It was a long and tumultuous session and at the end of the day the Idaho legislature let you down!
Once again — the Secret Gun Committee and Establishment Leadership in the House — killed all efforts to push for better self-defense laws.
It’s up to you to keep the pressure on them for next year’s session, and we’ll tell you how in a minute!
From the time Constitutional Carry was passed last year, the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance told gun owners in Idaho we would fight to strengthen our Castle Doctrine laws.
The legislature thought gun owners would be happy with Constitutional Carry and would just go home and be happy.
Little did they know that we are here to stay. We are here to bring about the strongest gun laws in the nation. We will not be done until that goal is accomplished!
Last Summer, the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance found a legislator we believed would be a great asset for Idaho’s gun owners. Someone who would not back down when leadership came after them or told them no.
That legislator was Representative Christy Zito, Republican from District 23.
We approached Rep. Zito and asked her if she would be willing to help gun owners who had just handed her the Primary Election in May of 2016 over anti-gun Representative Rich Wills (R-23).
Rep. Zito happily took the torch and promised to fight for better self-defense laws in Idaho.
Many politicians say they support the 2nd Amendment, but very rarely do any of them actually get down in the trenches and fight for it.
That was not the case with Rep. Zito during the 2017 session.
While Castle Doctrine failed to even get a hearing this session, we are happy to report that Rep. Zito kept her promise to fight until the very end for gun owners!
You don’t get an elected official like this very often.
Rep. Zito fought hard every single day to get a hearing for the Castle Doctrine bill that was written by our attorney, Alexandria Kincaid. She would not back down when leadership came after her for sponsoring a pro-gun bill.
So, what is Castle Doctrine happened with the Castle Doctrine Bill?
The bill was introduced in the 2nd week of the legislative session and given to the House State Affairs Committee for consideration.
The Chairman of each committee gets to decide whether or not a bill gets heard in is his/her committee. The Chairman for the House State Affairs Committee is none other than Rep. Tom Loertscher (R-32).
That’s right. Most of you remember Chairman Loertscher as the guy who blocked Constitutional Carry from getting a hearing back in 2015. Well, he was at it again.
As usual, Chairman Loertscher had a plethora of excuses on why the Castle Doctrine bill could not be heard. He pulled out his usual “language issues” excuse.
Rep. Zito went to Chairman Loertscher every single day and tried to ask him what his concerns were with the language. He wouldn’t answer. He just kept claiming “language issues.”
Finally, Rep. Zito brought in ISAA attorney, Alexandria Kincaid, and had her sit down with Chairman Loertscher. Mrs. Kincaid put the Chairman in his place and explained how the law worked and why the bill was written the way it was.
Chairman Loertscher couldn’t keep up with Mrs. Kincaid and was forced to bring in Rep. Luker, who is also an attorney. She explained the bill to Rep. Luker, who could not rebut any of her points.
Despite all that, Chairman Loertscher couldn’t come up with any other reason to continue sitting on the bill other than to tell Rep. Zito, “I just don’t like it.”
That’s it folks. Chairman Loertscher just didn’t like the bill so he stuck the bill in his desk drawer.
Despite the thousands of signatures we have from our petition, Chairman Loertscher sat on the bill.
Despite the massive amounts of emails and phone calls he received in support of the bill, Chairman Loertscher killed the bill.
Is this how representative government is supposed to work?
One man can kill the voice of the people without even a hearing?
And it wasn’t just the Chairman who wasn’t helping. It was members of the Secret Gun Committee who refused to help Rep. Zito move the bill forward.
This is the same Secret Gun Committee who continues to propose watered down “pro-gun” bills. This is the same SGC who kills great bills behind closed doors so members of the legislature don’t have to vote on the gun bills you want.
So where do we go from here and what can you do now?
>>> First, we will never give up and will be back next year. We need thousands of signatures though for our petition, demanding a better Castle Doctrine, so please make sure to sign it right away!
>>> Second, we want to make sure that everyone is up to speed with our current efforts. We send out emails but sometimes Facebook is the quickest way to get updates from the Capitol. Please “Like” our page and invite others to do the same!
>>> Finally, as we prepare to ramp up for the off season we are seeking to mobilize 5,000 more gun owners across Idaho. Direct mail, email, social media, and other methods are great for getting people active in the political process.
Unfortunately, doing those things effectively isn’t easy or cheap. We are asking everyone that can, to donate to the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance TODAY!
Whether you can donate something big like, $1,000 or $500, as some have done already done, or $200 or $50, we greatly appreciate it.
The ISAA has an all-volunteer staff. They work hard and tirelessly for you each and every day. If all you can do is $25 today then that is perfectly okay.
Each and every donation is sincerely appreciated and has helped this organization grow from a couple guys fighting for Constitutional Carry — to the massive grassroots army we have today.
Thank you from each and every staff member at the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance.
Chairman of the Board
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance
Upgrading Idaho’s Castle Doctrine was our top priority and the top priority of the newly elected Representative, Christy Zito (R-23).
She fought valiantly during the session to get Castle Doctrine a hearing and her efforts were defeated by notorious Chairman, Rep. Tom Loertscher (R-32).
Despite her efforts, and the efforts of thousands of citizens across the country, your voice was silenced. Your desire to have the self-defense laws in Idaho upgraded were thwarted by men hungry with power.
We will not give up however and we need your help to get ready for next year.
Please be sure to sign the petition immediately if you have not already done so.