by Michael Ware | Aug 14, 2024
After you’ve spent 2A Day advocating for the Second Amendment with IFC at the Iowa Capitol, you should buy a ticket to the IFC-PAC Supper with Jeff Struecker. This is a fundraiser for the IFC-PAC.
Join the Iowa Firearms Coalition for an engaging & personal evening, interacting with Major Jeff Struecker. Maj. Struecker is a retired US Army Ranger with 17 combat deployments & was portrayed in the movie Blackhawk Down, as well as a Chaplain and award-winning author. Don’t miss this unique chance to connect with a true Iowa hero while enjoying some delicious barbecue from Smokey D’s and listening to live music from local artist Tyler Folkerts.
by Dave Funk | Aug 6, 2024
THE FIRST IFC #2A4IA WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Welcome to the IFC #2A4IA Weekly Roundup. As you may already know, this is my first week as past President of IFC. Going forward, my weekly column will continue, but now it will be all about 2A News, and my opinions, for what they are worth.
SAVING DEMOCRACY AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS?
After Biden’s total meltdown on the debate stage just a few weeks ago, it didn’t take long for Obama to exert his dominance when he forced Biden off the Democratic ticket for November. Instead, we get their fellow traveler, the most unlikable and incompetent Vice President ever; “Heel’s-up” Harris.
The professed communists who allegedly are out to “save democracy” by destroying it, showed their card last week. But they clearly don’t care about the fourteen million Democratic Party voters who chose Biden in the rigged primaries. Not to mention that Heels Up has not received a single delegate in either 2020, or 2024. But let’s not let the voters decide, it’s up to Obama, the party apparatus, and the big donors to determine who runs America.
As one of the best researchers on the importance of firearms in civilian hands to curb crime and act as a check on the government’s monopoly on power, Dr. John Lott just wrote in The Federalist:
“During the 2020 presidential campaign, Harris ran to the left of Biden on gun control. While both supported an assault weapons ban, Harris wanted to force gun owners to sell to the government any firearms that she deemed undesirable. Harris went further than Biden in vowing to use executive orders if Congress did not pass the ban. The national gun registry makes this mandatory gun confiscation more doable.
Harris pushed for gun control this week in her first campaign speech as the presumptive Democratic nominee. And she has a long history of pushing for gun control. In early 2008, Harris argued for the constitutionality of gun bans in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. She claimed there is no individual right to self-defense.”
Perhaps it’s time to call her Hyena Harris? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3_MZBCAcbE
Love him or hate him, a vote for President Trump is the only check on Obama getting a fourth term in office, and stopping him from “fundamentally transforming” America as he promised back in 2008. If you don’t vote for freedom, America will become like Venezuela, where the once wealthiest country in South America has suffered an 80% decline in its economy since its population voted in socialism. Now they are going to have to shoot their way out of it. The problem for Venezuelan citizens is that the dictators took their guns away. Don’t let it happen here in America.
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.
Dave Funk
Member, Board of Directors
Iowa Firearms Coalition
by Michael Ware | Jul 31, 2024
Five Seasons Media
Five Seasons Media, Josh Scheinblum’s company, reached out to me as early as 2019 in an attempt to discuss marketing and content creation. As an all-volunteer 2A advocacy group, we get solicited daily to spend money on marketing, usually from businesses that truly don’t like or care for our mission. This should indicate how much you can expect their wizardry to help your cause. Very little in most cases, so be careful who you work with and how you spend your precious few dollars…
Oddly, Josh wasn’t so much pushy as dedicated. He was persevering and challenged me in an email exchange. It would have been easy to hit the “spam” button and never see another email from him, but I sensed that he genuinely cared about both our work and his. So, I took a few minutes to push back on him and replied with something snarky about how a marketing agency like his planned to quantify the work product. We took the conversation to a phone call next, a Zoom meeting after that, and then a sit-down meeting around the big conference room table at Brownells with the core players.
A partnership, far more powerful and impressive than I had ever possibly imagined was spawned. …And whether they realize it or not, Iowans are forever in Josh’s debt.
Liberty
“Liberty” lib·er·ty (ˈli-bər-tē )
- the quality or state of being free
- a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or grant
- an action going beyond nor limits
Josh approached the aspects of helping IFC in every sense of these 3 definitions of the word, “liberty.” He wanted, more than anything, to help IFC pass the Freedom Amendment and give Iowans the option to vote on arguably the very best Right to Keep and Bear Arms constitutional amendment in the United States. He came armed with a plan to hoist the Freedom Amendment into the history books. IFC had carried that water for 10 years through many trials and much tribulation and Josh was right there with us on the nature of the 1st two definitions of the word, “liberty.” Josh sought to help us get the vote over the finish line, which meant he took “liberty” in the 3rd definition to elevate the issue for all to ponder. He did so at first because we were partners and we were paying him. However, he and his team of professionals ended up doing so because we came to trust them as family. The liberties he took went above and beyond the call of duty, servicing our needs quite literally 7 days a week through thick and thin.
Results
Several years beyond our initial meeting, we can peer back in retrospect, with a series of challenges met, competition bested, and a constitutional amendment nearly everyone didn’t think possible ratified by the largest popular vote in Iowa’s history. I often wonder about the road untraveled. What if Josh hadn’t been so resolute when contacting me? What if we’d never partnered with 5 Seasons to guide us through the maze? Would we have gotten the Freedom Amendment over the finish line with record-breaking numbers? I just don’t know the answers to all of those questions. Such is the nature of pondering… But what I don’t have to ponder is the outcome. Josh helped IFC in ways nobody can imagine and we probably don’t appreciate enough. He became a friend and a brother through those years and I’m forever thankful. I think liberty-loving Iowans should be thankful.
IFC moves forward now with a new social media partner for our social media as our volunteers take on a much-increased role in the daily work. We all wish Josh and his team the very best, and I have no doubt we’ll work together again on electioneering or projects yet to be designated. For me, this is hard… When you get used to talking with someone daily, there is a hole associated with that missing conversation. But, I know the 5 Seasons Media company is hugely successful and they’ll fill their hours with content creation, marketing strategy, and engagement tactics for their clients. They are a top performer in those categories and not slowing down.
Our collaboration together was the right choice at the right time and Liberty was offered to all. As IFC closes this chapter of the book, we thank you, Josh, and every single person at the 5 Seasons Media company for your tireless work and support. We offer a special thank you to the spouses of the company personnel… Without their support, the folks who serviced our needs, day in and day out, couldn’t do the job. That isn’t lost on the many folks at IFC, as we too do our work with tremendous support at home. We owe you a debt of gratitude, if not far more.
In Libertatem,
Michael Ware
IFC Board
This guy… THIS is the guy—–>
by Dave Funk | Jul 30, 2024
IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR
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 to Billy 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.
Dave Funk
President
Iowa Firearms Coalition
by Dave Funk | Jul 26, 2024
SCOTUS AND FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT SHOWDOWNS
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.
18 TO 20-YEAR-OLDS ARE LEGAL ADULTS!
The 8th Circuit Court has ruled as Stephen Halbrook wrote on Reason.com; read it here.
“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.
Dave Funk
President
Iowa Firearms Coalition
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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