felon, is still a person, and thus the application of 18 U.S. Code §922 (g) (1) is unlawful under the Second Amendment.”
This case sets up a court split and opposes portions of the United States v. Rahimi decision I wrote about just a few weeks ago. You can read that here.
We know it’s bad when a Federal Judge calls out his or her fellow Judges. In this example, Judge Lawrence VanDyke did just that recently when his great ruling in a 2A Duarte case was taken up en blanc by the entire 9th Circuit out West, as reported by Newsweek.
“In the Ninth Circuit, if a panel upholds a party’s Second Amendment rights, it follows automatically that the case will be taken en banc. This case bends to that law. I continue to dissent from this court’s Groundhog Day approach to the Second Amendment,”
The last thing we can have is that anyone should have 2A Rights in the 9th Circus! VanDyke further writes:
“In this circuit, you could say that roughly two-fifths of our judges are interested in faithfully applying the totality of the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment precedent when analyzing new issues that have not yet been directly addressed by the Court. The other 17/29ths of our bench is doing its best to avoid the Court’s guidance and subvert its approach to the Second Amendment. That is patently obvious to anyone paying attention,”
CAN THE NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT BE DISMANTLED?
Willian Kirk at Washington Gun Law makes a compelling case for how the Biden DOJ has painted itself into a corner on short-barreled rifles and how effectively Federal Public Defenders in the United States v. Robinson, challenged the constitutionality of the NFA’s inclusion of short-barrel rifles. The ATF’s attempt to classify all pistols with attached stabilizing braces as SBRs has trapped the DOJ.
I’ll keep you updated on these cases as they advance in the courts.
As mentioned previously, we don’t have to overcome a bad decision out of SCOTUS, so it’s slightly easier (but not quicker) for the Pro-2A side in America to keep putting up these wins. Like IFC’s incremental approach to recovering our freedoms, the legal battles are also fought incrementally.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by donating to IFC-PAC today. Those small recurring monthly donations of $10, $25, or $100 make a huge difference in our ability to get the message of freedom out there.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Wow, what a week it has been. The Republican National Convention (RNC) wrapped up after the assassination attempt of Former President Trump with Pro-2A JD Vance as the Vice-President nominee on his ticket. Then moments before I sat down to write the first draft of this week’s President’s Message, BOOM! Biden has withdrawn from the Democratic POTUS Nomination race, endorsing his totally incompetent and extremely unlikable V.P. “Heels-up” Harris.
Republican National Convention
Although the extremely shortened Republican Party Platform does not make a strong 2A statement, the pick of Ohio Senator JD Vance, a former enlisted Marine with a strong 2A record does, and that’s far more important. The underlying message of the convention was “Unity”. IFC’s own Richard Rogers was a delegate to the Convention.
Trump Assassination Attempt
Although I briefly covered it last week, there are three things I’d like to mention here.
As a former Pilot’s Union official, I’ve been involved in several airline crash investigations. Many of you have seen me on TV or heard me on the Radio talking about crashes. As I caution when on the air, it’s too early to know the facts, so let’s not rush to judgment. We do not know all of the details yet. Also, it appears the quality of this investigation is being compromised even as we speak.
Sean Davis, the highly respected co-founder of The Federalist, wrote an interesting piece describing the crippling of the Trump USSS detail. I’d suggest you read it here.
Our Senators and Congressmen need to question the following people as identified by a retired USSS contact of mine:
“The Lead Advance Agent and others who conducted the physical security survey need to be heard from, not the USSS Director, who has no direct knowledge of what transpired before or during the assassination attempt”.
Vice President Harris
Well, good old Joe from Scranton has decided not to run for reelection after all. The Democratic Party, already in chaos, has to contend with finding a nominee who stands a chance to beat President Trump. Biden has endorsed Harris (This shiv job has Obama’s hands all over it), Hillary Clinton has said she’s ready, and the others who would like the job realize that this is most likely a lost cause and they don’t want to be branded as losers. Never forget that this is the same group that has lied to America for three-plus years telling us how smart and spry Joe is. Don’t reward their attempted gaslighting of all of us.
It truly saddens me that the days of pro-2A Democrats appear to be dead for now. Hopefully, those days can be resurrected–but not with this crowd of Dangerous Quacks at the helm. My only suggestion is to get your popcorn out and watch the anti-2A Dangerous Quacks devour each other.
