It’s a federal class-action lawsuit that was just filed from Osceola County, claiming a man’s 2nd and 14th Amendment rights were violated when county Sheriff Doug Weber denied his application for a concealed weapons permit last year. So far, that man, Paul Dorr, and his 18-year-old son, Alexander Dorr, are the only two members of the lawsuit, but I know there are a lot of people in Linn County, especially, who are miffed about Sheriff Don Zeller’s selective permit process.
In essence, if he wins, Iowa would most likely start issuing a lot more concealed carry permits. It doesn’t really excite me to think that some crazy people I know could legally carry a handgun into a public meeting.
The Dorrs’ 35-page complaint against Sheriff Weber says Weber denied the permit because “there’s some fear out there of (Paul) Dorr,” and that he didn’t feel comfortable issuing the permit because “he didn’t trust him.” However, no documentation of that “fear” was provided. Right now, it’s up to each county sheriff’s discretion to whom they issue concealed carry permits. All they have to do is provide a reason. Dorr is claiming Weber is denying him equal protection under the law, namely because his wife, Debra, was granted a permit when he and their son weren’t.
I know of Paul Dorr from my work at the Sioux City Journal before I moved here. He runs a consulting company that does a lot of campaigning against public school bonds (I helped cover one of his successful campaigns in 2006 in Ponca, Neb., and he is a supporter of the Alliance for the Separation of School and State) and is also involved in right-wing political activism, including anti-abortion issues. In his complaint, he claims he’s found blog entries referring to “shooting Paul Dorr,” and apparently carrying a gun will make him safe. The guy’s been accused of using fear tactics, racism and other icky things to convince people not to vote for things, and he makes money doing it. I would hope no one else would stoop to that level.
I’ll keep y’all posted on the proceedings.
Arrested Developments 
November 5, 2008 at 9:33 am
Crazy people are not allowed to own firearms. People who have concealed carry permits have to jump through many (illegal) hoops to obtain a permit and show firearm efficiency and safety. A permit holder WILL be the only person to save you from a violent encounter unless you’re carrying yourself, or carry a cop with you.
November 5, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Certifiably mentally disturbed and crazy are two very different things. And I would hope to God Almighty that you wouldn’t think it’s illegal to require that, if you’re legally carrying a gun while you’re shopping next to me at the grocery store, that you have the proper training and sensitivity.
Do any 2nd Amendment hardliners realize that giving the privilege to carry guns on your person into a public place full of people is a really serious subject and should be considered carefully? Because I’m getting the feeling that they’d like a free for all.
November 7, 2008 at 2:21 am
Look up the armed robbery rates in states/counties that allow you to carry a firearm openly like a cop. Takes a lot of balls to rob a bank when you know someone in there is probably armed.
November 8, 2008 at 4:17 pm
No, if you listen to the comments from second amendment supporters, they’d like everyone to carry a gun. They often times bring up countries such as Switzerland that has high gun ownership. They neglect to mention that Switzerland has the #2 per capita gun crime, right behind… you guessed it, America. We beat out countries such as Mexico and South Africa. Hmm…
I travel, a fair amount, and I must say, going to countries with stricter gun control (countries where even the police don’t have to carry guns) makes me feel much safer. Americans, especially 2nd “Amendementers” have this feeling that they’re going to get into some wild-west shootout. Here’s the truth. If someone is going to rob you, they’re going to rob you. If they think you’ll have a gun, they’ll shoot first. There is crime -everywhere- and a bunch of rednecks packing heat isn’t going to change that.
November 18, 2008 at 4:45 am
Who cares about getting robbed? It’s just money. It’s about saving your life, or your families life. Criminal’s de-value your life over a rock or 20 bucks and WILL terminate you like you’re a piece of trash. Someone who is deranged enough to pull an armed robbery is the same type of person who will use a weapon on you.
Stereotyping gun owners shows your ignorance. We don’t want to get into some “wild west shootout” and we don’t ever want to HAVE to even pull a firearm out. Maybe that’s YOUR deluded fantasy about gun owners showing your ignorance? But having the tool there for the job is our right, and the only thing that will help protect all that you have worked for.
January 3, 2009 at 10:45 am
I see Alicia used to write for the Sioux City Journal. Print media is dying in this country for a variety of reasons, one is the silly biases that jump off of the page – the entire time the reporters and editors try to claim they are objective. (I’ll take the 19th century newspapers any day, when they openly proclaimed their bias and reported accordingly.) Hypocrisy in media just doesn’t sell over time….so, more and more reporters are getting laid off.
Alicia’s hypocrisy is clear with her comment on me above. “The guy’s been accused of using fear tactics, racism and other icky things to convince people not to vote for things, and he makes money doing it. I would hope no one else would stoop to that level.” Her second sentence assumes the first one is true. Alicia you are supposed to prove an accusation first before you draw a conclusion on it or else write, “If these accusations would prove to be true I would hope no one else…”
They are not true.
Paul Dorr
January 3, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I think I make my biases pretty clear, Mr. Dorr. But I’m glad you took the time to find my blog 🙂
January 20, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I personally do not agree with Paul Dorr’s politics and what he does, but he is protected under freedom of speech and he should be able to protect himself under the 2nd amendment. Iowa is a “may issue” state which means that the sheriff can deny a permit and be completely legal. This is the reason why Iowa needs to be a “shall issue” state. If someone has taken the time to take a conceal and carry course demonstrating safety and knowledge of their firearm and they can pass the background check they should be able to own a weapon especially if said person has received death threats.
Gun owners are not the rednecks that want to get involved in a firefight like someone said earlier. I would bet that you would be hard pressed to tell who has carrying a weapon in public and we work very hard to keep it that way. We as gun owners do not want to draw our weapons, we do not want to shoot someone, but we are prepared if the need arises. Law abiding citizens that take the time to get training and get a permit are probably the least likely to get involved in an incident where they need the weapon because they are more aware of the risks. In just about every state that has passed a conceal and carry law the news and some authorities speculated that road rage and simple altercations would turn into gun fights but that hasn’t happened.
The gun fights come from criminals who don’t bother with all of the gun control laws that are not enforced well. The only people gun control laws hurt are the upstanding citizens that want to protect themselves and their families.
I believe that the sheriff should have issued the permit to Mr. Dorr but it is his right now under the law to deny applicants as he sees fit.
January 20, 2009 at 3:33 pm
One other thing I just realized reading this again is that the 18 year old is on the lawsuit. An applicant has to be 21 to obtain a permit to carry unless they are trying to obtain a professional permit for work.
March 10, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I do actually live in the same town with Paul Dorr and he has bullied and frightened so many people that they are afraid to file formal complaints to the sheriff about him for fear of increased threats and bullying. He’s already a bully, don’t put a gun in his pocket too.