Free Republic

FOREST LAKE, Minn. - A Forest Lake homeowner says he is livid about an "outrageous, unnecessary ending to a great wildlife story" after a police officer came onto his property at about 7 a.m. on Saturday and shot two orphaned fawns that often slept in the dog house at close range without warning. Jeff Carpenter contacted FOX 9 News about the weekend shooting, saying an officer "brutally gunned down" the twin, 6-month-old fawns his family had come to love thirty yards from his home. Carpenter said he was working in the home office when he was startled by a shotgun...

The guys from Knight Rifles "Americas Muzzleloader" head out to the range with Dave Fricke of Millennium Manufacturing to shoot the largest center fire rifle ever made. Only 12 people have ever shot the .950 JDJ as a rifle. Produced by SSK Industries, only 3 were ever made this was the first and the lightest weighing in at 50 lbs.. 2400 grain bullet and 240 grains of powder.

The state will pay a Longview man nearly $123,000 almost exactly two years after he was acquitted of assault after waving a gun at employees of a downtown Longview nightclub. Most of the money will go to his lawyers. The State of Washington must pay Brian Barnd-Spjut's attorney's fees, appeals costs, lost wages and other expenses. The payments will be made under a state law that reimburses defendants for trial-related expenses if a jury finds they acted in self defense. Barnd-Spjut was on trial in January 2010 for four counts of assault after he pulled the gun in an alley...

Nevada County Tea Party Patriots January 12, 2012 GREAT NEWS! I'M DELIGHTED TO SHARE THE PRESS RELEASE MARK ISSUED TODAY: On December 15, 2011 at approximately 5:15 a.m., I was at LaGuardia International airport preparing to check in for a flight out of the city. During a routine check-in, I requested a firearms declaration form from the ticket agent. It was my intent to declare and check my unloaded firearm. I purchased this firearm legally, and I have a valid concealed carry permit for it issued in California. The unloaded gun was locked inside a TSA-approved travel case, and the...

Officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who oversaw the lethal gun-walking scheme, Operation Fast and Furious, have reportedly been suspended for their actions -- perhaps because of a forthcoming report from the Office of the Inspector General. Katie Pavlich at Townhall writes:

Madison - Wisconsin residents have overwhelmed the state Justice Department with so many concealed weapon permit applications agency officials say they probably won't meet deadlines for issuing approvals this month despite pulling dozens of employees from other tasks to help. A state law that allows Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons went into effect Nov. 1. Under the law, state residents 21 or older who submit $50 to the Justice Department, pass an agency background check and prove they have received some firearms training can obtain a permit to carry. The law requires the agency to process applications received before...

A guy who makes late-night deliveries can carry a handgun for protection while he goes about his work, assuming he has a legal permit and his boss doesn’t mind. County prosecutors, who try to send violent people to prison for a living, can’t carry a handgun anytime they are on the work clock. The tragic shooting of a county prosecutor and a witness in a Grand Marais courthouse recently shows the need to amend the state’s conceal/carry gun law. Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell was shot by Daniel Schlienz, who had just been convicted of criminal sexual conduct. There have...

"Journell, a 20-year-old who graduated from Giles High School, Matthew D. Dunton, 23, and Matthew I. Brady, 21, are charged with entering the house of Dorenzo Hudson and Sean Allen with a weapon, with the intent to commit larceny, assault and battery, or other felony, according to warrants. " ... "Prosecution and defense lawyers acknowledged that Hudson and Allen later went looking for the three and a physical altercation took place, but no charges have been filed in that incident. "

Flat screen TVs and laptops are always popular gifts at Christmas. But, a different kind of present is triggering people's interest this holiday season. Gun sales are up at outdoor shops around Bakersfield........... Be careful when you check those stockings by the fireplace this year because there could be a pistol inside. As shoppers crowd into stores these last few days before Christmas looking for that perfect gift, some shoppers are dropping the gift cards and grabbing a Glock. At Second Amendment Sports, sales have spiked in recent weeks. "We're up 25% from last year," said Jennifer McKenna.

