Free Republic

The Second Amendment faces a deci- sive year in 2010. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has called for new semi-automatic gun bans - despite their decade-long record of fraud and failure, and despite his own Justice Department's failure to fully or even half-heartedly prosecute federal firearm felonies. --snip-- As the court noted in the 2008 ruling that overturned the D.C. ban, "Nowhere else in the Constitution does a 'right' attributed to 'the people' refer to anything other than an individual right." And in that same decision, the court recognized, " ... the inherent right of self-defense has been central...

Youtube video of the open carry event hosted by the Alamogordo 2nd Amendment Task Force,the Tea Party, and Sons of Liberty Riders in Alamogordo New Mexico on Jan. 2nd. Attendance was estimated at @ 400 with 6 libtards as counter-protesters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxvQ8Gf2hJ8

A Roanoke man says officers violated his rights during a dispute about his gun license. A Roanoke man is suing city police over an altercation with officers that he said began as an argument about his permit to carry a concealed firearm. Aaron A. Stevenson filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke alleging that his constitutional rights were violated during a May 6 traffic stop. He named two officers, Chief Joe Gaskins and the city as defendants. On Wednesday, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson referred questions to City Attorney Bill Hackworth, who was out of town and could...

The principles outlined in the 2nd amendment and our right to bear arms go beyond the usual debate and can be looked at philosophically. For those who believe in libertarianism, one of the central themes to all other issues is that by existing as a citizen of the United States, this citizenship concludes that you also have self ownership. No one else controls our thoughts and dreams and no one can force you to take actions or say things that you have not decided on. Since you have control of yourself, you in turn also have free will. Unalienable rights...

BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A ten percent drop in murders during the first six months of this year at a time when gun sales were up dramatically is more proof that there is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, the Second Amendment Foundation said today. The FBI released data Monday that shows murders dropped by 10 percent from the same period in 2008. Meanwhile, according to data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that during the first six months of this year, gun sales were up. January 2009 background checks...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports a ten percent drop in murders during the first six months of 2009, while at a time US gun sales are going through the roof, according to reports obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police. Meanwhile, gun sales to private citizens soared almost 30 percent during that same period. Gun rights advocates claim that these numbers are further proof that there is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, state officials from the Second Amendment Foundation, a civil rights group. Further, the SAF contends that the increase in private citizen gun-ownership...

I recently blogged about an interesting op-ed in which Ken Klukowski and Ken Blackwell of the American Civil Rights Union argue that the Supreme Court need not overturn The Slaughter-House Cases while “incorporating” the right to bear arms against the states. (Josh Blackman fisked the article in more depth here.) This piece was essentially a distillation of the ACRU’s amicus brief in McDonald v. City of Chicago, which ultimately argues, like Cato’s brief, that Chicago’s gun ban is unconstitutional. It has come to my attention, however, that I mischaracterized one aspect of the Kens’ op-ed (sorry about that): while they...

On Thursday, Dec. 17, Justice Ginsburg spoke at a luncheon of the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C. I was not present at the luncheon, but I have heard, third-hand, that she spoke on the value of dissenting opinions. She said that sometimes a dissent can become the majority of a “future, wiser court.” As an example, she pointed to the dissent in District of Columbia v. Heller.

Bill of Rights Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Amendment II A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Amendment III No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor...

If you don't think the Second Amendment is important, watch this video.

Just 23 years old, John Gassew has been arrested 44 times, mostly on charges of sticking a gun in people's faces and robbing them. But in the eyes of the law, Gassew isn't an armed robber. ---snip--- “There's a law on the books that enhances the penalty when you commit a crime with a gun. It's not enforced,“ noted Ramsey, referring to the state's mandatory minimum five-year sentence for brandishing a firearm in the commission of a felony. “There's no disincentive to carry a gun,“ Ramsey said. “Why wouldn't you carry a gun?“ One result: Among the 10 largest cities...

Back in 1994, when the U.S. Congress was debating whether to ban "assault weapons," a talk show host asked Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, a sponsor of the ban, whether guns cause crime. The host noted that, in Switzerland, all males are issued assault rifles for their militia service and are required to keep them at home, yet little crime exists there. Bradley responded: "My guess is--Swiss are pretty dull--so my guess is that probably didn't happen." Actually, for those who think that target shooting is more fun than golf, Switzerland is anything but "dull." By car or by...

I received a letter today from the NRA asking if I would like to upgrade my Life membership to Endowment member. They said it's normally $1000 but now it's $200. Is that $200/year or a one-time charge? Are any Freepers Endowment members? Is this an actual category or just an appeal to your vanity?

