Illinois gun owners, you’re not just getting junk mail—you’re getting robbed blind by the Dorr brothers’ traveling circus of grift. Those screaming blood-red envelopes from the Illinois Firearms Association (IFA), plastered with Pritzker’s mug and “crisis” headlines? That’s Aaron, Chris, and Ben Dorr’s latest sucker punch. Duplicate mailers hitting your box each month, begging for your cash while they hide behind a cheap UPS-store mailbox in Peoria. That’s right, they don’t have an office or a presence in Illinois. They have a private mailbox at a UPS store in Peoria.
It sure looks jut like the same family con they’ve run for years in other states—now in Illinois.
Let’s get personal. Aaron Dorr—the loudmouth ringleader, the oily bagman who couldn’t pass a bill if it was stapled to his forehead—is the same snake who got caught red-handed in Iowa’s biggest political corruption scandal.
Back in 2012-13, while Chris Dorr clerked for State Sen. Kent Sorenson, Aaron drafted the bribe memo himself: $8,000 a month for Sorenson to flip his presidential endorsement to Ron Paul, $5,000 a month for Chris, and a $100,000 kickback to a PAC chaired by an Iowa Gun Owners board member. In return? A stolen Excel spreadsheet of Iowa homeschool families that Chris allegedly swiped from a Michele Bachmann staffer’s computer. Sorenson pocketed $73,000 in secret payments, went to federal prison, and three Ron Paul staffers were convicted. The Dorrs? They skated with “oops, I didn’t read the email” excuses. But the emails, the ethics report, and the court records paint Aaron as the sleazy fixer who turned donor fear into family profit.
Fast-forward to 2017. Pro-gun Republican House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl went nuclear on the Iowa House floor.
He called Aaron Dorr a “scam artist” and a “liar” to his face in front of the entire chamber. On a massive omnibus gun bill—Stand Your Ground, everything real gun owners wanted—the Dorrs sent nonstop fear emails, skipped every hearing, weren’t even registered lobbyists, and never once talked to a single lawmaker. Windschitl asked the House: “Did anybody here have Aaron Dorr personally talk to you about this bill?” Zero hands. Then the Dorrs claimed full credit anyway. “If you’re sending this guy money,” Windschitl warned, “I’m asking you to stop… It is time for his scam to end.”
That’s the Dorr family business model. Chris—the former legislative clerk turned alleged spreadsheet thief—helps run the operation. Ben rounds out the trio, all funneling donor dollars through their for-profit Midwest Freedom Enterprises for “direct mail” and “management fees” while Aaron lists himself working 70-hour weeks for a $0 salary on the nonprofit side. Same racket they’ve franchised to Illinois after just a couple of years of sending panic letters here: apocalyptic emails, zero coalition-building, and near-zero presence in Springfield. (They might have visited Springfield, but we have yet to find anyone who’s seen them.)
Meanwhile, Guns Save Life has been in the trenches for over three decades—born in the mid-1990s out of Champaign County grassroots efforts, growing from a handful of dedicated gun owners into a proven force that actually delivers results in Illinois. We’ve educated thousands, trained shooters, built real coalitions, stopped bad bills in Springfield, and fought in the courts when it mattered. We show up. We get wins. We don’t just stuff your mailbox with fear porn.
In Illinois the Dorrs popped up a couple of years ago, cranked the fear machine, and bragged about “fighting” the gun-and-magazine ban in court. Reality? One pathetic amicus brief and they visited the gallery once in a court room like tourists. No hearings, no Springfield schmoozing, nothing. While Guns Save Life has been here for decades getting measurable results—saving ranges, coaching shooters, training people in self-defense, and standing firm against disarmament schemes—the Dorrs are nowhere except your mailbox—again and again.
These brothers aren’t warriors. They’re professional panic peddlers who alienate allies, trash the NRA and real legislators, and treat your Second Amendment passion like an ATM. Aaron Dorr doesn’t fight for your rights—he fights for his next direct-mail payout. Chris and Ben enable the family LLC that laughs all the way to the bank while real Illinois groups do the heavy lifting year after year.