I’ll have a follow-up story on important 2A Decisions that have come out of the 9th Circuit, along with others this last week, in a few days.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by donating to IFC-PAC today. Those small recurring monthly donations of $10, $25, or $100 do make a huge difference in our ability to get the message of freedom out there.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
The attempted assassination of President Trump a few days ago has caused me to push back this week’s planned blog. In light of this event, I want to raise a few points for you to consider.
The Actual Event
We have all seen the attack from multiple angles of newsreels, cell phone cameras, and interviews. What shocked me personally is that the Trump campaign has been asking to increase the size of his protective detail. That request has been repeatedly denied, along with the denial of any protective services to RFK Jr’s Campaign. Actions speak louder than words. I believe Biden wants his opponents un-protected.
In fact, some Secret Services resources were diverted to Jill Biden’s event. Consequently, Trump’s event was apparently covered by many supplemental agents from different field offices (not Trump’s regular detail). Additionally, his detail had only two SS counter snipers. While this was in accord with agency protocol for a former President, it did not take into account his current status. President Trump was only two days away from again being the nominee of the Republican Party. Trump is not just a former President. He is the only President in modern history to have run for President again, while being the focus of multiple controversies and prosecutions, which would likely make him even more of a target.
As a close friend and Retired US Secret Service Agent friend pointed out to me in an email the evening after the attack:
“If I had been the USSS Director, I’d have made the Trump Detail the same size as PPD or even larger. I’ve not been impressed with [USSS Director] Cheatle. She is just too tight with Biden and Obama, and pushing DEI. Also, recall when Ronald Reagan was shot and how Jerry pushed him into the car, and it rolled within a couple of seconds. The four or five gals around Trump’s car couldn’t decide what to do, and it showed.”
This is a massive failure on the part of the USSS to ensure the safety of a protectee. Yet Hunter Biden has a full detail?
USSS Rules of Engagement
This is similar to the ridiculous Rules of Engagement (ROE) under President Obama when I was in Afghanistan in 2016. We had to be fired upon by known terrorists before we could engage them. Furthermore, theAmerican force was only to equal what we were being fired upon with. Using any weapon larger than a Hellfire missile essentially had to be approved by the White House.
Regarding the President’s USSS detail: under the current ROEs if a suspected sniper is spotted, response teams are sent to check him out. Meanwhile, the Counter Sniper (CS) teams keep him under surveillance through their rifle scopes. In this situation, the CS team did not shoot him in the head until after he had opened fire on President Trump. Clearly, the ROEs need to be changed. If someone shows up aiming a weapon at the President within the range of a CS team, no order should be required for the response team to take action. The CS people should have a green light to take the attacker(s) out, on the spot.
Think of it this way: you’re minding your own business when someone aims a weapon at you. In the United States, that’s sufficient justification to shoot them immediately. You don’t have to wait until you are fired upon, stabbed, or beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Why did the USSS CS Team not engage the shooter immediately, or at least have President Trump moved to safety while the response team investigated?
Operations like the one that the unsuccessful assassin undertook on July 13th require planning: pre-attack scouting, knowing the timing of the event, and luck. They rarely happen in a vacuum. Who helped this shooter? We need to find out — that is, if the FBI can break away from monitoring school board meetings for a few days.
Shocking / Unsurprised?
Professor Johnathan Turley expressed in a July 14, 2024 article on his website how we are surprisingly unsurprised by this attempt.
The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump left a nation stunned. But the most shocking aspect was that it was not nearly as surprising as it should have been. For months, politicians, the press, and pundits have escalated reckless rhetoric in this campaign on both sides. That includes claims that Trump was set to kill democracy, unleash “death squads” and make homosexuals and reporters “disappear”.
It’s an interesting article and you should read it in its entirety. I vehemently disagree with the good Professor’s belief that those on the left do not want actual violence. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we know in this dangerous world, words have meaning. When someone says they want you dead, you had better believe them. ANTIFA is the militant arm of the current Democratic Party — just like the Ku Klux Klan was for more than a century, before and throughout the 1960s. Our DOJ has not done anything of significance to rein in ANTIFA and its financial supporters in the Blue States. Even Biden said on July 8th, 2024, “We’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
PRAY FOR AMERICA
As I said in my KCCI-TV interview aired on Sunday, and mentioned at the end of their story, “PRAY FOR AMERICA”.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by donating to IFC-PAC today. Those small recurring monthly donations of $10, $25, or $100 do make a huge difference in our ability to get the message of freedom out there.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
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One of the first challenges a new leader has, who takes on the position of president of an all-volunteer organization, is to identify your assets and set goals. Let me summarize some of them here:
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