The U.S. Army’s Lake City plant, yes you read that correctly, our United States Army which runs an ammunition factory, is being told to stop producing for the commercial market. The facility accounts for nearly 30% of ammunition production. That should help his approval ratings…
This would mean no longer can Lake City sell their popular M855 and SS109 to the civilian market. A direct attack on the ammunition used for America’s most popular modern sporting rifle with nearly 25 million known rifles being in the United States. A cowardly and desperate move by an administration throwing a tantrum because they can’t get another “assault” weapon ban passed. Continually attacking us where it may hurt the most, our wallets.
While the federal government is on the assault on one end, we must ensure that our state is protected with preemptive measures, like the Freedom Amendment. Which amends Iowa’s Constitution to add the strong protections of the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment, with strict scrutiny.
So, what we need is for you to engage with all of social media as much as possible, while also telling your friends, families, and followers about the Freedom Amendment. It will be found on the back of the ballot in November. Vote YES on the Freedom Amendment and enshrine our rights to keep and bear arms in Iowa’s Constitution once and for all. Join Today! Also, complete our two Action Alert to email your legislators on important issues.
Because the language of our Amendment is more specific (“fundamental individual right”) and requires that any law or regulation that is challenged as a restriction of this right must survive the MOST difficult judicial review, “strict scrutiny” – a near-impossible test for an infringement on a fundamental right. In addition, it would be a state-level backstop if federal courts lessen or continue to ignore Second Amendment protections, even if the amendment was repealed.
What about the Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution?
There is an understanding of the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution that is often flawed. The Bill of Rights was NOT intended to apply to the states and has only been slowly – and in part – “incorporated against” the states by Supreme Court decisions since the adoption of the 14th Amendment after the Civil War. The Second Amendment was not held to restrict state and local governments until 2010! And that decision has been loudly claimed to be “wrongly decided” by many who seek to have it reversed, including Hillary Clinton in her never-ending quest for the Presidency.
Those who would deny us the ability to keep and bear arms have worked successfully for over a century to ignore the true meaning of the Second Amendment. The language of the Freedom Amendment is intended to thwart those efforts.
When Iowa adopts the Freedom Amendment’s strong protections of the individual and fundamental right to keep and bear arms on November 8, 2022, it will essentially serve as a backup to the Second Amendment, available if the Courts, Congress, or the Executive ignore or further abuse the protections of that amendment. In addition, its requirement that potential infringements on the RKBA must be considered by Iowa courts under the doctrine of “strict scrutiny” should be a powerful tool for citizens seeking to prevent Iowa authorities from attempting to enforce state OR federal restrictions on that right.
Too many parents’ beautiful babies didn’t come home from school in Texas. In their homes are grieving parents who would have given anything if someone at that school with the mindset, the training, and the capacity to stop the attack at Robb Elementary would have intervened in time for their child.
Once again, we are reeling from the aftermath of another mass murder committed by a depraved individual lacking any humanity, who looked down the barrel of his gun and killed 19 young children and two teachers before being confronted by law enforcement.
On cue, politicians started chiming in on this event within minutes. Let’s set that aside and approach this from the harsh reality that “bad people are going to do bad things, regardless of laws.”
If you knew a mass murderer was going to strike your school, church, business, or sporting event in the near future, how would you prepare? It doesn’t take a PHD in site security to know you harden your soft target. You set up concentric rings of security and monitoring, watching for “that don’t look right” and with the ability to respond appropriately before an attacker can get to a large number of people. It’s much easier to deal with someone as they approach from the parking lot than once they are inside. You restrict access to those who don’t belong, such as locking the exterior entry doors of your school or church once in session. Install laminate film on glass that holds a window together despite gunshots or strikes with an impact weapon like a hammer or bat. In a recent training exercise, I was involved with our “make-believe bad guy” walked right on by classrooms he couldn’t see into our had a door that was locked.
In my post-TV meteorology passion of church security, we assess a faith-based property like a criminal might and then fix problem areas. Simple measures like removing exterior door handles that could be chained together to trap people inside or getting rid of landscaping rocks or bricks left near large windows that could be used to break the window and gain entry.
Consider putting up physical barriers or landscaping that would stop an out-of-control vehicle from crashing into classrooms or the sanctuary and don’t forget medical too. Staff members, whether paid or volunteer, must know trauma medical, CPR, and AED deployment.
Here’s a news flash: The government is not going to fix the violence problem in our nation. They’ve had plenty of opportunities and I’ve not seen much progress. So maybe it’s time to listen to our warriors, those willing to boldly stand between evil and innocence who would raise their hand and say, I’ll volunteer to serve my community and help keep the wolf at bay.
Take the example of Iowa grocery chain HyVee which recently started placing armed guards in stores. I can assure you, these are not your $15 dollar an hour rent-a-cops with a walkie-talkie and segway. These are some of our finest with significant background, training, and mindset to save the day. For the rest of us, that should be a clue. You can have a helpful smile, but also be willing to flip the switch if evil approaches.
