Category: Uncategorized

Okay, I’ve read the Iowa Gun Owner’s “Vermont Carry” bill and the NRA’s “shall issue” bill for Iowa. (Working extra hours at my real job and having a sick wife and kid, it took a while to get them read and something written.) The first thing I noticed was that the IGO bill was only 5 pages while the NRA’s was 15. Sometimes good things come in small packages. I’ll spend more time here on the NRA bill for the simple fact that it was longer and more complex than the IGO bill.

IGO Vermont Carry- (House File 2241/ Senate File 473)
This bill is simplicity itself. It would basically repeal the Iowa law that makes it an aggravated misdemeanor for a law-abiding citizen to carry a weapon without a permit. Any Iowan who could legally possess a gun could legally carry it publicly, openly or concealed, without a carry permit.

The bill would make it so “a person who goes armed with a dangerous weapon with the intent to commit a crime of violence commits a class ‘D’ felony.” [Emphasis added.]

Permits to carry weapons would still be available to those who wanted them, perhaps to carry weapons in other states that recognize Iowa permits, for instance. The bill states that the issuing officer “shall” issue such permits to applicants that are not otherwise legally disqualified. The permits would last for five-years, as opposed to the current one year. Besides those two issues, the carry permit system would be much the same as the current one.

It tweaked a few other details in laws that rubbed up against the old permit law. The main point of the bill, however, is that no permit would be required for peaceable Iowans to carry their arms within the state. Anyone who believes that a “right” that you’ve got to ask permission for is no right at all has got to like that.

NRA Shall Issue- (House File 2255)

This bill would reform Iowa’s permit to carry system in several ways. There is a lot of items in this bill that would definitely improve Iowa‘s licensing regime, and also some things not to like. I’ve divided it into:

HF 2255- The Good

Firstly, the bill would require that the issuing authority “shall” issue the permit to qualified applicants. Currently, Iowa sheriffs “may issue” the permit but are not required to do so. It would also increase the longevity of the permit from one year to five.

The bill would also take steps to protect the personally-identifying information of permit holders. Currently the name and address of permit-holders is public information. Some newspapers in Iowa routinely publish lists and locations of permit-holders. So much for privacy. HF 2255 would mandate “that the release of such information does not reveal the identity of any applicant or permit holder.”

HF 2255 would standardize training requirements statewide. Iowans who already had a permit would be grandfathered in. Training requirements for new applicants could be satisfied by: military or law-enforcement training, National Rifle Association certified training courses, or “participation in any organized shooting competition.”

The bill would also allow Iowa to enter into reciprocity agreements with other states, to recognize each others carry permits. While 14 other states currently recognize Iowa’s permits, Iowa recognizes no other state’s permit. Some states will only recognize permits from states that recognize their own. This will allow licensed Iowans to travel armed in more states.

Lastly, HF 2255 would establish an appeals process for denied, revoked or suspended permits. The bill states that if the issuing authority “denies an application for or suspends or revokes a permit to carry weapons or an annual permit to acquire pistols or revolvers, the applicant or permit holder shall have the right to appeal the denial, suspension, or revocation of the permit to an administrative law judge in the department of inspections and appeals within thirty days of receiving written notice of the denial, suspension, or revocation.” That is certainly an improvement over the current “no appeals, no remedy” system.

For those of you keeping track, those are the five key elements long-ago identified as necessary reforms to Iowa weapons law by the gun rights group Iowa Carry. If the NRA would have stopped there it would have been a pretty good bill. Unfortunately, the NRA decided to throw in some “compromises” to make the bill palatable to a wider group of moderate legislators. Which brings us to:

HF 2255- The Bad
The bill creates a new victimless crime of possessing or carrying a loaded firearm on their person or in their vehicle while “under the influence of alcohol,” which would be a serious misdemeanor. If convicted, in addition to any civil penalties, you could then have your carry permit revoked.

Unlike drunk driving laws, which give quantifiable definitions of intoxication, possessing a firearm “under the influence” would be a nebulous guideline open to interpretation and abuse. What it means would basically be decided by the political temperament of your local police and prosecutors.

In my Dueling Gun Bills post I muddled the issue of age restrictions somewhat. Iowans can apply for a professional carry permit when they’re 18, but have to be 21 to get a nonprofessional carry permit. The new bill would keep these age requirements. So, you can be armed to guard other people’s lives and property when you’re 18, but can’t be armed to defend your own until you’re 21. Makes sense right? I know the proper age of majority could be an entire debate in and of itself, but I’m of the mind that if an 18-20 year old is old enough to vote, pay taxes and get his legs blown off in some third-world hellhole he’s old enough to hoist a cold beer with his buddies or carry a pistol. But since this is merely retaining the current standards in Iowa, I can’t really ding the NRA for that one.