This is by far one of the most amazing and saddest videos (audios) I have ever seen/heard. More than anything else, the following is exhibit A about lawful gun owners in America, particularly those who have used their weapons to defend themselves. Far from the gun-crazed, trigger happy racists the liberal antigun crowd would have you believe, they are really just regular folks who want to go about their business. The remorse in the woman's voice at the end of the video gave me goosebumps. And the dispatcher deserves a medal for being as supportive as she was of this...

I’d call it a palate cleanser except that it’s too riveting and simply … too sad for that. Not only is this poor woman put through the wringer, it sounds like the guy breaking in was out of his gourd: They didn’t know each other, yet he was screaming threats and resorted to throwing patio furniture through the back door to get in. Reportedly, when the cops found his sister to let her know, she was so high she was nearly unconscious, so that’s the theory for his behavior at the moment. No word yet on what he was on.

American college prof develops cell-phone tool to help illegals cross borderIllegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border now have a cell phone tool to chart the best route, find food and locate people who will help them enter the country – courtesy of a professor at a state-funded university. Ricardo Dominguez, a University of California, San Diego tenured visual arts professor and activist, designed the Transborder Immigrant Tool, an application much like a global-positioning system used in cars, to help illegals find the best locations for food, water and groups to assist them as they sneak into America. Dominguez is also...

Good News From the NRA Like all UN efforts, the gun grabber initiative is sputtering, but we must stay vigilant.  Here's an excerpt from the NRA web site: The UN and International Treaties:  Over the last few weeks, we have received many inquiries regarding the UN and the impact of international treaties on our Second Amendment freedom. The current issue under discussion, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), is in the early stages of the negotiation process.  There is no actual draft text at this time.  Work on the ATT is scheduled to continue by a consensus process between now...

snip~RAYMORE, MO - Weapons are not allowed in Raymore's city hall, but if a city council member has his way anybody who walks through the front doors could be packing heat.snip~ snip~Raymore City Council member Jeff Cox is sponsoring an ordinance that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring their weapons inside city owned and operated buildings.snip~

Just picked up a 1943 M1 Garand. What I'd like to know is...EVERYTHING about the Garand. 1. I need to know where to get ball ammo to feed it (it's a bit scarce, as far as I can tell); 2. I'd like to know the best data sheet/book on the Garand (breakdown, cleaning, greasing, etc.); 3. The best info I can get on making the weapon as accurate as possible (peep sights on the current configuration); 4. Where I'm most likely to pick up the best (and best valued!) accessories for it (slings, parts, etc). I know...I should Google all...

According to AmmoLand.com, data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,233,982 NICS Checks in October 2009, a 4 percent increase from the 1,183,279 reported in October 2008. So far that is roughly 11,403,417 gun bought this year. The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time. "This latest jump in background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of keeping firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens," Ammoland reports in an no-byline article. "This clearly shows that the Obama Administration’s OK to...

Currently under federal law and lots of states laws a misdemeanor 4 degree assault-domestic violence bars you from life from legally possessing a fire arm. my main question: This one size fits all approach takes away a god given right and a right protected under our Constitution from countless people who have made one simple mistake.is this right or wrong...shouldn't the law be more flexible...read on....

Saturday 11/21/09 El Universal (Mexico City) 11/20/09 Tentacles of La Familia Michoacána in US Fifteen members of one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels, La Familia Michoacána , were arrested today in the Chicago area, accused of distribution of thousands of kilos of cocaine. The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) also reported the seizure of 250 kilos of cocaine and eight million dollars in cash as a result of an investigation of the cartel that began in 2007. Those arrested included Mexican citizens operating under directions from cartel leaders in Mexico. ——————– Guilty plea in Border Patrol Agent’s murder...

Racial attacks like the ones behind the arrest of 32 suspects in Denver are part of a trend spreading across the country, gang experts said Saturday. As part of the trend, black gang members videotape the assaults in trendy tourist districts and sell them on the underground market as entertainment. "They knock a young white guy out with one blow to see if his knees will wobble and surround them and take their money," said the Rev. Leon Kelly, who runs a Denver gang-prevention program. "It's a joke." The gang members crave the notoriety of having their one-punch knockouts recorded...

Tennessee's new law allowing people with handgun permits to be armed in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol is unconstitutionally vague, a judge ruled on Friday. Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman said the law, enacted earlier this year over the veto of Gov. Phil Bredesen, is "fraught with ambiguity." She ruled after an hour of arguments in a lawsuit brought by a group of plaintiffs, many of them restaurant owners. More than 257,000 people have handgun carry permits in Tennessee. Tennessee previously banned handguns in all locations where alcohol was served. The new law made an exception for establishments that serve at...

If you've ever been a victim and had your security stolen then you understand how it leaves many people, especially women, wondering how to fight back. One popular option is pepper spray, but these days more Valley women are packing something much stronger. "I knew right then and there I was robbed," recalls Patricia Fallon. "You feel like you're violated, feel like you've been assaulted." Fallon's sense of security was shattered in September of 2007 when someone broke in and ransacked her home. "You live in fear after that because you're afraid they're gonna come back," Fallon began putting safety...