Shred the Dorr brothers’ garbage. Block the spam. Send your dollars to the outfit that has been here for decades and actually delivers—Guns Save Life. We educate, we activate, we win in the capitol and the courts. Join our family, come to our meetings, meet great people, make new friends—and you might even win a gun. The Dorrs aren’t defending Illinois gun owners. They’re defending their own wallets after a couple of years of junk mail. Caveat emptor, Illinois gun owners. Don’t be their next mark.
Here’s a piece we ran in the current issue of GunNews:
(GSL) – As Illinois gun owners, we’ve all seen our mailboxes stuffed with urgent pleas for donations. Lately, the Illinois Firearms Association (IFA) has ramped up its barrage, sending duplicate mailings that scream crisis while delivering little to nothing to the fight for our Second Amendment rights in the Land of Lincoln.
Take their recent envelopes: Bold red letters shout dire warnings and fear mongering predictions. Accompanied by a stern photo of the governor, these mailers demand immediate action—mostly in the form of your hard-earned cash.
But let’s peel back the hysteria. The IFA, a creation of the infamous Dorr brothers—Aaron, Chris, and Ben—operates as part of a national network of so-called gun rights groups spanning numerous states. These brothers have mastered the art of alarmist fundraising, hauling in millions through relentless emails, mailers, and petitions that exploit 2A supporters’ fears. Yet, their track record is abysmal. They alienate potential allies with aggressive, obnoxious tactics, burn bridges with lawmakers with stunts and overt disrespect, and alienate allies in their efforts to block anti-gun legislation. As one critic aptly put it, the Dorrs are “more interested in lining their pockets than advancing gun rights.”
Example: In a 2024 phone call with GSL’s Executive Director John Boch, Alex Dorr said the Illinois Firearms Association was fighting the gun and magazine ban in court. A little more research shows they watched from the gallery and filed an amicus brief. That’s some bold fighting. NOT.
Consider the evidence: In 2024 alone, IFA blanketed Illinois with duplicate fundraising appeals, often identical mailings arriving days apart, preying on the same donors. By February 2024, their campaigns were in “full swing,” outpacing even the NRA’s notorious solicitations. Critics, including the National Rifle Association, have labeled them outright scams, accusing the brothers of using inflammatory rhetoric to siphon funds without delivering results. The Blaze detailed how Aaron Dorr, in particular, exploits supporters for profit, prioritizing personal gain over coalition-building. Even fellow pro-gun advocates warn: “Caveat emptor”—buyer beware.
This isn’t just inefficiency; some describe it as grifting. While groups like Guns Save Life actually get results, the Illinois Firearms Association is nowhere to be found. We’re not even sure they show up in Springfield. While we host educational events, and build grassroots coalitions, the IFA focuses on fearmongering mailers that promise to “stop” bills like HB-3320. How do you “stop” bills if you can’t even show up? Their “parent” network, a web of Dorr-led entities, does more of the same in other states with donations funding salaries, operations, their printer and the US Postal Service rather than victories.
The Illinois Firearms Association world headquarters in Peoria.Instead of funneling your hard-earned dollars into the Illinois Firearms Association’s endless cycle of fear-driven mailers, consider directing your support to reputable gun rights orgs, ones that actually get results.
Like Guns Save Life (GSL)—a grassroots organization that born and raised in Illinois – and gets results in the fight to defend Second Amendment rights here in Illinois.
GSL isn’t about perpetually mailing out “help us stop him” fundraisers and “urgent alerts” that lead nowhere. GSL gets results, builds coalitions and educates the public to make a difference —not just harvest donations from private mailbox in a UPS Store in Peoria.
In contrast to groups that blanket mailboxes with pleas for more and more money while achieving little in the capitol or the courts, GSL focuses on results: empowering everyday Illinois gun owners like you through education, activism, and persistence. We’ve grown because we deliver—saving ranges, coaching shooters, training people in self-defense and standing firm against disarmament schemes.
Join our family, come to our meetings and meet great people and make new friends. You’ll be glad you did. And you might win a gun too. And don’t fall for the Illinois Firearms Association junk mail.