by Dave Funk | Nov 4, 2024
JOHN LOTT LAYS OUT THE CASE AGAINST HARRIS
John Lott lays out the case against Harris in such a great way, that I’ve decided we should put the whole Real Clear Politics article here:
First, Second, Fourth Amendments Endangered by Kamala Harris
COMMENTARY
By John R. Lott Jr.
November 02, 2024
ap
Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats claim they are the party of freedom. In Harris’ interview on Club Shay Shay on Monday, she argued that people need to vote for her to preserve the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments, that Trump “wants to terminate the Constitution”.
Yet, on the First Amendment, Harris previously called for government “oversight or regulation” of social media to stop what she calls misinformation. In 2022, her vice-presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz, claimed: “There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech.”
On gun ownership, Harris went so far as claiming: “I am in favor of the Second Amendment, I don’t believe that we should be taking anyone’s guns away.”
Reassuring, but Harris’ emphatic past support for gun control is consistent and legion. Let’s look at her record. She claimed during her 2020 presidential campaign, “I support a mandatory buyback program.” When pressed about Joe Biden’s claim at the time that she couldn’t ban assault weapons with an executive order, Harris enthusiastically responded, “Hey, Joe, rather than saying ‘No, we can’t,’ let’s say ‘Yes, we can.’”
But this is nothing new. Harris has strongly advocated for gun control for years. As San Francisco’s District Attorney, she declared, “Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean that we’re not going to walk into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible.” She even supports warrantless searches, raising concerns she also doesn’t want to be bothered by the Fourth Amendment.
In a 2008 amicus brief, Harris argued that a complete ban on all handguns is constitutional. She even said there is no individual right to self-defense.
The Biden-Harris administration has been the most anti-self defense administration to date, shutting down thousands of gun dealers by mid-2022 due to minor paperwork errors. They renewed Obama’s Operation Choke Point to cut off financial resources for gun manufacturers and dealers; the companies that remained had to grapple with increased costs. The Biden-Harris administration has also established a national gun registry.
If Kamala Harris becomes president, she will push for even more restrictions. The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention is “overseen” by Harris, which coordinates the administration’s gun control initiatives. The office oversaw a recently released U.S. Surgeon General report that fails to mention a single benefit of gun ownership.
The OGVP was instrumental in implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, introducing complex rules that classify many gun owners as firearms dealers. If you sell a gun to a friend once and discuss selling a second one to anyone, you must first become a licensed dealer. If you sell one gun and keep a record of the transaction, you are also required to first become licensed.
Many BCSA rules are vague, giving the government discretion to arbitrarily label individuals as dealers.
Under Harris’ leadership, the OGVP pushed for lawsuits against gun makers and sellers whenever criminals use their guns. She also pushed to ban semi-automatic “assault” weapons, and require background checks on all private gun transfers.
By early 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives had developed a digital database containing nearly a billion firearms transactions.
U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan and Thomas Massie found that Bank of America provided the FBI with credit card data for firearms purchases without even requiring a warrant or probable cause.
With a national gun registry in place, officials can now easily identify legal gun owners. Harris’ past threats to confiscate guns become much more likely to succeed.
Gun control has already taken center stage in Harris’ campaign. Harris made gun control a key topic in her first event in Wisconsin and again at a gathering of the American Federation of Teachers.
It isn’t just that Democrats want to regulate every part of our lives, but the real threat to the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments to the Bill of Rights are at risk from Harris. Those freedoms are endangered if she wins.
John R. Lott Jr. is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. He served as senior adviser for research and statistics in the Office of Justice Programs and the Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department.
Dr. Lott is, like Thomas Sowell, a national treasure.
Those dangerous quacks want you disarmed, don’t let them win.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by joining IFC today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Dave Funk
Member, Board of Directors
Iowa Firearms Coalition
#2A4IA
by Dave Funk | Oct 31, 2024
HUNTING IRELAND AND OUR 2ND AMENDMENT
What do hunting in Ireland and our Second Amendment have to do with each other? A few things. Let me explain. As a kid, growing up in the 1960’s-70’s, I followed the fighting in Northern Ireland. The news we Americans were getting was being filtered by the British Broadcasting Company. Therefore, we only got to hear the British point of view and knowing the Americans had revolted successfully against the Crown. Even as a teenager, I suspected we were not getting the whole story. I’m making no claims of expertise after the recent trip my wife and I made to Ireland and England, but I’ll share my experience and what both countries taught me.
HUNTING IN IRELAND
Hunting in Ireland, like much of Europe, is still a tradition. However, with their weapons ownership and storage laws, it’s getting harder to own firearms. You can own three firearms, but when you want to increase that number to six, it requires a major upgrade in the home vault and security system. Beyond six firearms, the rules are almost unbelievable.
Typically when I’ve traveled abroad to hunt, I have taken my own rifles. That is very difficult in England and Ireland. On my Irish Sika Stag hunt with Norm Mulvany @IrishSafaris, I was able to use his custom 270 Winchester rifle.
