As Americans pause this Memorial Day to honor U.S. service members who gave their lives in combat theaters around the world over the last 249 years, it’s important to remember how this all began.
In 1774, rebellion was already burning hot across the colonies — even before the first shot of the Revolutionary War was ever fired.
King George III and the British Parliament had made it clear: the colonies would not be heard. Our petitions were ignored and our grievances dismissed.
So the King did what history’s tyrants always do when they fear resistance: he tried to disarm the people.
On September 1st, 1774, British Major General Thomas Gage seized the public gunpowder stores in Boston. But that wasn’t enough, so Gage moved swiftly to confiscate privately owned firearms, ammunition, and gunpowder across the region.
(British General Thomas Gage, the first tyrant who tried to disarm the American people. He failed. Big time.)
The next month, King George III banned all future imports of firearms and ammunition into the colonies.
And on April 18th, 1775, General Gage ordered his men to “seize and destroy all artillery, ammunition, provisions, tents, small arms, and all military stores whatever.”
That night, British troops marched toward Concord, Massachusetts with one goal: confiscate the firearms, ammunition, and gunpowder in the city and leave its citizens helpless against tyranny.
But as you know, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through the night to sound the alarm.
Faced with imminent gun control and knowing what disarmament meant for their families and future — the Colonials did the only thing Americans know how when it comes to tyranny:
They fought back.
(American patriots, fighting back against British troops at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.)
You see, the British expected an easy win against a terrified mixture of farmers, shopkeepers and merchants.
But when the smoke cleared, 73 of King George’s men were killed, 174 wounded, and 26 “went missing” — and they never completed their mission.
That day — April 19, 1775 — was the day America made her stand. The day we told the world we would never be disarmed and would always fight for our children’s freedom.
That day – known collectively as the Battles of Lexington and Concord – was the first Memorial Day, in a sense, and the battlefield soaked with the blood of 49 Patriots declared that America refused to be ruled.
Over the next eight years, 24,000 of our forefathers died in the cause of liberty, securing a new nation founded on the idea that our rights come from God, not government.
And today, the battle continues.
Thankfully, President Trump defeated Kamala Harris to retake the White House, and many gun owners feel a renewed sense of hope.
For the first time in years, we are no longer under the thumb of a rabid anti-gun administration.
But let’s be clear: the Marxist Left hasn’t surrendered — not even close.
They are biding their time and regrouping.
They remain committed to working state by state, city by city, through unelected bureaucrats at the ATF and radical lawmakers in blue strongholds to finish what King George started: disarming the American people.
Because they know — just like he did — that armed citizens are the final barrier between tyranny and total control.
You already know this. As a proud supporter of Iowa Gun Owners, you have stood shoulder to shoulder with us in the trenches of this political and cultural fight for freedom.
You’ve helped stop anti-gun bills. You’ve helped pass pro-gun laws. And you’ve refused to let your voice be silenced by the same kind of elitists who once wore red coats.
For that, I could never possibly thank you enough.
This Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who laid down their lives for our freedom.
But we also remember that freedom must be defended in every generation.
We owe it to our forefathers– and to our children– to make sure this torch of liberty never goes out.
And I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better way to honor their memory.
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners