Dear Friend —
As you read this email, the start of the 2024 session of the Iowa General Assembly is only days away.
Already this is shaping up to be a MASSIVE YEAR.
We have a chance to stop Joe Biden’s war on gun owners in Iowa with SAPA, crush Biden’s national AR-15 ban, block ‘Red Flags’, and enhance Iowa’s weak Stand-Your-Ground law.
And all of that is before we get to the 2024 elections!
I’ve been talking with legislators across the state for weeks gearing up for the start of session. The opportunities (and challenges) we are facing this year are big.
Ever the optimist, I want to engage in every political fight that is before us. But I must be realistic.
Based on the resources available to us right now, there’s no way we can engage in all of these fights at the same time.
You see, while gearing up for session, I’ve also been working with our whole team to review our cash on hand and to create the budget that we’ll need to be effective in 2024.
For the record, I hate budget meetings. 🙂
But that meeting is over, I know exactly what our cash on hand position is. And I know the political situation in Des Moines at a granular level. Now I have some decisions to make.
But this isn’t my organization.
This has always been a member-driven organization, and that is why I need to hear from you. Where do YOU want us to focus in 2024?
Where do YOU want us to spend the donor dollars that you have given us? I need your input.
That’s why I have prepared your 2024 Iowa Gun Owners Membership Ballot and included it with this email. I’m counting on you to read this update, and then complete your ballot IMMEDIATELY!
Without a doubt, the biggest fight coming at the federal level this year will be over S. 25/H.R. 698: Biden’s long-desired total and complete ban on AR-15s and 30-round magazines.
This legislation has a jaw-dropping 250 cosponsors in Congress right now, with 208 in the House alone.
Banning AR-15s has nothing to do with stopping crime. The ONLY GOAL of this legislation is to disarm the American people once and for all. Biden is a tyrant. He wants to rule over America with an iron fist. But he can’t if we’re armed.
If this legislation passes, and we lose our right to keep and bear arms, we will never get them back. No nation ever has!
It is critical that Iowa Gun Owners has the ability to thunder our opposition to this bill into the halls of Congress.
By voting for Biden’s ‘Red Flag’ funding bill last year, Joni Ernst made it clear that she’ll stab gun owners in the back any chance she gets. And my sources on Capitol Hill tell me that one of our House members is getting flaky on this bill, too!
We need to crank up the heat on our Congressional delegation this year. We can’t afford ANY betrayals.
So if you think our top priority in 2024 needs to be stopping Biden’s attempt to disarm Americans by banning the AR-15, please mark OPTION #1 “CRUSH THE AR-15 BAN” on your ballot.
But at the same time, with the elections on the horizon, this may be the best chance we’ve ever had to pass the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) here in Des Moines.
You’ve heard a lot about SAPA from us before.
The issue is simple: Iowa has strong gun laws. But Joe Biden is signing one Executive Order after the next attacking our gun rights and demanding that Iowa cops enforce federal orders here! And until we pass SAPA they will continue to do it!
If we don’t deal with this, our state level gun laws will effectively be replaced by Federal Orders from Joe Biden!
SAPA fixes that by asserting the 10th Amendment and instructing Iowa cops to ONLY enforce Iowa law when it comes to firearms, ammunition, and accessories.
If Biden wants federal gun control laws enforced here in Iowa, he could still do it, but he would need to use federal officials to enforce it…and that just doesn’t happen.
SAPA has tremendous Supreme Court case law backing it.
SAPA protects Iowa cops from being used by Biden.
SAPA protects Iowa gun owners from Biden’s tyranny.
SAPA is law in other states that are ahead of Iowa.
SAPA is based on the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution.
And SAPA has a lot of support in the Iowa legislature. H.F. 147 had dozens of co-sponsors last session and cleared the House Judiciary Sub-Committee before House leaders killed it!
This year it’s critical that we have the ammo we need to crank up the heat on the Judiciary Committee and House leaders, or Iowa cops will be stuck enforcing Biden’s war on gun owners.
That means targeted email, digital ads, massive amounts of uncensorable direct mail, and more.
So if you think our top priority in 2024 needs to be passing the Second Amendment Preservation Act, please mark OPTION #2 “FIGHT FOR SAPA LAW” on your member ballot.
But sadly, we’re not exclusively on offense in Des Moines.
‘Red Flag Gun Seizures’ have been lurking around the edges in the House and Senate caucuses for some time now. We’ve stopped this every year so far. But now Biden is writing checks.
Big ones.