“On day one of my hunt, I walked in and this old boy was crossing the field in the fog. One shot at about 80-100 meters, he ran less than 60 meters with his heart, lungs, and liver destroyed. This was less than ten minutes after we left the hunting vehicle on the first day! His initial SCI score was 137”, putting him into the top ten all-time Sika, and maybe as high as number five.”
As I get older, my hunting trips are less about the size of the trophy, and more about the whole experience including the people, the countryside, and the local customs. But now and then, you have to “Take What The Bush Gives You”. I know I got lucky with this trophy.
My fellow hunters asked me what rifle cartridge I use for hunting in the U.S. When I told them that I had several dozen firearms they could not believe it! We forget how good we have it in the United States. Note the suppressor in my photo. It’s considered bad manners to hunt and shoot in most of Europe without one, and they are unregulated.
TALKING POLITICS WITH THE LOCALS
Amazingly, every person we spoke with about America wanted to know if we were President Trump supporters. Once they understood that we were, they opened up about how much they wanted Trump to win. They told us about how over-regulated life is across the European Union and warned us that we are facing the same future in America under the Leftists in power now.
We cannot survive as a nation with these dangerous quacks in power. We are a few days out. Get out and vote next Tuesday!
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.
Dave Funk
Member, Board of Directors
Iowa Firearms Coalition
#2A4IA
by Katie Howard | Oct 15, 2024
HIS GUN NEVER LEFT THE HOLSTER
His gun never left the holster. How do you win, if your gun never leaves its holster? If your home is attacked; if your wife is threatened, would you put up your very best defense? Or would you sit back and say, “Well, the [robber, rapist, squatter – whoever] had a bigger gun”, or “There were two of them, so what’s the use?” I’ll just wait and see what happens…
Of course, you wouldn’t. That’s against nature. You do whatever it takes to protect your family and your home. We are not passive people! We were forged in the American Revolution and have been tested countless times since. We’ve emerged victorious from wars, crises of all types, hellacious weather events, and terrorism. We understand conflict. And one thing we KNOW about conflict is that if you don’t engage, you lose.
VOTING STATISTICS FOR GUN OWNERS
So why, then, with our Second Amendment rights under attack by the current Vice President (who is running for President), why would you not engage? Do you WANT to lose? Are you going to leave your gun (vote) in the holster?
According to Vote4America, quoted in Shooting News Weekly, over 10 million hunters and other gun owners are not registered to vote. TEN MILLION is a big number. Many hunters and gun owners have told them, “My vote doesn’t count; the system is rigged.” But, according to the article:
“Despite the pessimism, even marginal wins could pay big dividends come November. “If we could convert 2% of all licensed hunters and get them to vote, GOP would win in a landslide,” Leavitt told Hoffman.”
Hoffman noted that “a lot of hunters and gun owners, they’re very animated in social media, they have a lot of opinions, but they don’t go out to vote. They talk a great deal, often about preserving your rights, doing this — hunting — but a lot of people don’t follow through with voting.” …leaving their gun in the holster, yet again!
CLOSER TO HOME
Constitutional Carry became effective on July 1, 2021 in Iowa. This law allows residents and non-residents to carry a firearm openly or concealed without a permit, with some exceptions. As a result, some Iowa permit holders have since let their permits lapse. But even now, Iowans holding a Permit to Carry still represent 13.82% of the population, or over 400,000 Iowans. In fact, per USCCA, Iowa ranked 6th in the top 10 states for Concealed Carry Permits (2023). Translation: Iowa is a freedom-loving state. Iowa has many hunters, trap and skeet shooters, 3-Gun and other competitive shooters, and shooting sports enthusiasts.
The Freedom Amendment to our State Constitution was passed in November 2022 with OVER 65% of all votes statewide. Clearly, Iowans want to protect their gun rights. You might be thinking, what can we do to change the national gun-control narrative? (There you go again: leaving your vote in its holster.) Don’t forget down-ballot races. Iowans will elect state and federal representatives that will support or hamper the next President. If you don’t engage, you lose.
Why would you risk having your rights taken from you, when you can do something as simple as voting, to try to protect them? Because make no mistake, if they get to the guns, the rest of the rights will fall like dominoes [cue John Kerry saying Free Speech is the enemy…cue the ATF gunning down an airport CEO at his home in Arkansas at 6:00 a.m., in front of his wife…cue the countless court cases meant to break our pocketbooks and our spirit…etc.] If you’re not mad yet, get mad! And vote.
VP Harris has been very clear about her gun-control mission. If she wins the office of the President, she will do everything in her power to create gun registration, mandatory gun buybacks, “assault weapon” bans, destroy American gun manufacturing, and eliminate the supply of ammunition. Not to mention red-flag laws; endless lawsuits; coercing states, businesses, and media to use every means to identify and limit gun owners; and even implementing school programs that trick children into identifying whether Mommy or Daddy (or, oh my God – BOTH!) have firearms. They have shown their hand already. For gun owners, Harris spells big trouble. And she is counting on gun owners not to engage; not to vote…instead, to leave their guns in the holster.