Speaking of retaining current standards, HF 2255 would retain Iowa’s ridiculous “annual permit to acquire pistols or revolvers.” That too is “bad.” But more about that in a moment, under the heading of:

HF 2255- The Ugly

I could probably live with the bad things in the previous section. But now we get to what, for me, is a deal breaker. The NRA bill would write the language of the unconstitutional Lautenberg Amendment into Iowa law not once, but twice! Once dealing with carry permits and once dealing with the aforementioned purchase permit. This odious piece of legislation was originally sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg for the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997. Among other things it banned the possession of firearms by anyone who had ever been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or had been subject to court restraining order. Losing your constitutional rights over a misdemeanor doesn’t seem right.

I understand what the intent was behind this law, as it conjures up images of psychotic stalkers and violent wife beaters. Unfortunately, many innocuous victims have gotten caught in the Lautenberg net. “This gun ban has disarmed millions of law-abiding citizens,” points out Kathleen Gennaro, Director of Women’s Policy for Gun Owners of America. “Because of this law, merely spanking a child or slapping a husband could result in a woman’s being disarmed forever.” Men too, Kathleen. I was serving in the Iowa National Guard when this law went into effect and saw how it affected people. No longer able to be issued their duty weapons, many soldiers and cops lost their careers over long-forgotten squabbles with ex-wives or old girlfriends.

Since it was retroactive even to crimes committed before the law passed, it is an ex post facto law, which is forbidden by the U.S. Constitution. Even the ACLU said “it was inappropriate and a violation of the rights of individual citizens to impose a limitation on gun ownership retroactively for offenses that may have occurred years before.” The amendment also violates the Constitution’s Second and Tenth Amendment principles. Some courts are still kicking around its constitutionality. The NRA should be trying to stamp the Lautenberg Amendment out, not clone it in the states.

Conclusion
So there is the good, the bad and the ugly of HF 2255. There is enough “good” in the bill that I think well-intentioned Iowans can support it in good conscious and certainly without being called “traitors” or any of the other heated rhetoric that is being thrown around lately. I wish them well.

But there is enough “bad” and “ugly” in it (from a libertarian perspective) that I won’t be joining them in support of HF 2255. The bad parts won’t be fixed later, after the NRA has declared victory, collected its donations and gone home. I’ll be supporting HF596/SF473, the IGO’s Vermont Carry bill. It doesn’t compromise any of my principles so, win or lose, I’ll sleep soundly thank you.

Let’s keep the weapons bill topic rolling from the last post.

Today the NRA “Shall Issue” bill was filed in the Iowa legislature and given the bill number House File 2255. Opponents and proponents alike (myself included) can now stop speculating what the bill may contain. You can read the bill, in its entirety, here.

Although I’ve increasingly found myself having philosophical differences with the NRA in the last several years, I’m going to try (TRY mind you) to read the bill with an open mind. I hope that all of you will too, so we can have an honest debate on the meat of the bill.

Also, Iowa Gun Owner’s “Vermont Carry” bill has also been introduced. (I know they keep calling it “Alaska Carry” because it sounds more rugged, but it was called “Vermont Carry” before Alaska got it, so I ain’t changing!) The bill numbers on this one are House File 2241 or Senate File 473.

I’ll be reading both bills before I comment on them.

Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment for Iowa Constitution-

In a separate but related subject, Iowa Carry reported the following in their email update:

“Rep. Rants did exactly what he promised to do – HJR 2010 was introduced on February 1, providing the RKBA for the Iowa Constitution. Adding this to the Constitution is a long process, but this is where it needs to start. HJR 2010 needs your support! Contact your state representative today and urge him or her to support HJR 2010!

“The bill was assigned to the Public Safety Committee, and then to a subcommittee of R. Olson, Lukan, and Lykam.”

It’s time once again to examine the old year and hope for a good new year. Let’s review some of the top developments in 2009 in the Lockean categories of life, liberty and property.

Life

According to the FBI’s preliminary report, murders in the first 6 months of 2009 were down 10% compared to the previous year. Final crime rates for 2009 won’t be released until sometime in 2010, but if the trend continues throughout 2009, it would be the biggest one-year decrease in murders since at least 1960, the earliest year for which Bureau of Justice Statistics data is available. It would also give 2009 a per capita murder rate 51% lower than the all-time high in 1991.

During the same time six-month period, U.S. gun sales (as measured by the number of transactions on the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS], the “background check” when a gun is purchased from a dealer) were up by about 24%. As the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) points out, the number of privately owned firearms in the U.S. rose by about 2%, to record levels. NRA-ILA also stated: “[T]he firearms that were most commonly purchased in 2009 are those that gun control supporters most want to be banned – AR-15s, similar semi-automatic rifles, and handguns designed for defense.”

In a nutshell, in the last several years gun ownership has reached all-time highs while crime rates remain at or near record lows. “What this shows,” said Alan Gottlieb, Executive Vice President of the Second Amendment Foundation, “is that gun prohibitionists are all wrong when they argue that more guns result in more crime. Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens are no threat to anyone. Perhaps violent criminals were actually discouraged by all of those gun sales earlier this year, because the media made a point of reporting the booming gun market.