Last year, the State of Iowa received over $5,000,000 from a DOJ fund (that Ernst approved of) designed to incentivize (aka bribe) the legislature into supporting ‘Red Flag’ laws.
Already the debate in Des Moines is starting to change. Now I’m hearing from some legislators that while many forms of ‘Red Flag’ laws are bad, there are some good versions out there, too.
It all comes down to notice, they say.
If you are given notice of a ‘Red Flag’ hearing and are allowed to attend the hearing, that is considered a ‘good’ form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizures.’
It’s only ‘bad’ if you are not given notice and are not allowed to attend the hearing.
Let me be perfectly clear: IGO must fight against every form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation because they allow a gun owner to be disarmed before he’s been charged, arrested, or convicted of ANYTHING!
American jurisprudence was based on two concepts: the idea that we are all ‘innocent until proven guilty’, and a set of basic ‘due process’ rights to protect us from judicial abuse.
‘Red Flag’ laws destroy both of those concepts!
We must oppose this legislation in 2024. And with Joe Biden buying up support and other Republican-led states passing this, the danger posed by ‘Red Flags’ is higher than in years past.
So if you think our top priority in 2024 needs to be blocking any form of ‘Red Flag Gun Seizures’ in Des Moines, please mark OPTION #3 “BLOCK RED FLAGS” on your member ballot.
As you can see, the legislative opportunities (and threats) we’re facing in Des Moines are going to keep us plenty busy.
But we can’t ignore the elections that are coming.
While Iowa Gun Owners is the reason the GOP has super-majorities in the House and Senate — and we will always be there to hammer on the records of the Radical Left — the reality is that the Democrats control nothing in Des Moines.
And with 64 Republicans in the House (the highest number in modern history) it’s just a fact that we have at least 8-12 RINO Republicans in that caucus who are holding up pro-gun bills.
In the Senate, there are 4 moderate Republicans who are more than willing to kill a gun bill behind closed doors.
The good news is that primary candidates are popping up all over the state, as gun owners are growing frustrated with SAPA and other pro-gun bills being killed in Des Moines.
Most organizations are too afraid to engage in the primary elections here because they know that doing so will risk the wrath of House and Senate leaders.
Not Iowa Gun Owners.
We don’t work for caucus leaders in Des Moines.
We work for our members. And if Republican leadership continues to kill pro-gun bills, we’ll have no choice but to play heavy in the upcoming June Primary Election.
That means ads on WHO radio, digital ads on a variety of social media platforms, and a texting/email program that is designed to penetrate every inch of targeted districts.
So if you think our top priority in 2024 needs to be preparing to expose anti-gun politicians in the Primary and General Elections, please mark OPTION #4 “FIGHT IN THE ELECTIONS” on your member ballot.
I’m sure you can see why I’m so torn.
This isn’t an either/or situation. We need to stop Biden, we need to pass SAPA, we need to block ‘Red Flags’ and we need to get ready for a major primary election program.
But I must be realistic.
Right now, I just don’t have the funds to run a full-scale program on all four of these fronts at the same time.
That’s why I’m counting on you to please fill out your Iowa Gun Owners’ Member Ballot and tell me where to focus the resources that we have.
Of course, when you do so, you’ll notice that I have included another option on your membership ballot — an option that we haven’t talked about yet because it’s just not possible without a major influx of funds.
But I’ll be blunt, this is the option I hope you will choose.
Please understand that if you choose Option #5, it’s vital that you include a generous donation to help us fight on all fronts.
I know I’m asking a lot.
But with Biden on the rampage, we need to secure as much freedom as we possibly can here in Iowa while we have the votes to do it. And we need to expose anyone who stands in our way!
So if $100 isn’t possible, won’t you please agree to $75, $50, $25 or at least $17.76?
The General Assembly is convening in just days; I need to hear from you as soon as possible.
Please fill out your Membership Ballot right away, and please consider a generous contribution to help us fight this year!
For Iowa,
Aaron Dorr
Chairman
Iowa Gun Owners
P.S. The 2024 legislative session begins on January 8, and I need to make some very difficult decisions about where to focus our resources and our time this session.
From Biden’s AR-15 ban, to SAPA legislation, to blocking ‘Red Flags’ there is a lot going on — and that’s before we get to the Primary and General Elections!
We don’t have the money needed to engage in all of these fights as things stand. I need to hear from you right away.
Please read the email above for all the details, then please complete your Official Membership Ballot telling us where to fight in 2024. And please consider a donation to help us!