Your Freedom Amendment vote made a difference. Here’s an example: Illinois versus Iowa. On December 14, 2023, a couple dozen activists gathered in Davenport for an anti-gun protest. They somehow get a bit of press coverage, even though everyday Iowans are mostly ignored by the mainstream press. You know the Iowans I’m talking about–the nearly 750,000 Iowa voters who voted for the Freedom Amendment. The 750,000 voters we need to remind our legislators about.
Fortunately for all of us, we have honest journalists in Iowa, and even in Illinois. WQAD-TV ran a story on December 14th. My hat is off to them for once again reaching out to IFC to give our view, and for correctly quoting me. From the story by Jonathan Fong:
“Doesn’t mean the federal circuit appellate courts are not gonna hear it and rule on it; they’re just saying we’re not going to take it up right now,” Iowa Firearms Coalition president Dave Funk explained.
Funk is confident the Supreme Court will overturn the law. “With the makeup of the current court, and it’s gonna stay this way for probably, at least another decade, maybe two decades, where you have a majority of pro-constitution or originalists on the court … we’ll see it overturned, we won’t see any change.”
It’s important to understand the federal appellate process, in the case of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). The PICA act is unconstitutional on its face. This is clear to anyone with any knowledge of the Second Amendment, its historical traditions, and the Bruen Decision. Jumping directly to the US Supreme Court, while similar cases from other states are working their way through the system, is not something SCOTUS likes. We all want SCOTUS to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, but we have to let the legal process work its way through.
GRASPING AT STRAWS
We all know those Dangerous Quacks are grasping for straws. Let’s keep them grasping here in Iowa. Help IFC fulfill its mission to you, and all Iowa gun owners, by purchasing your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th. Hopefully, I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning.
Help us educate Iowans on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membershiphere today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
EVIL EXISTS: WHY DOES THE LEFT ALWAYS BLAME THE GUN?
Evil exists: why does the left always blame the gun? Think back to the Columbine School shooters, there is no question they were evil…or the Beslan School attackers, or the Hamas attackers in Israel on October 7th, or just a few days ago, the knife attacker in Paris.
In every one of these examples, along with the hundreds of other evil actors and deeds around the world, the anti-gun leftists all blame the gun instead of the evil or criminal person using it. Evil is evil whether the weapon used is a gun, a knife, a chainsaw, a vehicle, or something else.
Over the years, in debates with those anti-gun dangerous quacks, I’ve observed one consistent trait. They all share what economist Dr. Thomas Sowell famously observed:
“People convinced of their own superior wisdom and virtue have no time to spare for what other people want, whether in housing or health care or a whole range of other things.”
KNOW YOUR HISTORY
Amazingly, the anti-gun quacks also cannot seem to comprehend that others have any different views than theirs. They actually believe that if we all were just disarmed, the world would be a safer place. What I find terrifying is that those same people have ignored all of human history and man’s capacity for evil towards other men. But yet they want governments to have a monopoly on power?
During the tyrannical COVID lockdowns brought upon us by Dr. Fauci, our own government saw how easy it is to create fear and get people to submit. Now the CDC and leftist lawmakers want to treat “gun violence” as a virus. Guns are inanimate objects, they are not self-aware or capable of independent action, and they certainly can’t make copies of themselves, as a virus does.
Evil is the issue, and it can never be reasoned with, or regulated. It can only be destroyed by those willing to stand up to it. Help us educate Iowans on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Mark your calendars NOW! The 2024 IFC 2A Lobby Day is scheduled for January 18th. This year it’s going to be in the morning, from 9:00 a.m. – Noon, at the Iowa State Capitol Building. By holding the event in the morning, this will give you more time to actually meet with your legislators that day. Our special guest speaker is Gabby Franco: Olympian, Top Shot contender, firearms instructor, author and more. She has an amazing story to tell.
This free event also provides an opportunity to learn about current proposed 2A legislation in Iowa and to meet with your elected representatives at the Capitol. Arrive at 9:00 a.m. to meet IFC’s Sponsors, and some of our Trusted Partners to see what they have to offer. The official program is from 10:00 – Noon.
Parking shuttle service will be provided, as always.
ANNUAL IFC-PAC DINNER EVENT!
Capping off the 2024 IFC 2A Day events is the IFC-PAC dinner, which will feature a prime rib supper. After the meal, you will have an opportunity to hear more about Gabby’s compelling story of escaping from an oppressive government regime and immigrating to the USA to become a U.S. citizen. She tells her story widely, to warn people about the gradual erosion of gun rights. Gabby is recognized internationally for her shooting skills and is an inspiring woman in the 2A community. There is so much to Gabby’s life story that you will be left amazed & inspired!
