The Gadsden Flag Plate is important in Iowa for two simple reasons. 1, Iowans want it. 2, As designed it’ll fund vital local 2A programs.
HF2639 – sailed through the Iowa House with a great deal of enthusiasm. Even during floor debate, Democrats came to offer the rich history of the “join us” mantra the Gadsden flag represented in the formation and keeping of this fledgling nation.
What we want and need:
A Gadsden plate, much like the other dozen+ in America that adequately relays over to an oppressive government, “DON’T TREAD ON ME”
The funding stream should be left as the original content and context and can be used for 2A education, scholarships, grants, information, action, etc.
What we DO NOT want and need:
A change to a sticker away from the full plate design is silly. Nobody wants that. Nobody will buy that. The LSA predicted 3000+ plates in circulation in just the first year. IFC hears a ton of enthusiasm for this plate. Why? Because we explained the bill content and it goes to the heart of the matter, not something else.
Those who value the historical symbolism of “Don’t Tread On Me” are unlikely to be eager to see their $50 upcharge go to some ill-defined GOVERNMENT program. Not only did the Iowa House pass this bill, but the public has been told all along what the funding would do and how it would be used. They’re clamoring to spend the money on them. Let them do it.
Additional thoughts:
Is this a new concept? No, over a dozen other states do this.
Who funds these plates? THE BUYER of the plate/tags. No taxpayer funds are being sent anywhere.
Are there plates the state has that are no longer even valid? Yes. If the argument is there isn’t room in the county courthouse, then take down one of the university plates THAT NO LONGER EXISTS and tack up the Gadsden plate – IFC will supply the nails.
Are there plates without the county listed on the bottom? YES, lots of them.
Does Iowa have several plates? No, not compared to other states. I first thought we did, but when researching I found most states have HUNDREDS of options (over 500 options in Texas alone). You can even design your own individual plates in some states.
Unserious Dangerous Quacks. As many of you know, I love referring to our opposition as dangerous quacks. Nothing points out how those leftists have twisted themselves into knots over their ever-changing definitions of things.
It wasn’t that long ago when in her confirmation hearing (now) Justice Jackson-Brown could not define what a woman is. When asked that question, she answered: “I’m not a biologist”. Just a few days ago, she stated that a bump-stock increased the rate of fire of an AR15 to 800 rounds per second!
But it gets even worse with those Leftist Dangerous Quacks. A national treasure, Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, took apart federal Judge Nancy Maldonado when he asked her to define an assault weapon.
“You said, ‘Assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate for legitimate self-defense purposes’. Tell me what you meant by assault weapons? “
Judge Maldonado did everything she could to not answer that question, despite having signed a Legal Brief on the issue years before in her role as an anti-gun activist!
This is just one more example of it being time to end the Chevron Deference ruling that allows the courts to defer to “reasonable” agency interpretation of ambiguous federal statutes. It is high time to start calling out the absurd idea that unelected government experts be given authority over everyday Americans. Or, for that matter, Federal Judges with no idea about the subject matter over which they rule.
Elections have consequences. Let’s push the anti-gun and anti-freedom leftists out of power this November.
Iowa Legislative Update
We have passed the second funnel. Our priorities, both The Students First Safety Act and the Gadsden Flag Iowa license plates bills are still sitting in the Iowa Senate awaiting action. Please keep the pressure on your Senators through the IFC Action Alert System on these two bills.
Help us defend all Iowan’s rights by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today. And please stay Ready at All Times.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Law Enforcement Support for Students First Safety Act
Law Enforcement support for the Students First Safety Act was announced by Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington on Thursday, March 21st. The Sheriff asked the Senate to PASS the Students First Safety Act to increase school safety.
The Sheriff publicly called on Iowa’s State Senators to pass the Students First Safety Act, HF2586. The bill is supported by the Iowa Firearms Coalition (IFC).
