Not just for the guys…I was fortunate that IFC sent me to the NRA Annual Meeting this year, in Dallas, about three weeks ago. Although I have been a Life Member of NRA for many years, it was the first time I had attended the NRAAM. Registration to the event is free, if you are an NRA member. Also, most of the seminars and educational sessions were free to attend as well. I highly recommend that you go. Next year’s event will be in Atlanta, Georgia (a little closer to home), on April 24-27th. Hotels are available to book now: https://www.nraam.org/.
Just a quick word about logistics. I have attended many large conferences in my life and the organization for this event was stellar. It is obvious that the NRA has invested heavily in their annual flagship event. Everything from the shuttle buses to the hotels, to the on-site assistance available, signage, sticking to the schedule…it was all handled superbly. Kudos to the NRAAM personnel.
14 Acres of Guns & Gear – It’s True!
Because I had heard about the “14 Acres of Guns & Gear”, I wore my hiking boots — and was very glad I did! The first thing that strikes you is the sheer enormity – the scale – of the event. The famous “Wall of Guns” had drool-worthy classics on display. Every conceivable vendor was on hand to show you their latest guns, gear and gadgets. There was an entire aisle devoted to safari and US-based hunting trips. Ammunition and gun manufacturers competed for your ear, each one seemingly one-upping the other. There were trainers for every shooting sport, and hands-on displays for dry fire systems. Booths featured specialized targets, home defense, and self-defense. Sales staff were on hand to share their product knowledge, and strategies for use. Suppressors, scopes, RDS, weapon mounted lights, tactical lights, slings and cases…on and on. Literally there was just about everything firearms-related available!
IFC Trusted Partner On Deck
While in the Exhibit Hall, I stopped to chat with the good folks at Firearms Legal Protection, one of IFC’s Trusted Partners and they obliged with a photo. Always good to see friends when away from home. Check out their services at the link above.
Women & Guns
And women — women were everywhere. Women are the fastest-growing demographic for new shooters and first-time firearms purchasers in the country, and they are an enthusiastic bunch! Shoot Like A Girl was there with their semi-trailer where you could shoot any of the guns they had on hand, free of charge. Vendors and trainers are finely attuned to this sustained, multi-year trend in new firearms purchasers. Consequently, they are adopting and adapting marketing, training strategies and even changes in manufacturing, to accommodate this huge new influx of women gun owners. Sorry guys. The world of guns and shooting is no longer a ‘good old boys club’. There are an awful lot of women who have a passion for various shooting sports and disciplines and they are pretty impressive. And relentless! More on that later.
The Seminars
Apart from the several exhibit halls devoted to toys that could break even Elon Musk’s bank account, there were multiple tracks of educational and training seminars, also available at no charge. My only complaint was that — despite going ’round the sun many, many times in my life, I have yet to figure out how to be in two places at one time. Choices were difficult even though some sessions were offered more than once. This is a link to the 99 sessions offered during the three days, just to give you a sense of the many opportunities.
I attended two sessions offered by John Correia/Active Self Protection (“Lessons Learned From Analyzing 50,000 Gunfights” and “Top 5 Myths Concealed Carriers Believe, Revealed”). John walked us through his analysis of many situations captured on video. He emphasized the importance of making Good, Sane, Sober, Moral and Prudent decisions.
I also attended two sessions offered by Lt. Col. Ed Monk/Last Resort Training (Considerations for Armed Responders to Active Shooter Attacks”). These were provocative sessions designed to get you thinking seriously about “what if”. Mr. Monk described what a person might encounter, what to do (and not do), as well as tactics for how to be effective and survive in such a situation. Very sobering stuff.