Also, (our members asked for it) and we are moving the IFC-PAC dinner event to a bigger venue this year! It will be held at the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine in Altoona, located at 1100 Shriners Pkwy, Altoona, IA, 50009, with convenient access from Interstate 80. Doors open at 5:30pm; dinner starts at 7pm.
Purchase your tickets for the IFC-PAC Dinner at this link. Don’t wait! Tickets are going fast.
As always, we will have raffles and door prizes! My special thanks to our IFC Events Coordinator, Eric Hansen, for his work to make this a great event.
This event is a way to help IFC-PAC to protect your 2A Rights to remain Ready at All Times.
I look forward to meeting each and every one of you at IFC 2A Day and the IFC PAC Dinner that evening.
Help us educate Iowan’s on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membershiphere today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
President Biden just told Israel to not arm their citizens, or else! Amazingly–after the October 7th attacks in Israel, when Israel is implementing a de facto Second Amendment by distributing rifles to its citizens. It was just about eighty weeks ago when the Ukrainians did the same thing after the Russians invaded their country.
“On Saturday, Israeli outlet Haaretzreported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had been pictured handing out rifles to the nation’s citizens and “community security squads” located throughout the kibbutzim—the episode created a “diplomatic incident” which manifested a threat from Joe Biden and his abettors to end “arms shipments” to the country. From the article:
The U.S. administration told Israel that it would not supply the country with arms if they are used to arm civilians, and if they are to be distributed at political events. The administration also threatened to halt an order of some 20,000 rifles purchased by the National Security Ministry from American suppliers.
The U.S. announcement shocked Israel’s defense establishment. In light of a considerable rifle shortage, resolving the crisis involved both political and judicial officials.”
Please go read Olivia Murry’s piece that is hyperlinked above. She spells things out in context far better than I can summarize here.
Founding Fathers Placed Deliberate
Limitations on Government
James Madison explained in Federalist Paper #46 the necessity of the government not having a monopoly on power. As I said a few weeks ago, of all the things that the Founders wrote about in the first ten amendments to our Bill of Rights, the second most important thing after being safe in your religious beliefs, thoughts, and speech was that every person should have a gun!
After years of seeing photos of young Israelis walking around with rifles or submachine guns hanging from their bodies, we Americans assumed that most of the population was armed. That turns out not to be the case at all. One thing dictators and globalists all fear is an armed population. Israel paid a price in lives because their citizens are mostly disarmed.
Clearly, a majority of our friends in Israel now see the need for an armed population that is Ready at All Times, and not just a few military members or the police.
I look forward to meeting each and every one of you at IFC 2A Day the morning of January 18, 2024, and hopefully you can join us for the IFC PAC Dinner that Evening.
Help us educate Iowan’s on the facts by joining or renewing your IFC membershiphere today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Israel provides us a live Case Study arguing against gun control, given the events of these past few days.
Our world is not a “safe” place. Any illusion of safety we Americans had was destroyed in an instant over 20 years ago. Our large cities are no longer safe and our rural areas, especially along the border, are equally dangerous. It is no wonder that Americans from all backgrounds and ethnicities have been buying record numbers of self-defense firearms and other tools, for the protection of themselves, their families, and others. Women and minorities, in particular, have been showing up at gun shops and training courses all across the country, closing the gap in what was once a male dominated field. Why is this?
People have to feel safe. We can no longer delude ourselves that the police are going to be there to protect us. Realistically, they often cannot be. There are too many of us, not enough of them and too much crime. It is up to us to protect ourselves, and each other. If the police arrive in time to take over – great. But you cannot count on that.
In 1943, Abraham Maslow established a model to represent human needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and it looks like a triangle. At the base of this model – it’s foundation – are Physiological Needs (shelter, water, food) and next in line: Safety. In his studies of the human condition, Maslow determined that when our security is threatened, everything else takes a back seat.
Events in Israel
And Saturday, our world became even more dangerous, our safety was threatened. Israel’s certainly was. Make no mistake, when this is over, the world and its alliances will look different than they did on Friday of last week.
Saturday, Hamas launched an unprovoked attack against Israel by land, through tunnels, by sea and even using paragliders. They killed 260+ civilians at a music festival. They killed families in their homes. They abducted some untold number of innocent civilians—women, children, and elderly— dragging some through the streets. Reports are coming out now that the hostages are being summarily executed by Hamas. Eleven American citizens and one British national are confirmed dead. Hezbollah has also fired rockets and artillery at Israel. A Hamas official announced today that Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah are “ready to join the battle”.
