Free Republic

“There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That’s one firearm for every 12 people on the planet. The only question is: how do we arm the other 11?” said the gun-running protagonist in the 2005 Nicolas Cage film Lord of War.  The filmmakers based that character in part on real-life weapons dealer Viktor Bout, a former Soviet officer turned arms merchant on the black market. But was he just a businessman seeking a quick profit, or is there more to the story? The New American has previously reported on Bout’s ties to Russian intelligence, as well as his...

<p>A New Jersey appeals court has concluded that Americans have no Second Amendment right to buy a handgun.</p> <p>In a case decided last week, the superior court upheld a state law saying that nobody may possess "any handgun" without obtaining law enforcement approval and permission in advance.</p>

GOA-PVF Supports Doug Hoffman in New York Special Election October 27, 2009 Dear Friend of the Second Amendment, You may have heard about a special Congressional election taking place next week in upstate New York. The race features a Nancy Pelosi Democrat and a Republican with long-standing ties to ACORN against a genuine pro-gun leader named Doug Hoffman. Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse Doug Hoffman in this race. Doug Hoffman is a 100% gun rights supporter who will be a leader in the battle to defend the Second Amendment. Doug Hoffman Mr. Hoffman believes...

Scotland Yard has abandoned plans for armed foot patrols and marksmen on motorbikes in gun crime hotspots in the face of mounting political criticism. Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was forced to withdraw the proposal before a meeting of his police authority on Thursday, where he would have faced fierce criticism. The plan to deploy armed officers on the beat as a response to rising gun crime in the capital was announced last week when Sir Paul was out of the country. A team from CO19, the unit that shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005,...

Gun store posters take flak By Geoffrey Cooper - Rocky Mount Telegram Tuesday, October 20, 2009 NASHVILLE — For more than a week, a local gun shop owner has been under scrutiny regarding certain advertisements outside his front door. Nashville Guns owner Dennis Nielsen has been met with the watchful eyes of a few county officials and town residents for the storefront posters of women holding guns. Facing two documented complaints, Nielsen maintains that he has done nothing wrong and runs a clean business. Facing the Washington Street sidewalks are two posters inside of Nielsen’s gun shop windows. The first...

Officials say a law signed by President Obama in May will allow gun owners to openly carry firearms in Grand Teton and the Wyoming portions of Yellowstone when the law goes into effect in February. Several National Park Service employees and legal experts who interpreted the legislation say it extends to all, not just those with concealed weapons permits. When U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., attached a rider to a credit card reform bill earlier this year, almost all reports indicated it applied to concealed weapons only. While federal officials are trying to figure out the nuances of the law...

After bad bets on cars and home loans, Cerberus Capital Management is turning to guns and bullets. The private-equity firm is in advanced preparations for an initial public offering of Freedom Group Inc., said people familiar with the situation, hoping to sell shares in a little-known company it has built into a dominant player in the red-hot rifle-and-ammunition business. ... The origins of Freedom Group date to April 2006, with Cerberus's acquisition of Bushmaster Firearms. A year later, it paid $118 million for Remington Arms Co., the country's largest and oldest maker of rifles. Since then, Cerberus and its affiliates...

SEATTLE -- Seattle Parks and Recreation on Wednesday put into effect a new rule banning the possession or display of firearms at playgrounds, community centers and other places where children are likely to be.   Firearms will be prohibited at designated facilities once signs are posted notifying people of the new rule. The first signs are to be posted Friday, with the rest up by Dec. 1.   In all, the rule will be applied at more than 500 parks, recreation centers, pools, beaches and golf courses.

Among the training regimes that Russian cosmonauts pass before being admitted into orbit is the shooting range. The reason is that they must learn how to use a special three-barreled gun found on every Soyuz spacecraft.

(AP / CBS) It's not unusual for employees to be fired for browsing pornographic Web sites at work. But a Pennsylvania gun owner named Tony Jackson may have been the first person ever fired for looking at Web sites featuring gun parts. Jackson worked at a Lotus Notes administrator at Planco, a subsidiary of Hartford, Conn.-based insurance company The Hartford. He's a firearms instructor and self-described Second Amendment advocate who, while at work in May 2007, visited Web sites including shotgun maker Mossberg and Impact Guns's online store because he and his wife were planning on going skeet shooting and...

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts man who stole a hot dog from another man sitting under a tree in a park has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Antonio Judd pleaded guilty Monday in Worcester Central District Court to charges including larceny from a person.

At only five years old, Simon Hughes already knows how to use a gun. His early trainning paided off recently, when an 800-pound alligator took some bait at a nearby marsh. Soon, Simon was face-to-face with one big alligator. He quickly grabbed his gun..

