For Those of You Butt Hurt Over No Machine Guns in Iowa, I’m going to clue you into what too few will ever tell you. First, you may not understand what the problems are. Second, you may not understand the process of an idea eventually becoming a law. Third, you’re directing your ire in the wrong direction. But IFC can help clear up the first two misunderstandings, and together, we can tackle the 3rd.
For context, there are three things we hear often from Iowans. 1, when are we going to get machine guns? 2, why can’t the good guys carry in schools? 3, why can’t we reverse the carry ban in parking lots? …ALL are good questions and completely capable of being corrected. Here are a few examples of the comments we get sent routinely:
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First, you may not understand what the problems are.
Here is the problem. Only a fraction of the legislature has the guts to vote for and support the repeal of 724.1 (the “offensive weapons” code in Iowa that prohibits machine gun ownership). And even if you didn’t repeal 724.1, which is what should be done since all these items are already federally regulated and legally possessed in varying degrees in nearly 40 other states, Iowa politicians don’t have the guts to vote to support machine gun ownership. Hey, I’m just telling you the truth. Sure, there are a handful of folks in both chambers who would support this change, but a ton are scared of the negativity they’d hear, which is nearly always born of lies or misunderstanding. I don’t know where the Governor is on such things. She’s never said it, and maybe she should be explicitly asked why most of the United States doesn’t hold a position contrary to the Constitution or the Bruen decision, but Iowa does.
Second, you may not understand the process of an idea eventually becoming a law.
“Tell us who voted against it so we can vote them out!”
We can’t point to legislators and provide a list of betrayals or folks who voted against this kind of bill because it never made it out of drafting this year! That’s right. I wrote a blog about our bill draft, but with no small irony, it was never assigned a bill number. No bill number, no committee assignment. Dead…
And, even if it had assigned a file number or a study bill number, a committee chair would have to assign a subcommittee of people to discuss it, if it passed the subcommittee, it would then have to be scheduled for the full committee. If successful there, it would need to be scheduled for floor debate and would be necessary to pass through both the House and Senate, endure changes and amendments, or remain identical on both sides of the Capitol Rotunda. Sounds simple, right? WRONG… Bills don’t fly through this process automatically with naturally occurring action. Nope. There are gatekeepers in each position. The committee chairs WILL NOT assign bills for a subcommittee that they think may make their fellow legislators look unfavorable. Same with complete committee work. So, if they don’t think they have the votes OR folks within their caucus push back, they simply don’t move the bills. They die for lack of action. It’s the same with floor debate. The leadership decides what bills will be placed on the calendar, when, etc., all done by the procedure, of course. But, procedure or not, they don’t often place anything on the calendar they can’t pass. In fact, I’ve watched bills be pulled from floor debate as they were being debated because things weren’t looking favorably.
“I’m just a bill, yes I’m only a bill…” We learned as kids that bills get written, then debated, win or lose on merit, then get volleyed around, and eventually, possibly signed by the executive, and if so, become laws. That’s a pollyannish view at best. There are gatekeepers all along the way, and they’re sometimes looking out for their interests, or possibly the interests of people like them, or sometimes told by more powerful people to simply not touch a bill. All of these are happening right now, as we speak, in the Iowa Legislature.
Bills only move forward when the gatekeepers allow them OR so many legislators push for them that they can’t be stopped. Period.
Third, you’re directing your ire in the wrong direction.
We’ve been working on this continually for nearly a decade. We had machine gun legalization in the famous Omnibus Bill back in 2017, and it was stripped out when a newspaper article made it a focus for a day. Some years, we see a bill number; some years, that doesn’t even happen. But leadership and committee chairs stop this from coming to fruition. However, they usually only do this in the case of legislators who don’t truly understand Iowa’s motto: “Our Liberties we Prize and our Rights we will Maintain” and that’s the core problem.
Individual legislators need tuned up. They need to commit to you, Joe Public, that they’re going to advance and vote for your issues*. And that won’t happen without your complete and continual engagement. (*And by the way, being told they’ll vote for it IF it comes before them is a cop-out. You’re looking for a genuine commitment to bring our legislation to fruition by working behind the scenes to make it happen.) We can and will guide you through that process. IFC then liaises with those same legislators and leadership to craft meaningful legislation, manage concerns, and essentially guide the process while handling timely and untimely hurdles that require jumping. There are tools along the way we’ll be using, and your sharing them around to build a strong following for each individual bill is the only way this works.
For some reason, there is a disconnect between what we see with the Federal Government, Trump, Vance, DOGE, and the likes doing, and Iowa legislators. I can’t explain it, but they don’t seem to grasp what people expect. Court cases are coming down all over the nation, and Iowa isn’t paying any attention. They’re too often aligning with bureaucracies, or they’re scared of loud activist media outlets. I hope we can help clear up whatever misconceptions there are. I truly do. This process gets easier and happens faster when you’re completely engaged. When you’re not, it rarely happens.
