2024 NRA-ILA Grassroots Webinar Series

2024 NRA-ILA Grassroots Webinar Series

Hot off the press from NRA-ILA:

2024 is a critical year in the fight for our Second Amendment rights! Make plans now to attend an important online NRA-ILA Grassroots Webinar focused on federal updates, featuring NRA-ILA Director of Federal Affairs, Brian Calabrese, on Tuesday, February 13th, at 7:00 p.m. EST. Be sure to RSVP below for the webinar link

The fight to protect our rights at all levels hinges on active patriots that remain educated on important Second Amendment issues. Your NRA-ILA team looks forward to sharing important updates with you regarding the battle to protect the Second Amendment on Capitol Hill and across the nation, as well as answering your questions and providing you with the grassroots tools you need to make your voice heard.

Stay tuned for invites to future webinars here: 2024 NRA-ILA Grassroots Webinars. All NRA-ILA webinars are Webex based and can be accessed via desktop computer, smartphone, or via call- in. You can find more information on Webex at www.webex.com

We hope you’ll join us February 13th!

Is There an Illegal “No Guns” Sign in Your Neighborhood?

Is There an Illegal “No Guns” Sign in Your Neighborhood?

Is There an Illegal “No Guns” Sign in Your Neighborhood?  Maybe you didn’t know that political subdivisions (counties, cities, townships, their extensions, etc.) can’t deny your civil rights.  But they’re often in the habit of doing so.  This letter should interest you!  If there are illegal “No Guns” signs in your neighborhood, you’ll want to understand what you need to do, and how you need to handle it.  This is an example of the daily work IFC does that few understand, which is why we need your continual support.

This is a recent correspondence from our board member and longtime lobbyist, Richard Rogers, to an Iowa County that plastered “No Guns” signs on public property.  Let’s call the recipient of the letter, “Mr. Smith,” and the county, “County,” to make this universal.  Here you go:

Dear Mr. Smith,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a Board Member and a longtime volunteer lobbyist for Iowa Firearms Coalition (IFC). A primary mission of IFC is to ensure that Iowa governments recognize, protect, and respect the fundamental right of Iowans to keep and bear arms. This right is protected from government infringement by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 1A of the Iowa Constitution.

I am writing to you because I have been informed that the County Center (CC) has in place a “No Weapons” policy and currently displays signage to that effect in your facility (or facilities?). It appears to me that CC is owned and operated by the County. Therefore, please be informed that Iowa Code 724.28 prohibits counties, cities, and townships from establishing or maintaining any such policies, whether directed at the public or employees. Here is the relevant excerpt:

724.28(2) A political subdivision of the state shall not enact an ordinance, motion, resolution, policy, or amendment regulating the ownership, possession, carrying, legal transfer, lawful transportation, modification, registration, or licensing of firearms, firearms attachments, or other weapons when the ownership, possession, carrying, transfer, transportation, or modification is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state.

Furthermore, any person “adversely affected” by such a policy has standing to sue for declaratory and injunctive relief and damages. The prevailing party in such a suit will be awarded attorney fees and court costs [724.28(3)].

There is a provision [724.28(4)] that would allow for a “no weapons” policy in your facility under very specific conditions. That is “if adequate arrangements are made by the political subdivision to screen persons for firearms or other dangerous weapons and the political subdivision provides armed security personnel inside the building or physical structure where the restriction is to be in effect.” Without both of those measures in place, any policy restricting the carrying of possession of weapons is unlawful.

In 2021, Judge Joel Yates of the Iowa District Court for Monroe County slapped down an attempt by Monroe County to ignore Iowa Code 724.28 and ruled definitively that local governments not only may not implement or enforce their own policies on weapons, but that even implying the existence of such a policy through signage is unlawful. Here is the relevant portion of Judge Yates order of 6/30/2021:

Monroe County and its officers, employees, and third parties under its control, are enjoined from enforcing any policy,practice, ordinance, or resolution contrary to Iowa Code § 724.28, including the posting of signageappearing to communicate such a policy.

