It was truly a whirlwind in the Iowa Legislature last week, but the Omnibus Pro-Gun Owner bills have survived. They now enter a critical phase, and must be kept in their original form if they are to be signed into law.
Email your legislators – Tell Iowa’s lawmakers to pass the Omnibus Gun Bills WITHOUT ALTERATION.
Sunday – March 1st
Weekly Iowa Firearms Coalition membership email alerts thousands of Iowans about a massive pro-gun owner bill known as “The Omnibus Gun Bill.”
An IFC Advocacy Campaign and petition is activated and thousands of emails telling Iowa lawmakers to pass the omnibus gun bill flood the capitol.
Monday – March 2nd
Iowa Firearms Coalition President Barry Snell, and IFC board members Pete Brownell and Scott Volquartsen are guests on WHO Radio’s Mickelson in the Morning show. Word of the omnibus gun bill begins to spread at a rapid pace.
House Study Bill 201, the House version of the omnibus gun bill, introduced. HSB201 is assigned to the House Judiciary Committee where it is then assigned to a three person subcommittee.
The Des Moines Register prints the first of what will be many stories about the omnibus gun bill. As expected, the mass media is trying derail this pro-gun owner bill.
Tuesday – March 3rd
HSB201 passes its first hurdle the House Judiciary subcommittee. The vote is 3-0, with bi-partisan support
The Des Moines Register doubles down on its opposition to the omnibus gun bill. Their editorial board attempts to justify why they should be able to publish the personal information of gun owners (a key provision of the omnibus gun bill would make this illegal in Iowa). Meanwhile lobbyists working on behalf of all of Iowa’s newspapers and broadcasters begin to pressure legislators to remove the gun owner privacy protection portion of the omnibus gun bill.
Senate Study Bill 1251, a companion bill to HSB201 is introduced in the Senate. It is assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and then to a three person subcommittee. SSB1251 contains the exact same items as HSB201. Each bill accomplishes the same goals.
Wednesday – March 4th
HSB201 passes a vote by the House Judiciary Committee by a landslide – 19 to 2. Republicans and Democrats flock to this bill. This vote insures the House version of the omnibus gun bill will survive the first funnel, a critical advance or die deadline scheduled for the end of the day Friday, March 6th.
For the third day in a row the Des Moines Register lashes out at the omnibus gun bill. Mass media lobbyists scramble to get the Senate version of the omnibus gun owner bill amended to remove the gun owner privacy provision. IFC’s volunteer lobbyists are working overtime to counter the media’s message, and remind Iowa lawmakers that they’re there to serve Iowa’s citizens and not the mass media.
A small contingent of gun control Senators begin applying pressure to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Want to strip the omnibus gun bill of a measure that would repeal the ban on supervised youth handgun shooting.
The Iowa Firearms Coalition alerts our members to this two-pronged attack on the omnibus gun bill, and encourage members to contact their legislators and tell them to pass SSB1251 as written. IFC members respond on a moment’s notice and begin a grassroots effort to get SSB1251 passed as written.
Meanwhile, SSB1251 passes out of its Senate Judiciary subcommittee on a 3 to 0 vote. Once again a unanimous vote, with Republicans and Democrats supporting the omnibus gun bill. Most importantly it passes as written.
Thursday – March 5th
Pressure to amend SSB1251 continues to mount. Senators pushing a gun control agenda are trying to get the omnibus gun bill amended to remove the repeal of Iowa’s ban on supervised youth handgun shooting. Lobbyists for the mass media are trying to amend the bill so that they may continue to publish gun owners private information whenever they want.
IFC members continue their grassroots effort to get SSB1251 passed as written.
The omnibus gun bill comes up for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It passes 10 to 3 without any amendments. IFC members have succeeded in keeping the omnibus gun bill intact. Support for SSB1251 once again comes from both sides of the aisle with an overwhelming number of Republicans and Democrats voting yes.
SSB1251, the Senate version of the omnibus gun bill has now officially passed the first funnel and is ready for a debate and vote in the entire Senate.
Friday – March 6th
IFC leadership and members breathe a small sigh of relief. Both versions of the omnibus gun bill have survived the first funnel.
Work begins to keep the omnibus gun bills intact before votes in the full Senate and House. The content of the House and Senate bills are the same, but there are a few minor differences in the language. An amendment to make the wording of these bills the exact same will be needed.
The omnibus gun bills now enter the most dangerous phase of the legislative process. Any changes or amendments beyond a slight wording change will kill these bills. This means if anyone attempts to remove anything from the omnibus bills they will die. Just as importantly, if anyone attempts to add anything to the content of these bills they will die.
The omnibus gun bills have been carefully crafted. Each provision of the bill was included because it has strong support and could be signed into law. Many groups have a stake in this bill, IFC, the NRA, the American Suppressor Association, law enforcement, and more. We didn’t get everything we wanted in this bill, but we got a lot of very good stuff in there. Adding or removing anything to these bills will cause key players to pull their support. Should that happen everything that is good for Iowa’s firearms owners will disappear in an instant. It is critical the omnibus bills move forward without out change.
Email your legislators – Tell Iowa’s lawmakers to pass the Omnibus Gun Bills WITHOUT ALTERATION.
Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, 2nd Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Concealed Weapons Permitting process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance 2nd Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on 2nd Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.
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