(Photo is of three IFC Life Members (from left: myself, Presenter Ed Monk, Dave and Todd)
NRA Clubs & Associations
However, the first session I attended, was the “NRA Clubs & Associations Workshop”. Our very own Dave Funk, President of IFC, was one of the two featured presenters, and he did an excellent job. He discussed the multi-faceted social media approach we used in 2022 to ensure the passage of Iowa’s Freedom Amendment. This was the Constitutional Amendment that added language to the Iowa State Constitution to protect Iowan’s Second Amendment rights from infringement. (Prior to that amendment, Iowa was one of only six states that did not have such language in our Constitution. To remind you of the company we were in, the other states were California, New Jersey, Illinois, etc. You get the drift.)
Not a Wardrobe Malfunction
But a funny thing happened mid-speech…(Only funny, because no one was hurt!) Dave Funk was presenting at a podium on the stage. Moriah Day, Executive Director of the Kansas State Rifle Association (also presenting), and NRA Board member, Dave Halbrook (pictured here), were also seated on the stage – when it collapsed! It literally folded at the middle seam and both of those seated, suddenly were down! They quickly recovered and left the stage. What did ‘our’ Dave do when this occurred? Glanced over, assessed the situation, grabbed the mic, stepped off the stage and continued his slide show presentation, unruffled, while maintenance fixed the stage. This was the first event on the first day and to say it started off with a bang is an understatement 🙂
There were several NRA Board members who attended the Clubs & Associations meeting, along with members from Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, California, Michigan,New Mexico, and others I cannot recall. The information exchange was great and I made several new contacts and brought back many useful ideas. If that had been the only session I had attended, the trip would have been worthwhile.
The “Women’s New Energy Brunch”
This was the single special event I attended. It was billed as a “unique opportunity to learn about NRA’s programs, outreach efforts and mission as relates to women”, networking, etc. It was all that and more. There were several women NRA Board members in attendance, and sponsors as well. The most beneficial part was the breakout sessions, where you could choose which topic you wanted to learn more about. For example, I am very interested in the NRA’s ‘Women on Target’ program.
The various board members each led a discussion on “their” topic/area of expertise. However, what was really revealing was the introductions among the women participants. We were each asked to briefly describe our interest and background with firearms. There were ex- and current military, law enforcement, competitive shooters of every discipline, firearms training instructors, women’s shooting group leaders, reps from national women’s shooting organizations, state gun rights reps, RSOs, gun shop owners – you name it. As I said earlier – women were everywhere, and enthusiastic, at the NRAAM. It was inspiring.
So, Iowa ladies – I leave you with this question: If you’re reading this, you are likely an IFC member. Are your friends who shoot, also IFC members? Strength in numbers — and I know you are out there! Get your friends involved. Encourage them to join IFC. (It’s not just for the guys!) 🙂
Legal updates & IFC at NRAAM: This week’s President’s Message includes a couple of surprising court decisions and a heads-up that IFC will be attending the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas this week. As President of Iowa Firearms Coalition, I was invited to speak at the Clubs & Associations Forum on Friday, May 17th. After missing the last two weeks for a much-needed vacation, I’m back at it here at IFC.
Legal Updates
These last few weeks have seen someinteresting court rulings from some surprising places.
Thisfirstunfortunately is from the Iowa Supreme Court with a ruling (I think incorrectly) that antique muzzleloading firearms are “firearms” when it comes to ‘felon in possession’ statutes. We strongly disagree with this ruling and are studying the case to see if the Iowa legislature needs to clarify this issue.
The more interesting case is that the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that non-violent convicted felons cannot be denied the right to keep and bear arms in Duarte. In Duarte, the three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that they could not be denied. The case was very well summarized by Jeff Charles at RedState:
“The court’s ruling repudiated an earlier Ninth Circuit decision in United States v. Vongxay and argued that the decision was “clearly irreconcilable” with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen. The Vongxay ruling upheld federal laws prohibiting felons from owning firearms.
The court applied Bruen’s two-step framework, acknowledging that Duarte, as an American citizen, is part of “the people” covered by the Second Amendment and rejected the state’s argument that felons are excluded from its constitutional protections.