<p>The former head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection called Monday for the U.S. to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons and take other measures to rein in the war between Mexico and its drug cartels, saying the violence has the potential to bring down legitimate rule in that country.</p>

Battling with one of the world's highest murder rates, Venezuela on Wednesday crushed more than 30,000 guns seized from the streets during police raids this year. Policemen used blow-torches to chop up some of shotguns and pistols. They compacted weapons including home-made pistols into a 5 ton block... "This act forms part of the disarmament policies that we have been promoting." With 13,000 murders in 2007... Venezuela's murder rate is about 8 times that of the United States. Crime has risen under President Hugo Chavez...

Group also wants overhaul of Mexican border agencies A binational task force on U.S.-Mexico border issues will call Friday on the Obama administration and Congress to reinstate an expired ban on assault weapons and for Mexico to overhaul its frontier police and customs agencies to mirror the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The recommendations are among a broad set of security, trade, development and environmental proposals that come as President Obama and his Mexicans counterpart, Felipe Calderón, move to deepen engagement on issues including economic recovery, climate change, illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking. Robert C. Bonner, the U.S. co-chairman of...

In states around the country, there’s a growing movement to address and resist two of the most abused parts of the Constitution – the Commerce Clause and the 2nd Amendment. Already being considered in a number of state legislatures, and passed as law in Montana and Tennessee this year, the Firearms Freedom Act (FFA) is a state law that seeks to do just that. The latest to join the FFA movement? Kentucky. Pre-filed for the 2010 legislative session, HB87 seeks to “Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237, relating to firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition that are made in Kentucky,...

Just like an unprincipled, self-interested, tin-eared politician, Mayor Richard Daley decided to use the massacre at Fort Hood to flog his prosaic anti-gun message in Chicago. When asked if Islam had anything at all to do with the Fort Hood massacre and if Muslims might expect some sort of backlash or anti-Islamic movement because of Nidal Hasan's evil act of terror, Daley replied: "Every day in society people are getting killed, unfortunately. America loves guns, we love guns to a point that we see the devastation on a daily basis. You don't blame a group, you don't blame a society......

Virginia --(AmmoLand.com)-We all have various milestones in our lives. I have had a number of them since May 2001 when I came to this country on the employment visa. November 18, 2009 will be another milestone in my life – I am required to take a two hour civics test and English language knowledge test as part of my naturalization process. I got a notice from USCIS in August 2009 that I am now eligible to apply for a U.S. citizenship. I jumped for joy, to say the least. The next thing I did was to ask my lawyer which...

There are few things that keep me up at night, but this is one of them. It may be cynicism, but more likely it’s the long sad experience of watching the courts over the years. So when your side finally wins one that should have you celebrating, and yet you walk away with a knot in your gut, it’s probably warranted. Senior Judge Laurence H. Silberman’s majority opinion in Parker v. District of Columbia was a thing of beauty, affirming armed self-defense as an individual right pre-existing the Constitution. It was almost hard to believe. Maybe that's what’s bugging me....

Gun Rights: A decade after Congress forbade the CDC from studying the health consequences of gun ownership, the National Institutes of Health has started funding such research. Will reform pry the guns from our cold, sick hands? More than a decade ago Congress, seeing it as a backdoor assault on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, voted to cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control. Such research was viewed as one-sided and based on flawed assumptions that all gun use was bad, even that which saved lives and deterred crime. --...

Switzerland did not fall to Hitler or any external invader for the last 500 years. But the latest assault is the most insidious: the attack of nitwittery from Bolshevik Apparatcheks.

After a big flop with Chrysler, Cerberus finally has a winner on its hands. Even better, right-wing gun nuts have another shot at profits. I can’t wait. Baltimore – I live in a neighborhood where guns are common. I like it that way. Last night, the lady of the house and I decided to enjoy what may be one of the last warm evenings of the year on the East Coast by taking a short hike along the river that flows just two miles from our front door. While meandering along the water and dodging groundhog holes, we heard the...

In the brief age of Obama, we have had "truthers," "birthers," tea party activists and town-hall dissenters. Comes now, the "Oath Keepers." And who might they be? Writes Alan Maimon in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Oath Keepers, depending on where one stands, are "either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia." Formed in March, they are ex-military and police who repledge themselves to defend the Constitution, even if it means disobeying orders. If the U.S. government ordered law enforcement agencies to violate Second Amendment rights by disarming the people, Oath Keepers will not obey. "The whole point of...