For the rest of the semester, a Rutherford County elementary student has to eat lunch at the "silent table" for allegedly waving around a slice of pizza some say resembled a gun. Nicholas Taylor attends David Youree Elementary School in Smyrna, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. School leaders say the 10-year-old threatened other students at his lunch table with a piece of pizza with bites out of it so it looked like a gun and when asked about it was initially not truthful. Nicholas' mother LeAnn calls her son's punishment "absolutely ridiculous" saying he was just playing around and...

In Texas: A burglar in Weatherford, Texas picked the wrong house to burglarize this week. It was the home of a retired Texas state trooper. The intended victim woke up Tuesday as Kristoffer Lynn Knight was inside the home. The homeowner tried to hold the home invader at gunpoint, and there was a struggle after he told the crook to get on the ground. Knight was shot in the left side. He’s now in County jail and is facing felony burglary charges. In Jacksonville, Florida: 67 year old Betty Magnusson heard a loud noise in her living room Sunday evening....

Some virtues are by accidents of history associated with utopianism, hostility to private property, anti-clericalism, and other core beliefs of the Left. I can scandalize a yoga instructor anywhere in the world by declaring myself an avid admirer of Margaret Thatcher, though I challenge you to read the yoga sutras and conclude from them that devotees must favor an overregulated financial sector. Concern for the welfare and dignity of animals is such an issue, associated with nihilist leftists such as Peter Singer and local totalitarians who seek to regulate pets out of existence. But one need not believe that animals...

SAN ANTONIO — A Texas woman who for months was unable to qualify for food stamps pulled a gun in a state welfare office and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children before killing herself, officials said Tuesday. The children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, remained ...

Submitted by National Shooting Sports Foundation on Dec 1, 2011 Data derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that November 25, 2011, Black Friday, Data derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that November 25, 2011, Black Friday, had the most background checks for firearm purchases in a single day (129,166) with a 32 percent increase over the previous NICS high (November 28, 2008). Federal law requires FBI background checks on all individuals purchasing firearms from federally licensed retailers. These statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through...

Under one proposal the Assembly passed Tuesday, homeowners acting in self-defense would be immune from criminal or civil liability of they kill someone who is unlawfully in their residence, vehicle or workplace. The bill requires a court to presume that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent harm to the person being attacked or another person when the attack happens at the defender's home. "The citizens of this state, they just want to feel secure in their homes," said the bill's sponsor Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah. "They just want the ability to protect themselves without the fear of...

Police called him a "Good Samaritan," but Minneapolis detectives were still investigating Friday the case of a man who shot and killed an armed robber he chased down the night before. The man who fired the fatal shot had a permit for his handgun and told police he used the weapon after the fleeing robber turned and confronted him behind a restaurant. Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said the department was leaning toward classifying the shooting as self-defense. "However, decisions on charging are left up to the county attorney's office. And since there's a death, it might even be taken...

A Duluth man continued to say someone else shot him, but nevertheless pleaded for a shorter sentence Thursday by telling the court: "If I shot myself, your honor, I don't need any prison; I need a damn shrink." Judge David Johnson was unmoved and sentenced Alcide Cloutier, 35, to a longer-than-guideline prison sentence of 7-1/2 years. Last month, a St. Louis County jury rejected Cloutier's claim that he was a good Samaritan who was shot by a black man - whom he later described as a white man - while trying to help a woman in Duluth's Lakeside neighborhood in...

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police say a man who witnessed an elderly woman being robbed and pistol-whipped shot and killed her attacker. Authorities say the armed robber confronted the woman in the parking lot of a grocery store about 10 p.m. Thursday, took her purse and hit her in the head with his gun. A man who witnessed the robbery chased the suspect and shot him. When police arrived, the witness told officers he had a permit to carry a gun and that he had shot the armed robbery suspect during a confrontation outside a nearby restaurant. He told officers where...