It may also be of interest to you that a bill, HF518, has been introduced in the Iowa House that would establish a schedule of significant monetary damages to be assessed against those individuals who participate in establishing or maintaining a policy in violation of Iowa Code 724.28. Such a statute was enacted by Florida in 2011 and proved to be very effective in eliminating legacy violations of the state’s firearms preemption policy and preventing new ones.

I strongly urge that the management of CC act promptly to comply with Iowa law. This communication should not be considered to be a threat of legal action, but rather my attempt to inform you of the facts regarding Iowa’s preemption of weapons regulation to the state. Please feel free to contact me if I may be of assistance in this or any other matter.

Sincerely,
Richard S. Rogers
Board Member, Iowa Firearms Coalition

 

IFC 2A Day – Another Success Due to IFC Members!

IFC 2A Day – Another Success Due to IFC Members!

IFC 2A Day was another huge success, and we have to thank, in no small part, the IFC Members and the Volunteers who braved weather and temps to come let everyone know just how passionate they are about the Second Amendment as a core civil right.

Herodotus is credited with a translation from George Herbert Palmer as having said:

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

Often adapted as the postman’s creed here in the US, it is neither official nor binding.  What is official and binding you wonder?  The dedication and fortitude of the average IFC member who trudged through snow in truly frigid temps to join us all at the Iowa State Capitol building for the annual IFC 2A Day.  Our volunteers overcame adversity, failures from vendors, and a small contingent of pro-Palestine rioters hurling insults to put on a fantastic day of Second Amendment support and celebration!  Fast forward to the evening when the temperature dropped and the snow started falling – did that keep people away?  NO.  They came out to the IFC-PAC fundraiser supper and enjoyed a great meal and an intimate gathering with Gabby Franco.

IFC’s key sponsors for the event, CrossRoads Shooting Sports and Volquartsen, both Iowa companies helped make the day possible.  Our featured speaker, Gabby Franco, offered a particularly critical message about complacency and the nature of incremental losses of liberty.  We heard from Representative Phil Thompson, Senator Brad Zaun, and our superstar Attorney General, Brenna Bird.  IFC Chair, John McLaughlin and President Dave Funk addressed the crowd, while Representative Jon Dunwell started the day with prayer, Representative Brook Boden sang the national anthem, and a young lady led us all in the pledge of allegiance.  Several County Supervisors participated.  We had NRA board members in the gallery including Craig Swartz!

Between the Capitol 2A Day in the morning and the IFC-PAC Supper in the evening, Gabby and John McLaughlin were able to spend time on the air with Simon Conway on 1040AM and iHeart – Listen to their interview HERE.

The day was complete with plenty of support from NRA Grassroots, Turning Point USA, Turning Point Action, and Black Flag Arsenal, all of which had tables with information and were interacting with the public.

I can’t help but wonder if Herodotus was speaking about the kind of people who brave the elements, and discomfort, and deny their personal preferences in service of others as a whole.  If so, that definition adequately describes the IFC members and volunteers, along with all the support we enjoyed on IFC’s 2A Day!  We’re grateful!

Do you like Stand Your Ground Laws?  Preemption?  Constitutional Carry?  Emergency Powers Protection?  Removal of the ban on youth shooting?  The FREEDOM AMENDMENT?  You’re welcome.  If so, PLEASE BECOME A MEMBER – IFC NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

 

IFC to hold Second Amendment Day at Iowa Capitol

IFC to hold Second Amendment Day at Iowa Capitol

IFC to hold “Second Amendment Day” at the Iowa State Capitol

WHO: The Iowa Firearms Coalition
WHAT: Second Amendment Day
WHEN: January 18, 2024 – from 9AM to 12PM
WHERE: Iowa State Capitol Building
WHY: To increase school safety and lobby Iowa’s elected officials to pass common-sense pro-Second Amendment legislation

(MOVILLE, Iowa) — Hundreds of Iowans from across the state will hold a rally at the state Capitol Building on Thursday, January 18th for the Iowa Firearm Coaliton‘s (IFC) annual “Second Amendment Day” – an event where citizens and pro-freedom lawmakers will stand together to push for common sense legislation.

