IGO table at CR gun show

After the rousing time #1 son and I had at the NRA workshop, we moved on to the gun show at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids where Iowa Gun Owners hosted a table. We assisted in getting signatures that would be presented to the Iowa Senate in the next couple of days, petitioning them to vote for SF473.

Some highlights included:

When asked to sign, one gun owner replied he already had his permit. My response was what if the next sheriff comes in and says "no more renewals"? He thought about that for a minute and signed our form.

A few other gun owners stated they already had their permit so what did they have to worry about. Another response I had was, "What about the gun owners in counties where their sheriff refuses to issue a permit?" Most of these gun owners signed. This showed that some gun owners will think of the other guys as well.

We had one guy wearing an IowaCarry shirt who spoke with us for several minutes about the rift that seems to be among the gun groups right now. We had a good conversation but I don't recall him signing our form. Nevertheless, I appreciated his thoughts.

One woman asked me why the NRA didn't mention our bill at grassroots meeting. My response was "That's a good question, why don't they support the IGO bill." She seemed angry that this bill wasn't mentioned and after a few minutes of conversation, she signed our form.

Another woman asked if all the fighting going on is nothing more than an ego trip among the gun groups. I told her that I couldn't speak about the motivations behind any group, but I thought SF473 was a better bill that allowed more freedom. After some more conversation, she signed.

There was only one horse's hind-end during the 5+ hours we spent there. After asking one gentleman if he would sign our petition his response back was "I'm a member of IowaCarry" and turned and walked away. A nice reflection of his group there.

Many NRA members signed our petitions and a few of the gun show patrons didn't want to.

Overheard at the IowaCarry table: (Regarding Iowa Gun Owners) "They're kooky, but I think they're on to something."

I've been called worse.