If you live/vote in California, and have not yet contacted the Governor about this wrong-headed bill (AB962), please do so right away! The bill is now on his desk for action. I received this below in email from Cabela's today... (...and had previously received a similar warning from the NRA, and several other sources, on the same topic. I hope you have, too, but if not, here it is.) If you know of others who would be similarly concerned, please also alert them to this, soonest. (If you want more information, just type AB962 into your favorite search engine, to...

I no longer hunt often- usually pheasant a few times a year and a day or two of spring turkey, if I'm lucky. Accordingly, I'm down to two shotguns- a Remington 870 Wingmaster I've had forever and a camo Benelli Nova. I've been shooting sporting clays and trap sporadically over the summer and enjoy it. I use my 870 as I've literally shot it for half of my life. I'd like to shoot trap on a regular basis with the thought of joining a league next year. I'm looking for recommendations for an entry-level trap gun. I'd like to spend...

Some Washington Mayors Are Gunning to Take Away Your Rights By Mark Knapp | 09/19/09 | 02:58 AM EDT   Yakima Mayor Edler recently announced that he joined Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). Yakima is dealing with a string of gang-related shootings that have rocked the City of Yakima. MAIG’s Mission Statement declares: “We support the Second Amendment and the rights of citizens to own guns.”   The anti-gun mayors’ group does not support the right to bear arms, however. MAIG has stated that “a policy that is appropriate for a small town in one region of...

HOBOKEN - Authorities seized more than two dozen firearms from a house on Garden Street on Friday after neighbors spotted a resident brandishing a handgun on his front stoop, authorities said. The man, who was not immediately charged or identified, was taken into custody without incident when police officers arrived at the scene, said Capt. James Fitzsimmons of the Hoboken police. The incident was reported around 11:15 p.m. by a neighbor who saw an armed man standing at a window in the 600 block of Garden Street. The man walked onto his front stoop holding the firearm, witnesses told police,...

(MOBILE, Ala.) Sept. 10 - The lesson here is never threaten an expecting mother, especially if she's armed with a shotgun. "I was angry," Randi Fairley says. "I was really mad that he was in my house." At around 4 A.M. Sunday, Fairley was wide awake, because her unborn daughter was kicking. That is when she heard a noise; it sounded like someone touching a potato-chip bag downstairs. "I came and looked over the stairs," Fairley says. "I saw this kid, down at the bottom of the stairs. He was about to grab my computer." Fairley is six and a...

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,074,757 checks in August 2009, a 12.3 percent increase from the 956,872 reported in August 2008. So far that is roughly 9,076,205 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.

By Doug Page, Staff Writer 11:22 PM Saturday, September 5, 2009 ENGLEWOOD — It is legal, as it stands under state law, for someone to carry a holstered, loaded handgun into a city park. But carry a pocket knife into the same park, and you stand the chance of having it confiscated under a city ordinance. You would be ordered to leave the park and possibly fined. “There is a different law out there that trumps our local ordinance,” Police Chief Mark Brownfield said. “That law is very specific. It deals with the open carry of a firearm. It doesn’t...

You may remember Chris Riccitelli. He shot and killed a man trying to rob a Kangaroo Express in Ocoee Jan. 5 in what police determined was a justifiable homicide. The robber had clocked the store clerk in the head with a beer bottle, and Riccitelli thought he was trying to kill her. Since then, the 26-year-old man's life has taken some strange turns. Some time after the fatal shooting, Riccitelli was at another convenience store when a man recognized him from television. That man suggested he might follow Riccitelli and attack him if he were a relative of robber Freddie...

"The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully-automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons – anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun – can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons." - Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) - 1989 Twenty years ago, when Sugarman made the above quote, the universe of "black rifles" and those who possessed them was a small fraction of what it is today. Now, the AR-15 is the most popular rifle in the country and other...

'This is an issue where the federal government has no business' Montana statehouse Supporters of a first-of-a-kind law in Montana that declared weapons or ammunition made and kept in the state were exempt from federal rules are preparing for a court challenge to the federal government's insistence it will regulate those items. The Montana Shooting Sports Association and the Second Amendment Foundation have formed a strategic alliance with plans to litigate over the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. The bill was passed by the 2009 Montana Legislature and signed into law by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Hero Teacher Halted ‘Columbine-Style’ Attack Posted: 8:18 am PDT August 25, 2009Updated: 11:55 am PDT August 25, 2009SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Hillsdale High teacher Kennett Santana admitted Tuesday he was merely reacting to the chaos around him when he tackled and subdued a former student, who had entered the school armed with 10 pipe bombs, a sword and a chainsaw.Santana’s actions were being praised Tuesday for preventing a ‘Columbine-Style’ massacre at the San Mateo high school attended by more than 1,000 students.He told KTVU that his Monday had a pretty normal start. It was around 8 a.m. and he had...

