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.
Travis White of FRAC on IFC Warrior Wednesday EP78.
Michael Ware of IFC interviews, Travis White of FRAC (Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition). FRAC’s sole mission is to aggressively advocate for and defend firearms, ammunition, and accessories manufacturers and importers from government overreach. This includes holding the government accountable for arbitrary and capricious policies and rulings and ensuring that the government’s regulation of the industry is conducted in an open and transparent manner.
FRAC will be the leading advocate of firearms manufacturers, importers, and their customers before federal regulatory agencies. fracaction.org
Yes, folks, Chevron Deference is dead! What does that mean? Simply put, it means the Supreme Court told Congress to get back to work. They must stop pawning off their power to unelected Executive Branch bureaucratic agencies. These bureaucrats have become lawmakers that control the entire legal process in “administrative courts”.
Last year I wrote this to explain Chevron Deference:
“About forty years ago the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) created what is now known as the Chevron Deference. As the Brookings Institute explains, this allows the courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretation of ambiguous federal statutes. Possibly the greatest legacy of the current SCOTUS may be one of annihilating the administrative state, by ending the doctrine of Chevron Deference.”
There are lots of very complex explanations out there right now, regarding the impact of striking down Chevron Deference in the Loper Bright Enterprises SCOTUS decision just handed down. Most of these explanations are written by lawyers – and for lawyers. Let me break it all down for you, with the help of The Second Amendment Foundation’s Bill Sack from a piece in AmmoLand;
“Chevron was overturned formally based on the Administrative Procedures Act, which sets out the procedures that federal agencies must follow as well as instructions for the courts to review actions by those agencies. The Supreme Court decided that this deference was unlawful. The Supreme Court said federal courts should start from scratch, rather than showing deference to the alphabet agencies.”
The High Court removed their thumb from the scale.
That last statement is mine. We have seen abuses by federal agencies of the rulemaking process, including by the beloved BATFE. Recent reinterpretations of rules regarding pistol braces, the frame & receiver rule, and the bump stock ban have been, and arebeing, struck down. This is occurring at various levels of Federal Courts (up to and including SCOTUS), using the Administrative Procedures Act.
Why This Matters
This decision is a major blow to the 100 years of federal overreach that started in the 1920’s. It will take time to fully reverse the consolidation of power in Washington D.C.We all need to pressure our State Legislatures to press the Federal Government back into its only lawful role under the Enumerated Powers Clause in the US Constitution. I’ll give you the short version: Congress only has the authority to do about eighteen things, despite its overstepping its bounds for over 100 years under the guise of “modern views”. That view is that “our betters” in government know what’s best for us.
I am running the world.
Nothing better illustrates that attitude than when Joe Biden made that statement in his ABC Interview on July 5th. I don’t care if it’s Michael Bloomberg, Barack Obama, or George Soros and their minions, we as Americans get to live with the consequences of our own decisions. We should not suffer the consequences of others’ decisions that we have had no say in. After all, how many of “our betters” ever pay a price for their bad decisions?
Joe Biden can barely walk across a stage. He is not running the world.
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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