He continued: “Anti-gunners have lost another one of their baseless arguments. Millions of Americans bought guns during the first six months of [2009], many of them for the first time. Yet with all of those new guns in circulation, coupled with an increased demand for concealed carry licenses around the country, the streets have not been awash in blood, as gun banners repeatedly predict.”

In a slightly different vein (yet still in the life category), for the first time since the Gallup Poll began asking the question in 1995, a majority of Americans (51%) called themselves “pro-life” in 2009. According to Iowa Right to Life the number of abortions performed nation-wide peaked at about 1.6 million in 1990 (almost the same year as the all-time high murder rate mentioned above, hmm…) but has been trending downward since. It was at about 1.2 million in 2006 and is “back to levels not seen since the late 1970s.”

Iowa had 5,888 abortions in 2005, 6,728 in 2006 and 6,649 in 2007. I haven’t read any hard numbers for ’08 or ’09, but I would imagine they remained in that same range.

Liberty

The big news in Iowa this year was that Iowa became the third state to legalize gay marriage. The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling in April on the case Varnum v. Brien. It was argued that Iowa’s law violated same-sex couples rights to equal protection and due process.

Not everyone was happy with the decision however. “A handful of people who were not elected to office — they were appointed — have rendered a decision, a decision that is contrary to the will of the people, it is contrary to God’s law and it’s time for the people through their elected officials and elected representatives to decide what the law is going to be in this state,” said Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center’s board of directors.

But government exists to protect the rights of individuals from tyranny (even tyranny of the majority). Regardless of whether you morally approve of homosexuality or not, the ruling is certainly good for individual rights in Iowa. The argument made by social conservatives, that gay marriage is destructive to society, doesn’t seem to be resonating with anyone but conservatives themselves. Nonetheless, efforts are underway to reverse the ruling.

Second Amendment supporters ended the year with more friends than they started with. This summer the gun control group Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence (IPGV) dissolved due to lack of funding. However, a new group of Second Amendment defenders sprung up in the state. The group Iowa Gun Owners was formed in January ’09. In their first year in existence they managed to get a “Vermont/Alaska style” right-to-carry bill introduced in the Iowa legislature and earned it a tied procedural vote (to proceed, not be enacted) of 49-49 in the Iowa House. Not a bad first showing.

There was some work done on legalizing medical marijuana in Iowa in 2009. In July the Iowa Board of Pharmacy began holding hearings on the issue, but has not yet voted on its recommendation to the state legislature. In March a state Senate subcommittee held a hearing on medical marijuana bill, but the bill didn’t advance out of the subcommittee. Although it remains to be seen what will happen, at least there is discussion of legalizing the pharmaceutical use of a drug that is less dangerous and addictive than many other commonly prescribed drugs.

In 2009 storm clouds continued to gather at the national level, with healthcare “reform” set to mandate insurance coverage and involve the government in some of our most personal decisions.

Property

In June I reported on a county government flanking maneuver to circumvent the state’s anti-Kelo eminent domain law. The Clarke County Reservoir Commission voted to condemn the farmland of two dozen families in order to build a new 900-acre reservoir near Osceola. Critics have charged that planners have inflated the areas water needs in order to justify the new reservoir. In August the Clarke County Farm Bureau stated that they would NOT be helping the landowners whose land will be taken. Construction of the lake has not yet begun at this time.

In Washington and Des Moines our elected officials continued to bury this and future generations in debt in 2009. Since this will have to be paid back (with interest) it will obviously cost Americans a lot of money, therefore leaving less money available to us to acquire property (and less to pursue happiness with as well).

Governor Culver signed bonding issues adding almost $1.7 Billion in state debt, despite the fact that a Des Moines Register poll showed that 71% of Iowans opposed it. In D.C., President Obama and the Democrat Congress added about $1.45 Trillion in U.S. debt in 2009 alone. The U.S. public debt currently stands at over $12 Trillion. Our total unfunded liabilities amount to almost $107 Trillion.

So 2009 was a mixed bag for freedom lovers. Unfortunately, I think the few advances in personal freedoms are vastly overshadowed by the fiscal crisis looming on the horizon. Will we draw that crisis closer or will we begin to back away from it in 2010? I’ll tell you next year.

From the good folks at reason.tv

[A note from Ben: I originally posted this last September. Since much of it is still relevant, I decided to post it again this September. I hope you’ll indulge me.]

After a year replete with blizzards, tornadoes, and epic floods (2008), we Iowans now realize that disasters don’t just happen to those people on the coasts that we see on TV with their fancy earthquakes and hurricanes. So Iowans should sit up and take notice that September is “National Preparedness Month.”