What can you do?
My two asks??? First, engage and stay all over your elected officials like stink on a pig. Second, if ANY of them wish to sponsor or cosponsor vital 2A legislation like the legalization of machine guns and bringing us in line with the federal government and dozens of other states along with the momentum of multiple court cases, including the Bruen decision, send them our way. We want to talk to them.
In Libertatem,
Michael Ware
IFC Board
PS – If you’re not clear on the court battles, search. There are too many to list out there… This video might give you some context:
NRA is running a limited-time offer for just $18.71! I’ll give you three guesses of the significance of 1871, and the first two don’t count. 😉 Looks like you’ve got less than a month to enjoy a discount on your annual membership. HERE is the offer if you wish to download it.
As NRA’s only state association in Iowa, IFC is pleased to be able to continually partner with them. Come back and join!
We, as Second Amendment guardians should never rely on the Federal District or Appellate Courts to get Second Amendment issues right every time. Two recent 2A cases, and the Law-Fare conducted by those courts against the Trump Administration, show us why.
WHO ARE ADULTS? WRONG DECISION BY THE 11TH FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
After a long fight brought by the National Rifle Association against Florida’s terrible overreaction to the Parkland, Florida high school shooting, which barred 18-20-year-olds from purchasing any firearms (not just handguns), the 11th Federal Appeals Court completely got it wrong on what qualifies as an adult!
“Saying the restriction is “consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation,” a federal appeals court on Friday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida law that raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21.
The 8-4 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came after seven years of legal wrangling in the National Rifle Association’s challenge to a 2018 law passed after a mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 students and faculty members.
Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time, used a semiautomatic rifle to gun down the victims at his former school. The NRA filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the gun-age restriction shortly after the law passed.
Friday’s ruling by the full Atlanta-based appeals court upheld a three-judge panel’s decision and outlined the history of the nation’s gun laws, from its founding to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions setting guidelines for determining how to apply the Second Amendment. While the law barred people under 21 from buying rifles and long guns, they still can receive them, for example, as gifts from family members.
“From this history emerges a straightforward conclusion: the Florida law is consistent with our regulatory tradition in why and how it burdens the right of minors to keep and bear arms,” Chief Judge William Pryor wrote. “Because minors have yet to reach the age of reason, the Florida law prohibits them from purchasing firearms, yet it allows them to receive firearms from their parents or another responsible adult.”
To Chief Judge William Pryor, I say, “Your Honor, you’re wrong. Eighteen-year-olds are legally adults in the United States; therefore, they have all of the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.” Hopefully, the US Supreme Court will reverse this decision. I’d suggest you read this article to review how Congress can reign in the out-of-control Judiciary.
IOWA LEGISLATIVE NEWS
As I write this, the major news this week started on Monday with SF106 – which repeals the manner of conveyance and ATV/snowmobile firearms restrictions, passed in the Senate today in a bipartisan vote of 39-7, with 4 Senators excused. It now moves to the House, where similar legislation has completed the committee process. You can watch our social media for the latest updates, and IFC’s Action Alerts Center will have the latest Action Alerts when it’s time to reach out to your respective Representatives.
IFC TRUSTED PARTNER OF THE WEEK: AT GUNWORKS, LLC
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IFC Warrior Wednesday EP93 – Peter Churchbourne with NRA Hunter Education – Did you know the cream of the crop in FREE interactive hunter education is provided by NRA? Did you know Iowa DNR doesn’t recognize it and instead forces you to buy this training for $49.95? Did you know Iowa DNR will accept NRA Hunter Education from citizens in other states? Did you know Iowa DNR could apply for funding to bolster hunters into the outdoors by simply applying for them if they used the NRA Hunter Ed? There’s more… Peter Churchbourne joins us from NRA to take a deep dive into what they’ve done across the nation. DOGE isn’t the only entity that can fish out waste and bureaucracy.
This is what IA DNR forces on you today:
And this is the possibility before you from NRA:
The FREE NRA Online Hunter Education Course (NRAHE.ORG) is 100% certified by the US National governing body of hunter education (IHEA) to certify students in all 50 states and all US Tribal lands.
It is up to the state fish and wildlife department (IA DNR) to allow its use per state. The decision is usually made by the state hunter education coordinator.
The NRA course is 100% free to everyone. The student and the state both get everything for free. NRA has invested over $4,000,000 from the NRA Foundation to produce this best-in-class, fully interactive course for Americans. The average state integration is $25,000, which the NRA pays for.