Come September, hunters in New Jersey will have a new weapon to shoot — one that has been around since the Dark Ages.   Ramsey Outdoor salesman Paul Haines displaying a crossbow, which can shoot an arrow at more than 400 feet per second.  The mechanized crossbow can now be used by all when the fall bow season opens Sept. 12. Once feared by armored cavalry as far back as the Crusades, the crossbow is the state's newest weapon in a battle on two fronts: a declining number of hunters and a growing deer problem, particularly in suburban areas. "If it...

~~Come on in, grab a chair, take aim and talk~~   Gun Talk   8/23/09~~7-10 CST

Soldotna mans brush with bear too close for comfort By Joseph Robertia | Peninsula Clarion Last Sunday a fourth brown bear for the year was killed in a defense of life and property (DLP) shooting, and there is no mistaking that it was the former, not the latter, that was on the line for the man who shot it. "I'm not trigger happy, and I wasn't looking for trouble," said Greg Brush, in regard to the incident that took place along Derks Lake Road, off Mackey Lake Road, outside of Soldotna. The morning started casually for Brush. He had the...

Vigilante farmer Tony Martin has said he has no regrets about shooting and killing a teenager who broke into his farmhouse 10 years ago today. The 64-year-old insisted he was right to kill petty crook Fred Barras, 16, and seriously injure his accomplice Brendan Fearon, 31, after they broke into his home. 'Regrets? I've got no more regrets than people who break into people's houses,' the eccentric vigilante said last night.

More scenes surrounding that controversial gun wearer outside Obama's New Hampshire "town hall meeting." ..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sCqC6cdxgU

PSE TAC 15   This AR-15 accessory-called the "Tactical Assault Crossbow 15"-will morph your standard AR into a viable crossbow for hunting big game.

An empty chamber in a loaded gun saved the life of a Toledo police officer. This, after a man wanted for murder took police on a high-speed chase and an intense shoot-out. "Officer Board came very close to losing his life last night, that's fair to say," said Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre. Navarre says Sunday night's shoot-out at Dorr and Westwood could have been a lot worse. Four officers walked away from the incident unharmed: Eric Board, Diana Trevino, Charles Leroux and Lieutenant Mark Collins. The suspect, 21-year-old Devon Tyrone Woods, was not so lucky. A three mile high-speed...

~~Come on in,Take your shoes off, Grab a cold one, and Talk!~~   ~~GUN TALK~~   8/9/09~~6 CST

A 17-year-old boy who was killed during what police described as an attempted home invasion Wednesday in South Knoxville had a criminal record but no history of violent offenses, court records show.....Wooten had faced charges five times since 2007, including arrests for possessing a counterfeit substance on school grounds, disorderly conduct, inciting a riot, vandalism, criminal trespassing and resisting a police stop, according to court records....When he [the homeowner] was opening the door, two suspects tried to push their way in, DeBusk said. He pulled the gun from his pocket and fired twice, and one of the suspects fired at...

I sent an Email to the Liberal Fascists regarding healthcare and posted a vid of the event to Youtube.

All - A aite with some good references for milsurp ammo with special interrest for us .308 shooters. Check out: http://rifle-company.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=431 for current availability and http://rifle-company.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=46 for a great manufacturers reference. Enjoy.

~~Come on in take yer shoes off, There's BBQ on the porch and cold drinks~~   Gun Talk   1900 to 2100 CST

A Northwest Miami-Dade firearms company is gunning for $369,000 in incentives to keep a planned expansion in the county, even as other locales take aim at the importer and manufacturer's promised 258 jobs. A nearly three-decade veteran of the county, Taurus USA employs 135 workers and says it will add 123 jobs in an expansion that has drawn incentive offers from beyond Florida's borders, according to CEO and President Bob Morrison, who cited Georgia's courtship in particular. ``The [Georgia] governor sent his plane down for us and then took us on a helicopter tour for three days,'' Morrison said. ``From...

~~Come on in, Take your shoes off and Listen up~~   Gun Talk 07/26/09   7/26/09~1800 to 2100 CMT

In a rare win for gun control advocates, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a measure allowing a person with a concealed weapon permit in one state to also hide his firearm when visiting another state. The vote was 58-39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure, offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill. Opponents prevailed in their argument that the measure violated states rights by forcing states with stringent requirements for permits to...