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Ready Campaign” recommends three things to prepare for disaster: 1.Get a Kit, 2.Make a Plan, 3.Be Informed. The “Be Ready Iowa!” website has a pretty similar list you can check out too.

Since you can read the details at the National Preparedness Month website, I won’t rehash what each of these entails. But I will spend some time on one vital survival tool that usually doesn’t make the government’s list: a modern firearm.

I won’t try to sell you on owning a gun if you don’t want one. I fully support your right to NOT own a gun. However, I’m convinced now more than ever that a firearm is an important part of an American’s readiness kit.

During Hurricane Katrina we saw massive destruction that stripped all credibility from the modern argument that you can just call 9-1-1 in an emergency. When the phones don’t work and the police themselves are looting, who do you call and how?

During the 1992 Los Angeles riots the California National Guard arrived on the scene without any ammunition and missing their riot gear. When the local cops and state militia can’t impose order, who do you call? Local Korean shopkeepers were more prepared and defended their businesses with semi-automatic rifles until the Marines showed up to quell the riots.

Even in less extreme circumstances, Americans use firearms in self-defense over 1 million times each year. (Some research puts that number at 2.5 million times per year.) Usually the defender doesn’t even have to fire a shot before the attacker runs off to look for easier prey. A gun is a useful defensive tool.

I’ve been a lifelong shooter, but I don’t consider myself an expert. I’m someone who wants a functional weapon for protection and recreation, but who doesn’t have the time or money to make a religion out of it. I write the following pointers for people who are considering buying a defensive arm. It should not be considered technical nor legal advice, nor anything else that will get me sued. If at all possible, take a gun safety class and certainly check to make sure you are complying with all state, local and federal laws and regulations. Chat with shooters in your area.

Guns that shoot .22 rimfire ammo are good for target practice and small game but are generally too underpowered for defensive purposes. Get the largest caliber that you can comfortably handle. Stick with common calibers so that ammunition will be relatively plentiful and cheap. If you live in close quarters with others, consider buying frangible ammo by MagSafe or Glaser. It breaks apart on impact rather than punching through the wall into your kids room or the neighbor’s sitting room. (Definitely not the way to get invited to the next apartment block-party.) Frangible ammo is costly so practice with cheap “ball” ammo and save the frangible stuff for defense.

The kind of gun you choose will depend on what you’re trying to defend.

Level One-Defending Yourself: Being lightweight and concealable, the handgun is the ideal weapon for defending your person. Here in Iowa you’ll need a special permit to buy one and another special permit if you intend to carry your pistol in public. Both are available from your county sheriff.

Semi-automatic pistols are the most popular, but are generally more complicated than revolvers. Glock (brand) pistols have a reputation of ease of use and reliability, but they are costly. The .45 caliber M1911 has proven reliable enough to still be popular almost 100 years after it was invented. Avoid the very cheap “no-name” autos, you get what you pay for. Common calibers for auto pistols are: .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.

Revolvers are rugged and reliable. There’s darned little that can go wrong with them. The down-side: They usually only hold six shots. Stick with “double-action,” as opposed to “single-action” revolvers. Common calibers are: .38 Special, .357 Magnum (revolvers chambered for .357 Magnum can also shoot .38 Special Ammo, but not vice versa), .44 Magnum and .45 Colt.

Level Two- Defending Your Home: Your pistol will make a fine home defense weapon, but since size and concealability won’t matter on your own property, you might want more gun. A shotgun or small-caliber carbine rifle would make a good home defense weapon. No special permit is required to buy long guns in Iowa, but the retailer will run a criminal background check on you at the point of purchase.

Shotguns fire a number of small metal balls rather than a single bullet. Contrary to popular belief, you still have to aim. “00 Buckshot” is the most powerful ammo but in close-quarters you may want 6 or 7-½ birdshot to avoid over-penetration. A pump-action shotgun should be reliable enough. Common calibers are: .410, 20-guage, and 12-guage.

There are numerous pistol-caliber carbines out there that work well if you need just a little extra “reach,” such as on a farm. The old M1 Carbine is also readily available. Again, consider frangible ammo if you have neighbors very close. Common calibers are the same as for handguns and .30 carbine ammo for the M1 Carbine.

Level Three- Defending Freedom: If you live in open country or for the real doomsday (and less likely) scenarios involving extended anarchy, invading armies or the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, you’ll need a rifle. You might want one anyway, because they’re fun to shoot. If you don’t already have a bolt-action or lever-action that you’re comfortable with, get a reliable semi-automatic.

A .223 caliber rifle should be your bare-minimum for defense. Common semi-automatic weapons in this caliber include the AR-15 (by many names, from many manufacturers including one made in Iowa), Ruger Mini-14, and the Kel-Tec SU-16 to name just a few. There are also many semi-autos chambered for the 7.62 X 39mm Russian round. These include the AK-47, SKS, and Ruger Mini-30.