What we can do right now is work together to deter the dark forces we face, be caring, loving, and a helper to those in need but also let the bad man know that this school, church, business, or home is no longer a soft target. We don’t get to pick the moment, The Moment chooses us. Stay ready.
We’re often asked questions about a County’s Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolution, and what it will do for them. Here’s a response from an IFC Board Member and our Chief Lobbyist, Richard Rogers, to the question of, “What we can do to fight potential Biden executive orders in the absence of a state 2A sanctuary law?”:
The anti-commandeering doctrine is well recognized by the federal courts. It provides that the federal government may not require state (and local) governments to use their authority, personnel or resources to enforce federal law.
Whether or not the state adopts “Second Amendment Sanctuary” legislation, nothing can stop federal authorities from enforcing federal regulations. However, they don’t have the necessary manpower to do so on a truly widespread basis. For that, they would require the resources of the states. The best they can do is to make examples of a relatively small number of citizens and thus attempt to frighten others into obedience.
Once the Freedom Amendment is adopted in November of this year, Iowa’s Constitution will specifically prohibit infringements upon the right to keep and bear arms. That will be a tremendous help in discouraging Iowa law enforcement from enforcing new and unconstitutional gun control.
Also, I fully expect that if the Biden administration actually begins to attempt to enforce onerous new regulations, the present legislative majorities in Iowa are very likely to be motivated to act.
This should place emphasis on passing the Freedom Amendment this fall, by flipping the ballot over and filling in the “YES” oval when you vote. It should also remind those Iowans living in counties that have passed 2A Sanctuary Resolutions, that the Resolution itself is a signal of how they intend to liaise with the federal government when and if they come calling for local resources and manpower. They should then be reminded of their principled stance and supported for their desire to protect their constituents from tyranny. You can learn more about Iowa’s 2A Sanctuaries HERE.
With increased threats from the Biden Administration and a regulatory agency with a long track record for civil rights violations and the deaths of U.S. Citizens (ATF), we should be focusing on state protections with state emphasis. Iowa is one of ONLY SIX STATES in the nation without a constitutional amendment protecting our right to keep and bear arms.
You can read about the sentiment I expressed regarding the Iowa DNR Director, Kayla Lyons, and her response to being found with an expired fishing license HERE in an IFC blog. It is my opinion that she did well despite the mishap. In fact, character was revealed through the mishap. There is hope, my friends.
But…
I was braced for several stunts to be pulled on April 1st, and when I saw an email flash across the notification window about DNR and some hunting news, I tabled it for a few moments. I soon pulled it up, and began to read, hoping the more I read, that it was in fact some attempt at humor. Alas, I was not giggling when done. You can find the press release HERE, but be quick, for the DNR has pulled some of them down in years prior. In case that happens, here’s a screenshot:
Here’s the problem. I can and do respect the full measure of the law. Would I have rather seen the legislation become “live” upon the Governor’s signature? Yes. Do I recognize this won’t allow folks to step out during April and use additional weapons in the field this season? Yes. Do “rules” need to be developed by DNR for this? Probably not, but they are a bureaucracy in every sense of the word, so they’ll waste time and taxpayer resource to add two more choices to the list… That is the process today, but they routinely have proven over the years that they can’t always be trusted to develop rules in an ethical manner. The DNR games and manipulates the system, plain and simple. Read about that HERE and HERE to start. The “rules” process is inherently flawed and DNR can and has denied the implementation of legislation. I spoke with some really unhappy legislators about this at length last year, and again this year, and the desire is increasing to deal with this once and for all. But, we’ll save that for another day.
This notice really rubbed me wrong. While it is completely grammatical, it isn’t accurate. Not only .410, but 28ga were added. The headline reads of a July 1 effective date, but then the body reminds us they haven’t even submitted proposed rules to the public and NRC yet, so they might not be ready this fall in reality. We don’t know yet. I contemplated this for a while and decided to move on to other things. Then, not one, or two, but three people forwarded me this within hours with nasty comments to follow. Apparently, I’m not the only one who didn’t care for what the message represents, in part. Here is the only one that is appropriate to share. The others were far nastier and longer:
I would have a very low opinion of a CO who wrote a ticket for this. The fact they sent an email reminder speaks volumes to the DNR’s mindset about the hunting public. -emailed from a friend
Right on, brother!
Yes, the DNR has a job to do, and isn’t always easy. Few jobs are. But the problem isn’t the job. The problem is the approach to the job. If you want decency from the public, then have decency permeate your thoughts and actions in kind. The DNR in Iowa hasn’t done the best job with the stated mission, and I’m hoping for better. Maybe Director Lyons can make an impact on this. I sure hope so. I truly don’t think they know how they’re viewed by the public. Perception shapes reality, right? This leads to some obvious questions most of you are thinking…
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