At Bruen’s second step, the court determined that “The Government put forward no ‘well-established and representative historical analogue’ that ‘impose[d] a comparable burden on the right of armed self-defense’ that was ‘comparably justified’ to the current law’s “sweeping, no-exception, lifelong ban.”
Why This is Surprising
What is striking to me is that this same court just overruled its own prior decision in United States v. Vongxay. That case previously upheld the federal ban on felons’ possession of firearms. You might remember that the current SCOTUS session included a case I’ve previously written about, United States v. Rahimi, challenging that ban. That ruling has yet to be passed down from SCOTUS but is expected shortly.
At the time of the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the only felonies defined by law were capital crimes like murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and a few others. At that time, capital crimes were mostly punishable by death. Because those were so serious, persons convicted of them lost their constitutional rights.
This ruling might be the 9th Circuit’s attempt to set up a future Bruen-limiting SCOTUS ruling. For now, however, the Bruen decision is upending nearly everything related to gun bans and prohibitions. Its impact will be felt for years–and that is good news. I’ll follow up in the next few weeks in a future President’s Message, with the “in common use” standard. I think that standard may be the answer to nearly every unconstitutional gun ban starting with the 1934 National Firearms Act to the present.
Please post a comment below on this issue for us. We’d like to get your input on this important question.
National Rifle Association Annual Meeting 2024
NRAAM is this week, and a couple of members of our Executive Committee will be in attendance in Dallas. On Friday morning, May 17th, I have the honor of presenting about IFC’s social media efforts. I’ll be talking about how we successfully spread the truth regarding the Second Amendment far and wide. As the 2020 and 2022’s ‘NRA Outstanding State Association of the Year’, IFC continues to set the pace when it comes to leveraging both social and earned media.
Please stay Ready at All Times, and help us defend all of Iowa’s rights by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
IFC 2A Day was another huge success, and we have to thank, in no small part, the IFC Members and the Volunteers who braved weather and temps to come let everyone know just how passionate they are about the Second Amendment as a core civil right.
Herodotus is credited with a translation from George Herbert Palmer as having said:
It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.
Often adapted as the postman’s creed here in the US, it is neither official nor binding. What is official and binding you wonder? The dedication and fortitude of the average IFC member who trudged through snow in truly frigid temps to join us all at the Iowa State Capitol building for the annual IFC 2A Day. Our volunteers overcame adversity, failures from vendors, and a small contingent of pro-Palestine rioters hurling insults to put on a fantastic day of Second Amendment support and celebration! Fast forward to the evening when the temperature dropped and the snow started falling – did that keep people away? NO. They came out to the IFC-PAC fundraiser supper and enjoyed a great meal and an intimate gathering with Gabby Franco.
IFC’s key sponsors for the event, CrossRoads Shooting Sports and Volquartsen, both Iowa companies helped make the day possible. Our featured speaker, Gabby Franco, offered a particularly critical message about complacency and the nature of incremental losses of liberty. We heard from Representative Phil Thompson, Senator Brad Zaun, and our superstar Attorney General, Brenna Bird. IFC Chair, John McLaughlin and President Dave Funk addressed the crowd, while Representative Jon Dunwell started the day with prayer, Representative Brook Boden sang the national anthem, and a young lady led us all in the pledge of allegiance. Several County Supervisors participated. We had NRA board members in the gallery including Craig Swartz!
Between the Capitol 2A Day in the morning and the IFC-PAC Supper in the evening, Gabby and John McLaughlin were able to spend time on the air with Simon Conway on 1040AM and iHeart – Listen to their interview HERE.
I can’t help but wonder if Herodotus was speaking about the kind of people who brave the elements, and discomfort, and deny their personal preferences in service of others as a whole. If so, that definition adequately describes the IFC members and volunteers, along with all the support we enjoyed on IFC’s 2A Day! We’re grateful!