If you can handle the extra kick, the .308 Winchester round gives better range and take-down power than the two previous calibers. The most common semi-autos in this caliber are the Springfield M1A, AR-10 clones from several manufacturers, FAL clones, H&K 91 and the Israeli Galil (also available in .223).

You may want to configure your rifle as a “scout rifle.” With a small, low-powered telescopic sight mounted far ahead on the weapon, it becomes much easier to quickly acquire and engage targets at normal combat distances. [Shameless plug: To inexpensively configure your weapon read “Poor Man’s Scout Rifle” by my brother Bob Cashner, who, unlike me, is an expert.]

Besides the three mentioned above, two other common rifle calibers are the .30-30, which is common in lever-action rifles, and the .30-06, which is fired through the semi-auto M1 Garand rifle as well as many bolt-actions.

There you have it, firearms for any scenario. If you get one, learn to shoot, maintain and store it safely. (For gun safety classes try here, here or here.) Remember that your gun will do you no good if you don’t have any ammo or if its rusted shut. Whatever weapon you can afford is better than no weapon at all.

In honor of National Preparedness Month: Be prepared. Be armed.

While of course Memorial Day is a somber occasion, its weekend is the traditional kickoff of summer. My family and I were able to already have a nice mini summer vacation without lining the pockets of the foreign potentates of Wisconsin or Minnesota. We spent two days in Des Moines, right here in good old Iowa. That was plenty far to drive with a three-year-old and a pregnant wife anyway.

On Thursday we left Northeast Iowa early and headed for Adventureland Amusement Park, in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona. Adventureland came into being in 1974 (the same year I did) and is Iowa’s most complete amusement park and resort.

I’ve been going to Adventureland since I was a child. My parents would take us down at least once per summer. They were stockholders in the place, so they got tickets at a deep discount. (To put that into perspective for us kids who didn’t understand stocks, when we asked about it, Dad would point at one of the painted lines in the parking lot and say, “We own that line.”) Since I have so many summers worth of memories there, it felt good to see my little boy on some of the same toddler rides that I rode on, as well as quite a few that they didn’t have back then.

Outside the park we ate a nice picnic lunch that my wife had packed, to save a little money on park food. We didn’t get a chance to go on any “big kid” rides this time. That was fine with me because just going on the “Tea Cups” with my boy made me a little green around the gills.

Although Adventureland remains almost frozen in time from when I was a kid, nothing can shield it from Iowa’s shifting demographics. When I was a kid, it was mostly teenagers running the rides, today it is mostly “seasoned citizens” running them. I guess I’m getting old enough that I kind of prefer them. In another cultural shift, the sound of Spanish language from park guests filled the air.

That night we stayed at Adventureland Inn, located right next door. My son loved its three large indoor pools, my wife enjoyed relaxing and I appreciated Iowa’s only swim-up bar.

The next day we headed for Blank Park Zoo, which bills itself as “Iowa’s WILDEST Adventure.” While there are a few “animal displays” in Iowa (Osborne Park in Clayton County, Bever Park in Cedar Rapids and Fontana Park in Buchanan County being the best examples in my neck of the woods) there are none that truly qualify as a “zoo.” Blank Park Zoo, however, certainly qualifies as a true zoo.

Blank Park Zoo boasts lions, tigers, giraffes, kangaroos, alligators, monkeys and many, many more. My boy especially enjoyed the camel ride as well as riding the zoo train which gives visitors a tour of the zoo. With the picnic food gone, we spent more at the zoo than we did at Adventureland, but it was well worth it.

On the way home we stopped at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Williamsburg. My wife bought some new baby clothes while my son and I tried to make ourselves scarce. Then it was one last meal at McDonald’s and we were home.

It was a great two days in Iowa. The weather was perfect and we all had a great time.

I hope my kids will look back wistfully on memories like these someday, like I do with mine. Maybe someday they’ll be taking their own children too.

I took my trusty old M1911 to the shooting range a few times this month in preparation for my concealed carry class at the end of the month. I was advised to bring 50 rounds of ammunition to the class. I hadn’t bought handgun ammo in over a year. As I burnt up my ammo supply in practice, I figured it would be no problem to stop by the local Thiesen’s or Wal-Mart and pick up another box. Boy, was I wrong! A nation-wide shortage of all types of ammunition, handgun ammunition in particular, has emptied store shelves.

My friend (a first-time gun owner) spent the other day driving around Cedar Rapids (Iowa’s second largest city) looking for his particular caliber and type. He went from store to store only to find the ammo shelves bare. At one store they said that the delivery truck arrived at 11:00 am on Thursdays and that the handgun ammo was usually gone by noon. Apparently you practically have to help unload the truck yourself if you want some ammo. My friend ended up at hardware store in a small town outside C.R. paying 50 bucks for 50 rounds.