Global Impacts
Deaths from both sides are nearly 2,000 at this point (and thousands more injured) in this 3-day-old war. The Israeli Prime Minister has responded with counteroffensive attacks without restraint. He has mobilized 300,000 reservists. He has laid siege to Gaza. Water, food, electricity, and the internet have been cut off to the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian President is scheduled to go to Moscow to visit with Putin. Saudi Arabia has reassured Palestine that it will continue to support them. People are demonstrating in Paris, in London, in New York, in Chicago, and even in San Diego. Arrests have been made.
U.S. military aid is enroute to Israel with an aircraft carrier strike force, the lynchpin of which is the USS Gerald R Ford—the largest aircraft carrier in the US fleet. This is not a regional conflict. These are dark days for us all. And, just like 9-11 was a colossal intelligence failure for the US, this surprise attack by Hamas represents a massive intelligence failure by Israelis. In both instances, the intelligence apparatus of the government failed to keep its citizens safe.
Israel foolishly does not have a right to bear arms, meaning there could be no immediate resistance to the Hamas invaders. They had free reign to slaughter men, women, and children until IDF could respond.
Mr. Moros points out that Israel has a much smaller population than the US. If an organized terrorist attack happened here, the comparative number of deaths in the US (adjusted for our much larger population), would be around 24,000 people. In the initial attack. Israel has been hit hard, most definitely.
Imagine if Israel had laws allowing its citizens to own firearms, as in the US. Do you think those people might have fought back? That some of them, at least, would have been able to protect their families?
How Do Israel’s Gun Control Laws Compare?
In another article published in Bearing Arms, entitled “Israel’s gun control policies worsened the death toll”, written yesterday by Ranjit Singh, he argues that “the death toll wouldn’t have been so insanely high if not for Israel’s gun control policies”. His article includes a link to The Library of Congress listing of gun control policies in countries from around the world, including Israel. Then he provides a list of what the Israeli policies are, concluding that “Israel’s gun control looks a lot like New York’s or California’s gun control…except it’s much worse“.
He says that some of those who attended the music festival where 250 people were slaughtered, DID fight back. They grabbed the attackers’ guns and fought back, killing some of them. How many of those 250 festival goers would not have died if they had possessed firearms in the first place? How many others could they have saved? Read the article, please.
Thousands of people were dancing at the Supernova festival early Saturday when the surprise assault on Israel took place. After hearing sirens and rockets go off, festival-goers heard a barrage of gunfire that halted the music and sent crowds scrambling to get to safety. At least 260 bodies have been recovered from the festival site in the Negev Desert in southern Israel, according to rescue agency Zaka.
Conservative commenter Katie Pavlich is quoted in that article which then states, “Responding to Pavlich’s tweet, an X user wrote, “Another example of gun free zones being the worst place to be.”” Sums it up perfectly.
Change in Response to The War
Now, however, Israel has now changed its tune, somewhat. In a Townhall article written yesterday by Matt Vespa, “Amid New War With Hamas, Israel Loosens Regulations on Firearm Ownership” he says, “The right to gun ownership and self-defense were highlighted as many of these civilians killed and kidnapped had no means to stop these heavily armed Islamic radicals”. He states that Itamar Ben-Givr, minister for National Security, has now loosened those restrictions:
Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation, in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves”, and the outlines of the plan follow his statement.
Frankly, there are still hoops to jump through and I’m wondering how feasible it is for citizens who are under ongoing attack, to get that taken care of in the midst of war. Nonetheless, I’m sure their motivation to do so will be high. I simply cannot imagine being under a sustained onslaught with no means of defense against armed intruders.
…The fear of tyranny may not be the foremost on Israelis’ minds in their desire to own guns, but watching terrorists literally raining down from the sky, wading through blood in the streets, and being slaughtered in their own homes is.
Israelis live in a country that has been under direct threat and sometimes attack since 1948. If this weekend’s atrocities don’t convince the population in general and Israel’s government in particular that Israelis need to have American-style gun rights and the means to defend themselves, nothing ever will.
As our esteemed President, Dave Funk, is always reminding us, be Ready at All Times.
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Let’s keep them grasping here in Iowa. Help IFC fulfill its mission to you, and all Iowa gun owners, by purchasing your tickets to the IFC PAC Prime Rib Dinner on January 18th. Hopefully, I’ll see you there, after meeting each and every one of you at IFC’s annual 2A Lobby Day that morning. 
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