Gun rights groups across the nation are alarmed by the number of gun owners who do not vote, or who are not even registered. Gun Owners of America is currently working to register as many gun owners as possible between now and Election Day and says on their website:
“When the margin of victory is small in battleground states– getting out the gun vote is IMPERATIVE! Remember, some of the most competitive races have been decided by a few hundred or a few thousand votes.
A Guns.com article provides a brief description of the 2A Platforms from Harris and Trump. Also, read here: USCCA breaks down the differences in the party platforms relative to the RKBA. You can also read an article here by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and they have this message for gun owners:
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, is “urging all gun owners, hunters, recreational target shooters, and supporters of the Second Amendment to register to vote by visiting GunVote.org and heading to the polls on Election Day.”
An article in the Daily Caller sums it up neatly:
“We believe [gun owners] will be a determinant factor, particularly when the contrast is so stark. You have a candidate on the Democrat side who was coronated and wants to literally, wants to send the police to your home to see how you store your guns, and wants to confiscate firearms,” Keane added.
“Former President Donald Trump himself believes gun owners can sway the election. Speaking at a recent rally, he said that the National Rifle Association had shown him numbers about how infrequently gun owners vote. “If you would vote, nobody would beat us,” Trump said.”
As it says on the Iowa State Flag: Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain
To do that, you must vote!
To amplify your impact: Join IFC!
NEED HELP?
- Early voting in Iowa begins tomorrow, October 16th
- You can register to vote in person during early voting, or on election day
- You can also register to vote online by October 21st
- REMEMBER: You cannot carry (OPEN OR CONCEALED) at a polling location
If you are not registered (or not sure if you are); or if you need voting info:
And if you need information about how your State Senators and Representatives have voted on Second Amendment-related bills in the past, look here: https://www.ifcpac.org/legislative-scorecard/
Finally, if you want to know which State legislators are currently running for office and who IFC is endorsing, look here: https://www.ifcpac.org/2024-endorsements/
Second Amendment Matters
by Dave Funk | Oct 8, 2024
OVERREACH AGAIN, AND MORE FBI LIES
The Biden-Harris Administration has overreached its authority again, and even more FBI lies have been exposed.
OVERREACH AGAIN
Many of you know I was the President of the Iowa Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) for four years before I later served as your IFC president. SCI is now calling out the Biden-Harris
Administration for its anti-hunting/anti-gun overreach on Federal Lands. From SCI:
Safari Club International Opposes Biden-Harris Administration’s Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan
Today, Safari Club International (SCI) voiced its strong opposition to the recently announced Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan.
“In promulgating this proposal, the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture have exceeded their regulatory authorities by closing off these public lands to responsible recreational activities, thereby threatening vital conservation funding.
The plan also imposes severe restrictions on vehicle access and establishes a total ban on recreational shooting on the entirety of Bears Ears National Monument’s (BENM) 1.3 MILLION acres, a move that will have substantial economic and conservation consequences.
“This policy doesn’t just hurt sportsmen and women—it undermines the entire ecosystem of conservation funding,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “By shutting down recreational shooting, the plan takes a sledgehammer to a critical funding source for conservation projects and disregards the public’s right to access the lands they help sustain. SCI is proud to oppose this proposed resource management plan as part of our longstanding mission to be First for Hunters.””
You can follow this link to read the SCI press release.
FBI LIES AGAIN
Just over two weeks ago, the FBI corrected its previous year’s crime data, clearly trying to protect the Biden-Harris Administration’s election chances this November. Special thanks to America’s crime data guru Dr. John Lott and his Crime Prevention Research Center for highlighting this data “revision”. From Dr. Lott:
A week and a half ago, the FBI released its final crime data for 2023. However, the news media completely missed how the FBI had revised its “final” crime data for previous years. For a year, the media claimed that violent crime fell in 2022. Oops! What had originally been a 2.1% drop in reported violent crime was actually a 4.5% increase. By the way, that increase in 2022 was bigger than the claimed 3.5% drop in 2023. I have previously discussed the problems with the FBI’s measure of reported crime, but you would think that after a year of using the 2022 crime data to claim that crime was falling, someone in the media would mention they were wrong. I wrote an op-ed in the New York Post that goes through these points and explains why even these amazing numbers are an underestimate. I will make one other startling point: the FBI’s 2022 “final” crime data somehow missed [a] 1,699 increase in murders in 2022.
When Federal Agencies are repeatedly politicized they become slaves to the narrative. In this case, it’s the FBI, but we also saw the new job numbers revised downward by over one million just a short time ago by another Federal Agency. Between the BATFE’s war on law-abiding citizens, the COVID mess, and now FEMA showing us how utterly corrupt and incompetent it is in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, how can we ever trust our Federal Government on anything ever again?
We cannot survive as a nation with these loony toons dangerous quacks in power. Please get out and help pro-freedom candidates across Iowa and America today! Register and vote!
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.
Dave Funk
Member, Board of Directors
Iowa Firearms Coalition
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