By now most of you have heard about Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell's (D-Des Moines) run-in with an armed intruder at his rural Decatur Co. residence.

We are happy that Congressman Boswell and his family emerged from this violent home invasion relatively unharmed.

Reports indicate that Congressman Boswell fought with the intruder for a few moments, giving time for his grandson to go to the basement, unlock a gun cabinet, load a shotgun and then run back upstairs where he scared off the attacker by displaying the shotgun.

We will say this for the Congressman: he's consistent.

Congressman Boswell has already voted multiple times in his congressional career to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to access weapons during a life or death confrontation with armed attackers.

He's on the record as supporting the Davis Amendment to H.R. 2122, which mandated trigger locks on certain types of new firearms that are sold by FFL dealers. So now, if someone breaks into your home, you are expected to have the time to find your key, unlock your gun, load your gun and then defend yourself.

Not likely.

Later on, Congressman Boswell voted against the Musgrave amendment to H.R. 5672. This amendment, brought forth by pro-gun champion Congresswoman Musgrave, would have defunded the enforcement of the trigger lock mandate, thereby defanging this anti-gun legislation.

Yet Congressman Boswell voted against this.

Of course Congressman Boswell's record on gun rights is no secret to gun owners here in Iowa.

He supported rabidly anti-gun then-Congressman Charles Schumer's H.R. 424 which, in certain cases, elevated the minimum sentence against citizens who are charged with using guns for self-defense!

He voted against Congressman Goode's amendment to H.R. 2122, which would have lifted the DC gun ban. Yes, residents could still possess long guns. But I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that being forced to wait for 10 days for approval to register a gun you've already paid for just for the privilege to be forced to store that weapon in an unloaded manner brings little comfort to the law abiding citizens of the District of Columbia.

Congressman Boswell even voted in favor of the McCollum Amendment to H.R. 2122, which makes it illegal for juveniles to have in their possession any magazine that is over 10 rounds in capacity. The way the law was purposely written, your child could be in violation of the law if he's even holding a magazine while target shooting with you!

I could go on, but there is no need.

It's no wonder that Gun Owners of America recently gave Congressman Boswell a D- in their voter scorecard.

Despite all of his voting history, the NRA, who has a troubling history here in Iowa as of late, most recently gave Congressman Boswell an "A" and endorsed him in his re-election bid last year!

There is one more thing we'll say about Congressman Boswell: he was lucky.

Again we are happy that he and his family were unhurt. We applaud him for confronting an attacker in his home at the age of 77 years old. The multiple members of the board and staff of IGO who are former/retired peace officers were pleased to see how quickly the police captured the thug who attacked the Congressman.

We are pleased that his situation became yet another example of a law-abiding Iowan using a firearm to defend himself.

But it should be pointed out that the criminal in this case was armed with a mere BB gun.

We hate to think of what could have occurred if the intruder had brought a real gun. By the time Boswell's grandson ran to the gun case, unlocked it, found the shotgun, found the ammunition for it, loaded it, and then ran to assist his family it could have easily been too late.

It is for situations like this that Iowa Gun Owners strongly opposes any attempts to require Iowans to lock up their guns - rendering them useless in violent attacks like this.

As gun owners we need to be responsible. We need to ensure that children and others who are not allowed access to firearms don't have the ability to do so. But to lock them up and leave ourselves vulnerable...never.

It is because of situations like this that Iowa Gun Owners had HF7 "Stand-Your-Ground" legislation introduced into the Iowa House this past year. This language would give important protections to law-abiding Iowans who are forced to defend themselves and their families.

Almost the entire House leadership team completed signed candidate surveys supporting this concept during the fall campaigns. They pledged to pass this bill out of the House this year.

Yet they did not. The bill, having passed out of Committee, was never allowed to see the light of day on the House floor.

That's why it is so important to be involved in the work of Iowa Gun Owners. We will always be there to call out anti-gun actions by politicians - regardless of their party affiliation.

At election time, you and thousands of other gun owners across Iowa will be informed of which politicians support your gun rights and which ones don't. While almost all candidates claim to be pro-gun at election time (like Congressman Boswell), we will expose their anti-gun votes, their hostile replies to candidate surveys, and the backroom deals that they cut at the expense of your gun rights.

So feel free to join Iowa Gun Owners today! For those who join in July, you'll also receive a free Iowa Gun Owners T-Shirt! (We are not quite finished adding a merchandise page to our website, so in the meantime, email Alina at communications@iowagunowners.org with your shirt size.)

For Freedom,

Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
Iowa Gun Owners

The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens' organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights' mailing address is P.O 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org/