Do you like Stand Your Ground Laws? Preemption? Constitutional Carry? Emergency Powers Protection? Removal of the ban on youth shooting? The FREEDOM AMENDMENT? You’re welcome. If so, PLEASE BECOME A MEMBER – IFC NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
Today at the NRA annual meeting in Indy, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order to stop her state from contracting with companies that boycott the firearm industry. Iowa can send the same message by passing SF 507 WITH HOUSE AMENDMENTS. Iowa taxpayer dollars, in the form of state contracts, shouldn’t be going to companies that hate your #2A rights and show it by boycotting the firearm industry.
The April 2023 edition of NRA’s “America’s 1st Freedom” magazine has a great article entitled “10 Things the Mainstream Media Doesn’t Want You to Know About Concealed Carry“. It’s well worth reading and I encourage you to do so. The second of the ten points discussed in the article is the transition in the language used by the media and politicians over the past ten or so years. For example, there has been a not-so-subtle shift in wording—now referring mostly to “gun-safety measures”, as opposed to “gun-control laws”. This turn of phrase is not accidental and it has a significant impact when gun owners are trying to have a rational discussion with those who would like to see all guns banned. It’s the same tactic used when they refer to “gun violence” instead of “violent crime”. It takes the focus off the criminals and puts it on the guns. Guns are therefore evil and since people don’t want evil amongst us, it stands to reason that we just need to get rid of guns. Right? NO. Words, as someone reminded me recently, are important. And the use of these words is a distinction WITHOUT a difference.
The words “gun-control” are threatening, but those who want a gun-free United States have gotten smarter. They speak of “gun-safety”, which sounds like a good societal goal. We all want to feel safe. “Gun-safety” sounds like a good thing. But it is the same draconian Beto O’Rourke beating on the drum, “Hell yes, we’re going to come for your AR-15s!” that has been going on for years. It just sounds better. It sounds more reasonable
A Deliberate Political Pivot
And therein lies the problem. It is not just semantics. It is a deliberate political pivot. An industry-wide effort to make us seem as though we would prefer an unsafe world. You must be an anarchist to not want “gun-safety”!
Make no mistake. It is “gun-control” (aka “people-control”) plain and simple and that, in this country, is unconstitutional. This has been borne out in several important court cases over the past fifteen years (Heller, McDonald, Bruen). We have an unalienable, God-given right to keep and bear arms, for our own protection and the protection of others. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those words matter.
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Not Just For the Guys
Registration to the event is free, if you are an NRA member. Also, most of the seminars and educational sessions were free to attend as well. I highly recommend that you go. Next year’s event will be in Atlanta, Georgia (a little closer to home), on April 24-27th. Hotels are available to book now: https://www.nraam.org/.
Always good to see friends when away from home. Check out their services at the link above.
Vendors and trainers are finely attuned to this sustained, multi-year trend in new firearms purchasers. Consequently, they are adopting and adapting marketing, training strategies and even changes in manufacturing, to accommodate this huge new influx of women gun owners. Sorry guys. The world of guns and shooting is no longer a ‘good old boys club’. There are an awful lot of women who have a passion for various shooting sports and disciplines and they are pretty impressive. And relentless! More on that later.
and “Top 5 Myths Concealed Carriers Believe, Revealed”). John walked us through his analysis of many situations captured on video. He emphasized the importance of making Good, Sane, Sober, Moral and Prudent decisions.
(Photo is of three IFC Life Members (from left: myself, Presenter Ed Monk, Dave and Todd)
Moriah Day, Executive Director of the Kansas State Rifle Association (also presenting), and NRA Board member, Dave Halbrook (pictured here),
were also seated on the stage – when it collapsed! It literally folded at the middle seam and both of those seated, suddenly were down! They quickly recovered and left the stage. What did ‘our’ Dave do when this occurred? Glanced over, assessed the situation, grabbed the mic, stepped off the stage and continued his slide show presentation, unruffled, while maintenance fixed the stage. This was the first event on the first day and to say it started off with a bang is an understatement 🙂
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