Iowa Becomes 42nd State to Legalize Silencers
Governor Branstad Signs HF2279 Into Law
In an update to yesterday’s story about support for gun mufflers in Iowa and New Hampshire, Iowa’s governor has signed the proposed legislation into law, making suppressors legal for civilian ownership.
Iowa has become the 42nd state to legalize suppressors. House File 2279, a bill introduced by Rep. Matt Windschitl and Rep. Terry Baxter, recently passed the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee on March 2, 2016 by a wide margin of 11-2. The bill moved through the Iowa Senate without issue, and has now been signed by Governor Terry Branstad.
After three years of efforts by the American Suppressor Association, the National Rifle Association, and the Iowa Firearms Coalition to educate lawmakers on the benefits and realities of suppressors, HF 2279 was met with positive response.
This victory in Iowa is bringing hope to the eight other states where suppressors are still illegal for civilians to own. As part of their “No State Left Behind” campaign, the American Suppressor Association will now turn its attention to those states, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York.
Joshua Waldron, CEO of SilencerCo, says “SilencerCo has been a strong supporter of the American Suppressor Association since its inception. We’re proud of the hard work they have put behind HF 2279 along with the help of the NRA and the Iowa Firearms Coalition. Because of the determination and educational push by these groups, Iowans can now enjoy the same rights as are held by law-abiding citizens in 41 other states.”
There is also proposed legislation to remove suppressors from the purview of the National Firearms Act (NFA) altogether through the Hearing Protection Act.
Iowa and New Hampshire See Support for Suppressors
Legislation Pending to Allow Wider Silencer Adoption
In addition to the pending nationwide Hearing Protection Act, several state bills are on deck to allow suppressor use for hunting in New Hampshire and suppressor ownership in Iowa. Members of the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation involved in the Sportsman’s Caucus attended silencer demo shoots this month to learn more about how these highly-regulated (for some reason) devices can help protect shooters and those around them.
On March 7, members of the New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus attended a suppressor demonstration at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire. The event offered an opportunity to educate members of the Caucus on firearm suppressors. The educational demonstration came just two days prior to a hearing on HB 500 (a bill allowing suppressors for hunting purposes) in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where it was reported out by a unanimous 4-0 vote.
On March 17, HB 500 cleared the Senate, by a unanimous 23-0 vote, and now heads back to the House for concurrence. Continue reading
NRA-ILA: The Next Supreme Court, by the Numbers
With the passage of Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia, how will the Court rule on Second Amendment cases in the future? The answer is, “it’s just a matter of simple math.”
In January, when the next president takes office, our eight Supreme Court justices will range in age from 56 to 83, with an average age of 69.
Four of the eight—Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas—joined the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), recognizing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun in the home for protection. They, along with Justice Scalia, also formed the majority in McDonald v. Chicago (2010), which applied Heller to the states.
Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both nominated to the Court by President Bill Clinton, dissented in Heller and McDonald, and Ginsburg has said that Heller should be overturned. The former president of Handgun Control, Inc. (today the Brady Campaign), has produced a BLUEPRINT to do precisely that.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by President Barack Obama after Heller, joined Breyer’s dissenting opinion in McDonald, claiming there is “nothing in the Second Amendment’s text, history, or underlying rationale . . . to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes.” Justice Elena Kagan, appointed by Obama after Heller and McDonald, was Associate White House Counsel for President Bill Clinton in 1995 and 1996, and assisted his efforts to impose gun control. Continue reading
NRA’s “Freedom’s Safest Place” Commercial
We have been seeing these during select programming in our market. Have you seen NRA’s TV ads lately?
The Hollywood celebrities, political elites and billionaires who attack the Second Amendment want to take our God-given freedom away. Yet at the core of the Second Amendment is the eternal truth that no life is more worthy of armed protection than another. The National Rifle Association fights for the protection of these liberties. The NRA is Freedom’s Safest Place.
Are you ready for #GunVote 2016?
Every election is, of course, important and we hear the “most important election ever” rhetoric in just about every election cycle. This one, however, is quite important for gun owners. Not only because we are electing the next commander in chief and we want the POTUS to be a solid supporter of gun rights as proscribed in our country’s founding documents, but because – provided that Mitch McConnell isn’t completely full of it – the next President is guaranteed to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice.
Being a well informed voter and being active in helping others to be the same is paramount and, for gun owners, there is a great resource to help with that: the NSSF #GunVote voter education initiative.
The crowded GOP field is still narrowing itself down and there are some solid (and not so solid) pro-gun candidates. The democrat presidential candidate for the general election will almost certainly be Hillary Clinton.
Despite making a lot of noise about enacting gun control measures, the current president has proven himself to be an inexperienced, politically impotent empty suit who achieved nothing more than stirring up a few uninformed rabble rousers who complained enough to get their coffee shop posted as a gun-free criminal protection zone. The running joke among… pretty much everyone… is that he is the Gun Salesman of the Century thanks to the ensuing panic buying every time he picks up his pen and his phone. Clinton, on the other hand, has been engaged in politics for more than five decades, including being part of the administration that enacted the 1994 so-called “Assault Weapon” Ban, which outlawed many of the most popular firearms based on cosmetic features. Continue reading
NRA Dues Have Gone Up but Supporters Still Have Time to Save
As you are certainly aware by now, NRA membership dues have increased as of March 1st. New members who join the National Rifle Association and existing members who renew directly through NRA will pay the new rates. Despite the rising cost of pretty much everything else, these increases mark the first time that NRA dues have gone up in over two decades.
When the dues increases were announced, NRA recruiters – such as Team GunLink – were notified that we would be authorized to continue offering the old discounted rates until further notice. That notice has now been given and the cut-off date for the old discounted rates is May 1, 2016. After that date, we will still be able to help patriots join in the fight for Second Amendment rights with lower rates than those available directly through the NRA, but the big savings will be gone. We can offer our special rates if you see us in person at shows, shoots, shops, out on the street, or anywhere else in person, or through the online sign-up form here.
NRA membership dues still include the same benefits, including helping to fight for the right to keep and bear arms, a subscription your choice of NRA magazines, entry for you and your family into the NRAAM, discounts, and more.
Finally, to be crystal clear since there has been some confusion since the price hikes were announced, current NRA Life members – whether they are fully paid up or are still working on Easy Pay Life plan – will NOT have to pay any additional dues that they have already agreed to. If you are a fully-paid life member, you are still fully paid. If you are making EPL payments, you will continue to make the same number of payments for the same amount as you would have otherwise. Life members who wish to upgrade to Distinguished Life or other higher-level Life membership will now have to pay the higher rates for the upgrade.