BREAKING NEWS: Girl, 13, arrested with machine gun after raid on south London flat Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor 22.07.09 Specialist officers raided the girl's home in CroydonA 13-year-old girl has been arrested by armed Met police after a sub-machinegun was found in her wardrobe.The weapon was discovered when a specialist anti-gang crime squad of 15 officers with hydraulic battering rams and combat shields raided the girl's home in Croydon.She was detained on suspicion of possessing a firearm, an offence which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for adults and three for juveniles.The raid, which police say...

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I know we are not now on the Thune amendment. I know we have gone aside to other amendments and that we will be debating Thune tomorrow morning, but there are so many of my colleagues who want to speak, and I have a lot to say. So I will speak for 5 minutes tomorrow morning, but I will give the bulk of my speech this afternoon. [Page: S7753] GPO's PDF Mr. President, I rise in staunch opposition to the Thune amendment. I believe it is a dangerous amendment that would go far beyond authorizing gun...

~~Come on in, take your shoes off, have a seat and hang out a while....~~   Gun Talk 7/19/09   7/19/09~1800~2100 CST

The American Civil Liberties Union has sent a letter to the Loveland Police Department alleging that officers illegally searched and briefly detained a man carrying a gun at South Shore Parkway. On Thursday, the ACLU sent a formal complaint to Loveland Police Chief Luke Hecker and 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office chief investigator Elliot Phelps. The organization is questioning the way police dealt with Loveland resident Bill Miller at South Shore Parkway on Oct. 7, 2008. The ACLU has not sued the city but asked in its letter that the Police Department turn over all records connected to the incident,...

Left unsaid is why he considers weapons "manufactured for nothing other than to hunt man" suitable for police work: "It's used as part of a tactical equipment for law enforcement agencies in this country." Translation: We're the "Only Ones" who should have pump-action shotguns. You cannot. Why? Because: "It's in the hands of someone who's already been convicted of certain persons not to possess a firearm." What? But OK, let's assume we understand what he just said. And: He said that authorities traced the gun's serial number and were reasonably certain that at some point the weapon was purchased legally...

A line was drawn in the sand last week - a response by the Federal Government to the State of Tennessee and their assertion of sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Part of a series of moves by states seeking to utilize the Tenth Amendment as a limit on Federal Power, the Tennessee State Senate approved Senate Bill 1610, the Tennesse Firearms Freedom Act, by a vote of 22-7. It previously passed the House by a vote of 87-1. The law states that “federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition...

...On Wednesday, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin implied that the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision to uphold the Second Amendment was revolutionary: “When I was in law school...the idea that you had a Second Amendment right to a gun was considered preposterous....But the Supreme Court [in Heller]...said that...individuals have a personal right to bear arms.”...Anchor Wolf Blitzer raised the Second Amendment issue with Toobin, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and the others on their panel analyzing the hearings.... [and] asked...what were the nominee’s “positions, specifically on the federal obligation to support the Second Amendment, as opposed to local communities..?” The CNN...analyst...

Several of the students had a knee-jerk reaction when gun-rights advocate Clark Aposhian blasted his first pistol round into a target Thursday. But it was physical, not ideological. These students from around America were in Salt Lake City to learn and test their beliefs, not to dismiss opposing views. Roughly 40 Jewish high schoolers traveling the country are hearing from experts on opposing sides of the nation's most politically charged issues. Aposhian was the National Rifle Association's face for the day after the group's stop in Colorado to hear from a gun-control advocate whose child died in the Columbine school...

Many American presidents have kept prized possessions within reach during their White House years. Franklin D. Roosevelt cherished a 19th century ship model of the U.S.S. Constitution. One of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s favorite gifts was an engraved Steuben glass bowl from his cabinet. And sitting on John F. Kennedy’s desk in the Oval Office was a paperweight made from a coconut shell he had carved with a distress message after his PT-109 was sunk during World War II.

After the Heller decision some speculated the anti-Second Amendment groups will start to lose credibility and funding.

~ EXCERPT ~ In front of a run-down shack in north Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day? The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun. >>> snip <<< Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up...

Libertarians recommend Senate defeat Koh nominationObama nominee to negotiate treaties says U.S. must adopt "global gun control" WASHINGTON -- America’s third largest party Tuesday recommended the Senate defeat the nomination of Harold Koh to be State Department legal adviser, citing a history of opposition to gun rights and national sovereignty. “The State Department legal adviser is supposed to protect our national sovereignty in treaty negotiations and negotiate pacts that uphold the Constitution and protect Americans’ rights. Under no circumstances should the Senate confirm someone who believes the Constitution should give way to what he calls ‘the global rules,’” said Donny...