There are several causes to the shortage. The long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped to dwindle ammunition supplies, as suppliers give priority to military orders over civilian sales. The largest cause of the shortage, however, is fear. Buyers are snapping up ammunition and hoarding it while they still can.

Many gun owners, including an increasing number of first-time gun buyers, are afraid that President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress will move to outlaw or excessively regulate guns and ammo. Some previously proposed legislation dealing with ammo has included placing a 1000% tax on handgun ammo, bans on lead (i.e. most) bullets, and “encoding” each bullet with a unique serial number (making it vastly more expensive).

If the specter of all of the Democrats previous gun control schemes weren’t enough to drive ammo prices through the roof, recently President Obama announced his support for CIFTA, an international gun control treaty. Among other infringements upon the Second Amendment, the treaty could require people who reload ammo at home to get a federal license. (No one knows how much such a license would cost, or even if they would be issued.) The treaty should drive ammo prices up further and keep them there.

So in a time of ammunition scarcity, what can shooters do?

If you can’t find the ammunition you need at your local merchant, you can try ordering ammunition online at Cheaper Than Dirt, The Sportsman’s Guide, or Ammoman.com. They may be sold out of what you need, but keep checking.

If you can wait, try attending the next gun show near you. There are usually ammunition vendors at gun shows, giving you at least a chance to find what you need. Unlike what you’ve probably seen on the network news, gun shows are not lawless orgies of illegal gun sales with Satan himself laughing in the background, but you can pick up some good deals at one. IowaCarry.org maintains a list of Iowa gun shows here.

Good luck and good shooting!

During a public hearing on the Democrat plan to tax Iowans’ taxes, House Speaker Pat Murphy ordered state troopers to remove the citizens sitting in the Capitol galleries when they refused to quit booing tax supporters and applauding tax opponents.

IowaPolitics.com’s Lynn Campbell reported Wednesday:

“More than 500 people packed the Iowa Capitol and the House galleries Tuesday night, largely in opposition to a plan that would eliminate the ability of Iowans to deduct their federal tax payments when calculating state tax liability. They wore red T-shirts from Iowans for Tax Relief that stated, ‘no tax on a tax.’

“The crowd booed and hissed supporters of the legislation, and applauded opponents. They were reprimanded several times by House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Shomshor, but the boos and applause continued. Murphy initially came out, ordered that decorum be kept and threatened to clear the chamber, but the applause continued.

“The final straw came when Greg Baker, a University of Iowa student and state chairman of the College Republicans of Iowa, told lawmakers: ‘Please quit messing up this state.’

“The crowd burst into applause. Shomshor pounded the gavel and ordered the galleries cleared at 8:27 p.m. Murphy came out to enforce the order, which was immediately followed by angry shouts by the audience.

“‘This is our House!’ one person shouted.

“‘We pay you!’ another shouted.

“‘You’re fired!’ a third shouted.”

The first two people are right. Let’s hope the third person turns out to be prophetic.

It’s obviously the time of year to write a retrospective of the old year and predictions for the new. The retrospective is easy. Not to put too fine a point on it, 2008 sucked.

Here in Iowa, we started 2008 buried in snow and ice. By June that had turned to tornadoes and floods. Not just any tornadoes and floods, but Iowa’s worst tornado since 1976 and our worst flooding in recorded history. The political climate didn’t prove any better than the weather.

Despite starting the year optimistic that libertarian Republican candidate Ron Paul would do well in the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary, giving him a bounce into a credible run for the GOP’s nomination for president, the Republicans instead nominated another big government neo-conservative. Although I myself have been lulled into the “lesser of two evils” mindset in previous elections, I could never vote for John McCain because I don’t believe he is any “lesser.” For the first time in my adult life, I truly didn’t care whether the Democrats or Republicans won the Whitehouse.

Let’s look at what went on in the categories of personal and economic freedom.

On the national front we saw the emergence of a strong new socialist leader who led the country toward nationalization of several major industries. To my chagrin it was not Barack Obama but “free-market Republican” President George W. Bush who has marched us hip deep into socialism. On an encouraging note, however, the RNC is poised to issue a rebuke to Bush and congressional Republicans for the massive “bailouts.”

In my state of Iowa, the Democrats, who control the statehouse and governorship, went into a holding pattern after hiking the minimum wage in 2007 (which went into effect Jan.1, 2008). However, they replaced the 1% SILO (School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax), which had to be occasionally approved by voters in each county, with a “Statewide Penny Tax,” thereby taking the decision away from local voters who might be too dumb to constantly reauthorize it. Lobbyists and politicians in Des Moines are already proposing other uses for this “school infrastructure” money.

In similar disdain for democracy, when voters in two Iowa localities (a county and school district) voted down tax increases, the respective governing bodies rescheduled special elections to vote on the same measure. The elections will be held after the county and school board have had time to properly “educate” voters on the issue. Sounds like, heads we win, tails we flip again, to me.