Sheriff Wethington understands that it will take time for officers to respond in the event of a school shooting. He says:
“It is impossible for Iowa’s peace officers to be everywhere at all times and our state’s students and staff must be better protected,” said Wethington. “I fully support the Students First Safety Act and I call on lawmakers in the Senate to pass it now. Our children can’t afford to wait any longer.”
HF2586
The Students First Safety Act, which passed the Iowa house overwhelmingly in February, will allow for specially trained armed staff to carry firearms on school grounds. The training requirements are extensive. The Cedar County Gazette published this article about the bill on February 29th. The legislation further includes provisions that provide a path forward for school districts seeking to safeguard their campuses with the ability to obtain insurance.
Two school districts in northwest Iowa had worked to implement armed staff in 2023 but cancelled plans once Des Moines-based EMC insurance notified the districts that their insurance policies would not be renewed if their plans went into effect.
IFC President Dave Funk had this to say:
“We are grateful Sheriff Wethington is taking a public stand in support of school safety. As the recent act of evil at Perry High School proved, evil can happen anywhere. The only proven way to save lives when evil strikes is to have good people who are willing and able to respond quickly.”
The Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa’s official NRA State Association, is a 501(c4) nonprofit and is Iowa’s only effective pro-Second Amendment rights organization.
For further comment, please contact: Sheriff Warren Wethington
563-886-2121
or — jmclaughlin@iowafc.org
John McLaughlin, IFC Chair
Contact Your Senator
Please contact your State Senator directly to ask them to PASS HF2586, the Students First Safety Act. To send a pre-written email, Take Action HERE. On that same page, on the right-hand side, you can enter your zip code and address to look up your Senator, if you prefer to call them.
Selective prosecution — Are Americans seeing what’s happening? I’m not sure how any thinking person could believe otherwise. Let’s just look over these examples:
LAWFARE AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP
The latest news in the saga to stop Trump took a huge turn last week in Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Fani Willis, an elected District Attorney, will be allowed to remain on the case, despite perjury on the stand. The Judge ruled that she only had to fire her paramour in order to continue the ridiculous prosecution of Trump on RICO claims. Clarice Feldman over at the American Thinker published this great piece, “Mendacity and Corruption in the Judiciary”, on March 17th with the legal details.
Many examples of politically motivated cases are available. Hillary Clinton’s crimes in her role in Russia-Gate were ignored. Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to indict President Biden for illegally taking and revealing classified materials as a Senator and former Vice-President. Hur’s published report stated plainly that his decision not to prosecute was because the President is too old and too feeble to stand trial. Professor Jonathan Turley wrote in “…The Odor Of Selective Prosecution” that New York Attorney General, Letitia James, prosecuted President Trump (and fined him half a billion dollars) in a Soviet-style “show trial”.
If you are from the Left, you can riot, assault, and burn down with impunity. However, if you are from the Right, walk through Washington DC on January 6, 2021, and you are hunted down, even years later, by the FBI. In contrast, illegally entering the country, is no big deal in the eyes of the Biden Administration.
Professor Turley concludes with this;
“The rest of us are left in courtrooms, from Georgia to Washington to New York, asking the same question of Tennessee Williams’ “Big Daddy” Pollitt: “What’s that smell in this room? …Didn’t you notice a powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room? There ain’t nothin’ more powerful than the odor of mendacity.”
STAYING READY AT ALL TIMES
For the last few months, I’ve included the note; “And please stay Ready at All Times.” in my weekly IFC President’s Message. Last week an article about repeated drone incursions over the strategically important Langley Air Force Base in Virginia was published by The War Zone. They highlighted the admission by the Air Force regarding these ongoing events:
“The installation first observed UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] activities the evening of December 6 [2023] and experienced multiple incursions throughout December. The number of UASs fluctuated and they ranged in size/configuration,” a spokesperson for Langley Air Force Base told The War Zone in a statement earlier today. “None of the incursions appeared to exhibit hostile intent but anything flying in our restricted airspace can pose a threat to flight safety. The FAA was made aware of the UAS incursions.”