Meet Stewart Rhodes. He graduated in 2004 from Yale Law School, where his paper, “Solving the Puzzle of Enemy Combatant Status,” won a prize for the best paper on the Bill of Rights. Before entering the law, he served as a U.S. Army paratrooper. What’s Rhodes up to now? Many military men turned lawyers troop off to large law firms, where the discipline and diligence cultivated in the armed forces help them succeed. Others join the JAG Corps or work for defense contractors. But Rhodes, who was a non-traditional student at YLS, has taken a non-traditional career path since graduating....

As the U.S. Supreme Court makes its stately way into the new term, a case over the horizon promises to hit the 20,000 gun control laws in this country with the impact of a 9mm round. The prep work came last year in District of Columbia vs. Heller. A narrow 5-4 majority struck down the gun control law in the nation's capital, and for the moment settled an argument over just what the Second Amendment to the Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, actually means. The Second Amendment reads, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of...

This may be old to most of you, but I just happened on it today. Your 1911 at play Great animation of how 1911-style pistols function. Play around with the check boxes below the pistol and watch the internal workings of a 1911 as it cycles through. Interesting stuff. For me, anyway.

The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed a decision by the Third District Appellate Court that ruled that the definition of a "case" for transporting a firearm does, indeed, include an automobile's enclosed front seat console. The current law provides for several ways that a firearm can be transported: (4) Carries or possesses in any vehicle or concealed on or about his person except when on his land or in his own abode or fixed place of business any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm, except that this subsection (a) (4) does not apply to or affect transportation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has joined the bipartisan Second Amendment Task Force (SATF). Members of this group act as a unified and proactive force to promote legislation that protects the Second Amendment and to fight legislation that poses a threat to citizens’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. "Now, more than ever before, it will be necessary to maintain a vigilant eye against real efforts to disarm the American people," said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. "Montanans sent me to Washington, D.C. to represent them. And as their...

As we reported in last week's Grassroots Alert, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear the landmark Second Amendment case of McDonald v. Chicago. The case will address the application of the Second Amendment to the states through either the Due Process clause or the Privileges or Immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case has major implications for the legality of restrictive gun laws not only in Chicago, but also in other cities and the states across the nation. The decision to hear the case gives hope to Second Amendment advocates across America, that this fundamental freedom will be...

Whatever significance is attached to Chicago’s failed bid to host the 2016 Olympics, it is of small importance to the rest of the country. More far-reaching and frightening is the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case challenging the city’s ban on handgun ownership in the court’s new term, which begins this week. The case is best considered a preview of coming attractions. The gun lobby, if it wins in the Supreme Court, is prepared to challenge every gun control law enacted at any level of government. It will usher in a scary season of assault on the common...

An 18-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday when he tried to rob another man at a midtown carwash and was shot by the victim, Tucson police said. The incident occurred at a self-service carwash on East 22nd Street near South Beverly Avenue just before 4:30 p.m., said Sgt. Diana Lopez, a police spokeswoman. A 50-year-old man was washing his car when he was approached by the 18-year-old man, Lopez said. The younger man pulled out a gun and attempted to rob the older man, she said. The older man pulled out his own gun and shot the 18-year-old. The younger...

Highlights of some high-profile cases that the Supreme Court will take up in its term that begins Monday (10/5/09): _Guns: The Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms has never been held to apply to state and local laws restricting guns. The court is taking up a challenge to a handgun ban in Chicago to decide whether this right, like many others in the Bill of Rights, acts to restrict state and local laws or only federal statutes. If the court sides with gun rights supporters, lawsuits to overturn all manner of gun control laws are likely. _Animal cruelty...

Focusing on guns, politics, and news of interest, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup...

From Ex-Soldier commenting on Claude Cartaginese's One Scared Elderly Man is About to Make the Country Safer: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state; the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Speaking as a veteran (20 years) social studies teacher in a public high school and as a former social studies Teacher of the Year (for my school), AND as a former US Army Officer, let me address this one: “Well REGULATED MILITIA” A lot of folks seem to think this is referring to some sort of...

From marineseabee on Claude Cartaginese's post from yesterday: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” To me, this means that ANY law telling us what firearm we can and cannot buy, own, use for self defense, use for hunting, and use in target practice, is one law too many. Having said that, if a law abiding citizen can buy a semi automatic rifle, he/she should be able to buy, own, and shoot a fully automatic weapon. I realize that cetain people in the country (convicted felons and the mentally unstable) should not be...

Does the Second Amendment give one the right to keep and bear arms (even allowing one to invoke that right against the government itself), or is it a freedom only as it concerns the federal government? As Amy Goodman reported on her Democracy Now! program, that question will now be taken up by the United States Supreme Court, and the Court’s decision could have nationwide ramifications. Said Goodman yesterday: The Supreme Court has decided to rule on whether state and local handgun laws violate the Second Amendment right to gun ownership, which it recognized last year, when the Court struck...