In December, Governor Culver announced his pragmatic move to cut state spending by 1.5 percent across-the-board. This is a nice departure from the usual Democrat idea to increase government spending during economic downturns. It leaves libertarians wondering why it takes a recession to get that done, however.

Gun owners got a needed boost when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the Second Amendment protects an individual, as opposed to collective, right to own firearms. This led to several U.S. cities dropping gun ban ordinances.

Gun owners in Iowa, however, had a setback when a modest bill to standardize training and issuance of concealed-weapons permits died in the legislature in April.

Personal freedom also took a hit when a statewide smoking ban went into effect in July. This lessened the liberty of Iowa’s smokers as well as its business owners.

2008 marked the first year that voters could register as Libertarian Party members on Iowa’s voter registration forms. As of July, however, only 150 had officially done so, although party membership is much higher. The Party’s presidential candidate, former congressman Bob Barr, received 4,608 votes statewide.

Peering into my crystal ball (which are issued to all bloggers), let’s examine the trends for 2009.

This year will probably be more of the same, or worse, for proponents of small government and free markets. President Obama and the Democrat Congress will no doubt treat Bush’s socialist power grab in the market as a floor, not a ceiling. Expect massive amounts of new regulations, new taxes, and scores of new bureaucrats administering it all. I think we’ll see a lot of that at the state level also.

The state of Iowa already has income and sales taxes and localities have sales and property taxes. A new proposal by some Iowa legislators would allow Iowa cities to also levy a tax on their denizens’ incomes. This is being sold largely as “property tax relief.” Ed Failor, Jr., President of Iowans for Tax Relief said: “Iowans are smart people, and we are smart enough to understand a new tax to reduce reliance on another tax is how politicians describe a tax increase.” The new income taxes will be around longer than any short-lived “relief” in property taxes.

There is also the ongoing chatter about getting rid of the deductibility of federal taxes on Iowan’s state income taxes. Essentially this would require Iowans to pay taxes on money that goes directly to the federal government that the wage earner never even sees.

This will be hit and miss depending upon whether you are in a group favored by liberal Democrats, but I would say the general trend is downward.

Hopes that Obama would do better on civil liberties than Bush, faltered somewhat when Obama supported a sweeping intelligence eavesdropping law opposed by his own party. Police state policies don’t look so bad when you will be the one wielding them. Civil libertarians should brace for more such letdowns.

Gun owners should follow the advice of Samuel L. Jackson in “Jurassic Park” and, “Hold onto your butts.” At a minimum we should expect federal efforts to resurrect and expand the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” banning of gun shows, gun storage laws and gun owner harassment.

Since the Iowa legislature has shown itself to be willing to regulate any human activity in the name of “public health,” Iowans can expect efforts to strengthen the smoking ban, bans on drink specials at bars, and bans on junk food in schools. All of these are already in discussion. A new mandate that only self-extinguishing “fire safe” cigarettes be sold in Iowa went into effect January 1st, despite complaints by smokers that they are hard to smoke and taste bad. (No, I don’t smoke. I just hate unnecessary regulation and meddling.)

The Iowa Supreme Court may rule soon on gay marriage in Iowa. A lawsuit against Iowa’s unfair concealed weapons issuance law may be advanced this year. Both could either help or harm their intended beneficiaries.

Not counting the weather, I believe 2009 will be about the same as 2008. The few glimmers of hope for personal freedoms will largely be extinguished by massive reductions in economic freedom. Since these infringements upon economic freedom will also have a negative effect upon the economy as a whole, more people will be harmed than helped and the recession will be longer than it needs to be.

Of course, I’ve been wrong before. Happy new year.

After a year replete with blizzards, tornados, and epic floods, we Iowans now realize that disasters don’t just happen to those people on the coasts that we see on TV with their fancy earthquakes and hurricanes. So Iowans should sit up and take notice that September is “National Preparedness Month.”

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Ready Campaign” recommends four things to prepare for disaster: 1.Get a Kit, 2.Make a Plan, 3.Be Informed, 4.Get Involved.

Since you can read the details at the National Preparedness Month 2008 website, I won’t rehash what each of these entails. (The “Be Ready Iowa!” website has a pretty similar list you can check out too. This is in the “Iowa Links” section to the right.) I will spend some time on one vital survival tool that usually doesn’t make the government’s list: a modern firearm.

I won’t try to sell you on owning a gun if you don’t want one. I fully support your right to NOT own a gun. However, I’m convinced now more than ever that a firearm is an important part of an American’s readiness kit.

During Hurricane Katrina we saw massive destruction that stripped the modern argument, that you can just call 9-1-1 in an emergency, of all credibility. When the phones don’t work and the police themselves are looting, who do you call and how?

During the 1992 Los Angeles riots the California National Guard arrived on the scene without any ammunition and missing their riot gear. When the local cops and state militia can’t impose order, who do you call? Local Korean shopkeepers were more prepared and defended their businesses with semi-automatic rifles until the Marines showed up to quell the riots.