We have full-time support staff that help students with issues. Seven days a week.
The NRA course is the ONLY course that offers Pittman-Robertson match credit for EVERY STUDENT. This means the state fish and wildlife department (IA DNR) gets money for every student who takes the course. Oklahoma gets, on average, $800,000 a year for using our course, and it costs them nothing. If IA DNR wanted something additional, like a field day, NRA certifies the number of online completions, which the state can use for matching dollars from the Pittman-Robertson annual funding.
The NRA does NOT use the collected student names for marketing. There is ZERO gain for the NRA Foundation or the NRA for this offering. We allow the states to draw up a contract if they so choose.
Since 2017, we have certified over 250,000 students, and no state wildlife agency has ever removed our course from its offerings.
NRA DOES NOT ask for exclusivity. If the state agency wants to offer another course that people pay for, they are welcome. We believe Americans should have a choice: our course is better than the other paid offerings, and it is free.
There are no gimmicks, no games, just free incredible hunter education.
Take a deep and informative dive into this and decide for yourself what should be done after watching this video exclusive with IFC:
In Libertatem,
Michael Ware – IFC Board
The images above originated from the IA DNR’s current Hunter Ed provider.
Not surprisingly, attacking 2A defenders has become a great sport for the anti-freedom forces in America. Professor John Lott PhD. has just written an in-depth OpEd over at Real Clear Politics. Here are a few of the crucial points from his article:
“Being in the public eye brings many challenges, and the Pollack family knows this all too well. In 2018, they lost their daughter, Meadow, in the horrific shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This devastating event changed their lives forever, and they dedicated their lives to speaking out for school safety and working with law enforcement. But since then, Andrew Pollack and his son, Hunter, have faced relentless harassment and threats.
While Andrew is likely well-known for his frequent fights over school safety, few realize the personal cost this fight has incurred.
After losing his daughter, Andrew Pollack moved to rural Oregon. There, he continued to speak out on school safety, particularly criticizing Obama administration policies that prevented violent young people from being arrested. These policies prevented authorities from dealing with the Parkland school murderer before the attack despite numerous warning signs. His conservative views and doing things such as speaking at the 2020 Republican National Convention angered his liberal neighbors who tried to silence him through legal actions.”
Dr. Lott then describes in great detail how the left-wing group 1000 Friends of Oregon funded a property line dispute for his neighbor. Then he had an Extreme Risk Protection Order filed against him. This resulted in disarming him at his rural Oregon home, that left him vulnerable. Also, during that time, he had to fight off a mountain lion attack on his goat herd that left his dog severely injured.
Even Mr. Pollack’s son was targeted by these extremists:
“Now, Hunter Pollack is dealing with his own threats. In early February, a week before the seventh anniversary of the Parkland school massacre, 27-year-old Bryan Sajous sent Hunter pages of disturbing private messages on Instagram. Sajous had been sending Hunter strange messages for a couple of years, using different accounts, though that wasn’t clear until after his arrest and the sheriff’s department had examined his phone.
But in February, the messages escalated into direct death threats. Some of his chilling messages included: “I send u to ur dead sister,” “u gonna die,” “Imma kill you,” and “I guarantee u if Nicolas didn’t shoot her id probably kill her”.
Although Sajous mainly targeted Hunter, he also mentioned Hunter’s father, Andrew, in his messages. Hunter spends significant time with his family, so any threat against him might endanger them. That made the situation even more alarming because it threatened his entire family.
Thankfully, the Broward County Sheriff acted quickly and arrested Sajous within five hours of learning about the threats. Authorities charged Sajous with aggravated stalking after an injunction for protection and intimidation for writing and sending death threats.”
Those of us who have stood in the gap between freedom and oppression know the risks involved. Be it on the battlefield in a hot war, fighting at the legislature, or in the court of public opinion. The only thing I know for sure is that each and every one of you is worth it.
IOWA LEGISLATIVE NEWS
The first Funnel week has just passed. IFC President Billy Wilson has a great videomessage out about which bills survived. You can watch our social media for the latest updates, and IFC’s Action Alerts Center will have the latest Action Alerts when it’s time to reach out to your respective Representatives.
IFC TRUSTED PARTNER OF THE WEEK: RMA ARMAMENT
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Founded by a US Marine and former law enforcement officer, RMA’s manufacturing and quality control are second to none. RMA Armament is the only major hard armor manufacturer to never fail an NIJ Follow-up Inspection Test.”
We at IFC carefully screen our trusted partners, and most, if not all, of us use their products. Many of you know that I still serve as a Reserve Police Officer for a Metro Des Moines area agency. RMA is the body armor I wear for duty every time I put on the uniform. I also keep it in my home and my vehicles.
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