“In the wake of the tragedy at Perry High School, we believe this Second Amendment Day will be the most important and impactful one we have held in Iowa history,” said IFC President Dave Funk. “The time has come for common sense, fact-based legislation that will once and for all keep our children safe at school – our kids cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Among IFC’s goals during this legislative session is to ban phony and dangerous “gun-free zone” signs.

“A sign is not a security plan,” said Funk. “As we have, sadly, seen too many times, ‘gun-free zones’ have proven to be an invitation to those intent on committing evil. The only way to stop a threat is to harden soft targets. It’s past time our kids are as protected at school as our politicians and bureaucrats are in government-run facilities.”

At the event, IFC will be calling on lawmakers to work with school districts in the state to increase their security and allow for trained staff to exercise their constitutional rights on school grounds.

IFC will also push for an end to Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) policies, that are currently legal in Iowa, which are preventing schools from taking the necessary and scientifically proven steps needed to protect students and staff during a crisis. ESG rules have been abused by insurance providers to bully Iowa school boards into not implementing their policies to increase school security, most recently in Cherokee and Spirit Lake.

The event will feature prominent pro-Second Amendment speakers, including lawmakers, IFC leadership, and Gabby Franco, a civil rights advocate, Olympian, and former contestant on the hit History Channel TV series, “Top Shot.”

The Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa’s official NRA State Association, is a 501(c4) nonprofit and is Iowa’s only effective pro-Second Amendment rights organization.

Present and Willing – The Foundation for Saving Lives

Present and Willing – The Foundation for Saving Lives

Present and willing – the foundational pieces for saving lives.  Now add a healthy dose of training, and you’re arguably very prepared to stop a threat, put evil on hold, and spare the lives of innocent people.

We’ve got problems, but we’re asking all the wrong questions, which means we’ll get the wrong answers.  Too many will say something thoughtful like, “When are we going to do something?”  They would be right to ponder and ask a question like that, but what you’ll get in return, if anything, is a bunch of manure splashed across the wall in hopes some of it sticks.  And that’s a really poor way to consider and erect policy.

Let’s ask the hard question.  “How many lives are we willing to forfeit each time something bad happens?”

Yeah, I wrote that.  And you read it.  There is no way to eliminate evil.  Stop being silly and thinking if you could ban one more gun or curtail one more civil right, evil would cease.  That mentality is as stupid as it is dumb.  Rather, let’s agree on the TRUTH.  Evil exists and for as long a man has walked the Earth, it has been present.  Knowing this, the question pivots away from how to remove evil, to what we’ll do when evil presents itself.  That’s the right question to ask, and we all know the answer.  Some are just not comfortable admitting the answer, that’s all.

When evil shows itself, if you’re present and willing, you intercede.  YOU STOP IT.

Being present and willing are foundational to stopping the gratuitous harm of others.  With training, your speed and odds of success increase exponentially.  That’s it.  There’s no magic formula.  Are you present?  Are you willing?  Are you trained in ways that allow you to reach your full potential?  If you can answer yes to the first two, and the third is well in hand with more planned, you’re what the innocent among us require to make it home at night.  Not the wholesale curtailment of the good guy’s rights.  Not a bunch of Pollyanish ideas that have never and will never work, but give us some warm feelings.  No.  Why have we departed from the TRUTH?

When the bad guy shows up with a plan to hurt people, why don’t we act on our plan?  That requires you and I to be present, then willing.  And the more trained we are, the better off everyone will be.  May the Almighty bless them, but no police response time is going to compare to a person who is present and willing in the school.  No SRO is going to react as quickly to disaster in a classroom as the teacher standing there.  Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise – that’s a fool’s errand.  When the person present is willing and prepared the body count these killers amass, plummets.

Evil exists when the bad guys have a monopoly on violence in “Gun Free Zones” – when we remove that advantage two things happen.  1, What violence they inflict is quickly halted, and 2, fewer and fewer attempts will be made due to logical outcomes for the perpetrator.

Join IFC in the fight to stop these phony “safe” zones that are anything but…  The families in Perry and the community as a whole have suffered in unimaginable ways.  The past is granite, but the future is malleable.  If you don’t choose to be present, willing, and prepared you’re not communicating your compassion, but rather your indifferent cruelty.

JOIN IFC and HELP US!

In Libertatem,

Michael Ware – IFC Board