What has ISSDA done for me lately?

In my mailbox I find a letter from my sheriff asking that I donate money to the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association. I'm all for supporting law enforcement just so long as they support me. I went to their website to try to find out how this organization stands on issues important to me. Their website is a bit sparse.

I seem to recall that ISSDA was not supportive of "shall issue" permits to carry weapons. Is that true? Where do they stand on the "constitutional carry" bills in the legislature right now? What issues have they stated an opinion on and what were those opinions? Is this a worthwhile organization to put my money into?

I'm reluctant to give them money since I suspect the mailing list is from the permit to carry database. Any private organization that takes advantage of a public license database in this manner has not shown to me a high level of ethical standards. That's just my opinion of course.

Do not even give them a red cent.

Only 5 of the 99 sheriffs supported the bill, the rest were a bunch of punks (77 were in direct opposition.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kfu9TrRLic

Thank you, that video confirmed my suspicions.

What boggles my mind is that as an organization that goes about soliciting funds from the public it seems to have done a poor job in describing to the public what it does and where it stands on issues important to the public. The letter asks for my money so that they can train and educate, but I'm not sure on who they intend to train and educate and the content of this training and education.

If ISSDA wants my money then they need to be more forthcoming on what my money would be used for and the intentions of that spending needs to be aligned with my own beliefs.

IA_farmboy said:

I seem to recall that ISSDA was not supportive of "shall issue" permits to carry weapons. Is that true? Where do they stand on the "constitutional carry" bills in the legislature right now? What issues have they stated an opinion on and what were those opinions? Is this a worthwhile organization to put my money into?

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Well, "not supportive" of any legislation that increases gun rights and personal protection rights would be one way to describe it. A more accurate description might be "openly hostile," while yet another might be "actively working to infringe our rights."

On the good side, they have done a lot to make the sheriffs' departments work more smoothly and to support the safety and work conditions of the LEOs that work there.

If you look at the Iowa Legislature web site for any of the pro-gun bills listed, you can see where special interest groups stand on any bill.

The ISSDA and their lobbyist Susan Cameron have opposed every pro-gun bill introduced in at least the last 4 years.

I received the same ISSDA solicitation in the mail this week - AND IT WENT INTO THE TRASH.

If/When the ISSDA starts supporting our 2nd Amendment Rights, then I'll consider giving some support back to the ISSDA.

ISSDA lobbyist Susan Cameron in today's Globe Gazette regarding the Iowa Constitutional Carry Bill:

Iowa Sheriff’s and Deputies Association lobbyist Susan Cameron said there was “great concern” that the bill would allow some people to carry firearms who can’t carry them now and that it would effectively eliminate training requirements included in the carry permit.

“All of law enforcement is united against this,” she said.

http://www.globegazette.com/news/iowa/article_e888f5e4-4aaa-11e0-8979-001cc4c002e0.html

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Easy to see where the ISSDA stands.