The Biden Administration continues to apply two standards of justice and ignores warnings about obvious threats to our nation. Like on 9-11, the first response to any future attack is most likely going to be by everyday Americans.
Help us defend all Iowan’s rights by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
Students First Safety Act (HF 2586) represents a two-year effort by IFC, to address school safety in a meaningful way. However, it has been difficult. After days of struggle in the House, Representative Matt Windschitl gave an impassioned, and direct, speech in favor of the bill to the House. Getting the bill to the floor of the House for a vote, and then getting the votes to pass the bill to the Senate, took a lot of effort. Iowa Firearms Coalition greatly appreciates those legislators who have steadfastly worked on behalf of student safety.
The bill is now in the Senate. The Senate Education subcommittee, to which it was assigned, voted to calendar it in the Senate.
Below is the text of the recent email communication by Representative Windschitl to his constituents about HF 2586, and other bills focused on making schools safer.
Representative Windschitl’s Message to Constituents
PROTECTING OUR STUDENTS
One of the main themes House Republicans have been working on this session is school safety and security for our students and staff in educational settings. We have brought forth numerous proposals surrounding this topic and will continue working on multiple ways to accomplish this goal. One of the bills we have advanced to the Senate for consideration allows schools flexibility to protect students by arming staff. For a staff member to qualify for this responsibility, they must undergo specific training regarding active shooters and emergency response strategy, and they must obtain a professional permit to carry that requires elevated firearm training. The training laid out in the bill is extensive and rigorous. Keep in mind this would be on a voluntary basis for schools and staff to choose if they want to use this option. No one will be forced to undergo training if they do not want to have the responsibility, and no school is required to arm staff. Another proposal we have put forth deals with school infrastructure and creates grants for schools to utilize technology to equip schools and detect bad actors with harmful intentions. This bill creates a task force to develop school safety building codes to determine what makes school buildings safer. Currently none exist. With new standards, school officials will be able to make sure they are doing what they can from an infrastructure standpoint to make buildings safe for students and teachers. Along that same line, the bill prevents districts from bonding to build athletic stadiums or facilities unless and until their facilities are up to date with the school safety building standards from the task force. Safety and security should be the priority. This bill also deals with how schools can get help or send for help if an emergency arises. Schools are allowed to have a mobile panic alert system if it can connect to emergency services and integrates with local public safety answering points. This is a mobile phone application districts can utilize. The Governor’s office previously developed a grant program for emergency radios. Many schools took advantage of that grant, but some did not. The Governor’s office has said that they plan to re-open that grant program to make sure all schools can have access to funding for the radios. If schools do not take advantage, they will be required to use their own funds. This bill establishes two grant programs. The first is a three-million-dollar Firearm Detection Softwaregrant program run by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The grant program provides funds to school districts of varying sizes to help offset the cost associated with purchasing, installing, operating software that meets these requirements:
Designed to alert and detect district employees and first responders if there is a visible, unholstered firearm on a property owned by the school district.
Designed to integrate with a district’s existing security camera infrastructure.
Was developed in the U.S. without any of third-party data or open-source data.
The second grant program is the School Security Personnel Grants for Infrastructure, Equipment, and Training. This grant program states that if the bill is passed, it will provide school districts grants to purchase infrastructure and equipment related to employee permits to carry weapons, facilitate the training associated with employee permits to carry weapons, and to provide stipends to employees who participate in the training associated with employee permits to carry weapons. Districts who choose to enhance school security this way will have additional expenses and House Republicans want to help cover those costs to truly make schools a safer place for students and staff.
Regardless of the outcome of the Students First Safety Act in the Senate, all IFC members — indeed, all Iowans — owe Representative Windschitl their thanks for his fervent and steadfast support, as well as thanks to others who voted in favor of advancing the bill to the Senate.
If you are not a member of IFC, please join HERE and volunteer. We have many opportunities to get involved.
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