Even in less extreme circumstances, Americans use firearms in self-defense over 1 million times each year. (Some research puts that number at 2.5 million times per year.) Usually the defender doesn’t even have to fire a shot before the attacker runs off to look for easier prey. A gun is a useful defensive tool.

I’ve been a lifelong shooter, but I don’t consider myself an expert. I’m someone who wants a functional weapon for protection and recreation, but who doesn’t have the time or money to make a religion out of it. I write the following pointers for people who are considering buying a defensive arm. It should not be considered technical nor legal advice, nor anything else that will get me sued. If at all possible, take a gun safety class and certainly check to make sure you are complying with all state, local and federal laws and regulations. Chat with shooters in your area.

Guns that shoot .22 rimfire ammo are good for target practice but are generally too underpowered for defensive purposes. Get the largest caliber that you can comfortably handle. Stick with common calibers so that ammunition will be relatively plentiful and cheap. If you live in close quarters with others, consider buying frangible ammo by MagSafe or Glaser. It breaks apart on impact rather than punching through the wall into your kids room or the neighbor’s sitting room. (Definitely not the way to get invited to the next apartment block-party.) Frangible ammo is costly so practice with cheap “ball” ammo and save the frangible stuff for defense.

The kind of gun you choose will depend on what you’re trying to defend.

Level One-Defending Yourself: Being lightweight and concealable, the handgun is the ideal weapon for defending your person. Here in Iowa you’ll need a special permit to buy one and another special permit if you intend to carry your pistol in public. Both are available from your county sheriff.

Semi-automatic pistols are the most popular, but are generally more complicated than revolvers. Glock (brand) pistols have a reputation of ease of use and reliability, but they are costly. The .45 caliber M1911 has proven reliable enough to still be popular almost 100 years after it was invented. Avoid the very cheap “no-name” autos. Common calibers for auto pistols are: .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.

Revolvers are rugged and reliable. There’s darned little that can go wrong with them. The down-side: They usually only hold six shots. Common calibers are: .38 Special, .357 Magnum (revolvers chambered for this can also shoot .38 Special Ammo), .44 Magnum and .45 Colt.

Level Two- Defending Your Home: Your pistol will make a fine home defense weapon, but since size and concealability won’t matter on your own property, you might want more gun. A shotgun or small-caliber carbine rifle would make a good home defense weapon. No special permit is required to buy long guns in Iowa, but the retailer will run a criminal background check on you at the point of purchase.

Shotguns fire a number of small metal balls rather than a single bullet. Contrary to popular belief, you still have to aim. “00 Buckshot” is the most powerful ammo but in close-quarters you may want 6 or 7-½ birdshot to avoid over-penetration. A pump-action shotgun should be reliable enough. Common calibers are: .410, 20-guage, and 12-guage.

There are numerous pistol-caliber carbines out there that work well if you need just a little extra “reach,” such as on a farm. The old M1 Carbine is also readily available. Again, consider frangible ammo if you have neighbors very close. Common calibers are the same as for auto-pistols and .30 carbine.

Level Three- Defending Freedom: If you live in open country or for the real doomsday scenarios involving extended anarchy, invading armies or the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, you’ll need a rifle. You might want one anyway, because they’re fun to shoot. If you don’t already have a bolt-action or lever-action that you’re comfortable with, get a reliable semi-automatic.

A .223 caliber rifle should be your bare-minimum for defense. Common semi-automatic weapons in this caliber include the AR-15 (from many manufacturers, by many names), Ruger Mini-14, and the Kel-Tec SU-16 to name just a few. There are also many semi-autos chambered for the 7.62 X 39mm Russian round. These include the AK-47, SKS, and Ruger Mini-30.

If you can handle the extra kick, the .308 Winchester round gives better range and take-down power than the two previous calibers. The most common semi-autos in this caliber are the Springfield M1A, AR-10 clones from several manufacturers, FAL clones, H&K 91 and the Israeli Galil (also available in .223).

You may want to configure your rifle as a “scout rifle.” With a small, low-powered telescopic sight mounted far ahead on the weapon, it becomes much easier to quickly acquire and engage targets at normal combat distances. [Shameless plug: To inexpensively configure your weapon read “Poor Man’s Scout Rifle” by my brother Bob Cashner, who, unlike me, is an expert.]

Besides the three mentioned above, two more common rifle calibers are the .30-30, which is common in lever-action rifles, and the .30-06, which is fired through the semi-auto M1 Garand rifle as well as many bolt-actions.

There you have it, firearms for any scenario. If you get one, learn to shoot, maintain and store it safely. (For gun safety classes try here and here.) Remember that your gun will do you no good if you don’t have any ammo or if its rusted shut. Whatever weapon you can afford is better than no weapon at all.

In honor of National Preparedness Month: Be prepared. Be armed.