WASHINGTON - New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious guns operation as far back as July of 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress on May 3, 2011

CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson has revealed a recent document submitted by the Department of Justice to congressional investigators. The document shows that guns linked to Operation Fast and Furious are responsible for at least three more murders in addition to the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry: Weapons linked to ATF’s controversial “Fast and Furious” operation have been tied to at least eight violent crimes in Mexico including three murders, four kidnappings and an attempted homicide. According to a letter from U.S. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the...

BOSTON -- An 82-year-old Korean War veteran who shot and wounded two homeless people who tried to break into his Revere home Wednesday faced charges in court. Click Like For Boston News Updates: Evelyn O'Neil, 45, and Joseph Ross, 46, tried to break into the Calumet Street home of Charles Dicino, but the pair ran away after Dicino called police, according to the Lynn Daily Item. Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/29117606/detail.html#ixzz1XNSvsYgc

Yes, I realize that this is an ad, but the demonstration is cool nonetheless. http://jalopnik.com/5836525/this-is-what-its-like-to-be-shot-at-with-an-ak+47

Press Releases Print Commissioner Todd Staples Texas Department of Agriculture FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 08-30-2011 CONTACT: Bryan Black Veronica Obregon (512) 463-7664 Commissioner Staples Announces Second-Annual Statewide Hog Out Month County Challenge AUSTIN - Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today called upon all 254 Texas counties to participate in Hog Out Month - a statewide challenge to decrease the state's feral hog population. This challenge will coordinate various feral hog removal strategies implemented across the state into one statewide effort. "Wild hogs are finding their way into urban and rural areas destroying yards, golf courses, parks and crops at a cost of...

The Palm Beach Post vividly illustrated its anti-Second Amendment, anti-gun bias in its latest article documenting the attempts by the Palm Beach County Commission to illegally regulate gun rights by refusing all comments on the Aug. 16 article, "County Commission: new state gun law could create 'Wild West' Palm Beach." Putting aside the inflammatory headline (I've written a few of those myself), the story isn't bad, and both sides of the issue are represented. So why did The Post use the "User comments are not being accepted on this article" dodge usually reserved for reports on criminals of certain favored...

Plainfield religious leaders, police gearing up for gun buyback program

Eighteen-year-old Guillermo Pineda, of Elgin, and a group of his friends were on the 800 block of Arthur Drive late Monday shortly before 11 p.m. — just a few blocks from Pineda’s home. Around the same time, Donald Rattanavong, 57, looked out his window and saw a group of teenagers near his car, which was parked on the street. Rattanavong, armed with a small caliber handgun walked outside and yelled at the teens before firing multiple shots, Elgin police said. Advertisement One of those bullets struck Pineda, of the 1100 block of Iroquois Drive. Pineda died at Sherman Hospital Monday...

On Monday, I blogged about a Jersey City gun "buyback" on The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance—my focus was on the ignorant cop collecting guns who was photographed with his finger curled on the trigger. At the time, the “buyback” proprietors did not release a number of guns collected, but did say it “exceeded expectations.” Now we find out how high they set those expectations: They collected 65 guns. None, of course, from criminals, unless somebody wanted to take advantage of the “No Questions Asked” policy and either cash in on a stolen gun or else dispose of...

In 2000, 174 children (0-18) in the United States died from unintentional firearm-related injuries. Unintentional injuries are usually caused when children play with guns or are hunting.

MANCHESTER, Maine -- Kennebec County's sheriff said a 12-year-old boy prevented further injuries by shooting and killing a pit bull with a shotgun after it had attacked two people and killed another dog... ... 120-pound pit bull killed a terrier at a 826 Prescott Road home in Manchester and then attacked an 11-year-old boy who tried to break up the fight, Liberty said. The boy's grandmother, Lena Walker, and Anthony Manganella tried to protect the younger boy, but were attacked as well. The boy's 12-year-old older brother loaded his father's 20-gauge shotgun and shot the dog, Deputy Jesse Duda of...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The former mayor of the New Mexico border town of Columbus has pleaded guilty to federal gun smuggling charges. ........

The number of fatal firearms accidents for the last six years of record are: 2002 - 762; 2003 - 730; 2004 - 649; 2005 - 630; 2006 - 680. 2007 - 613 I had to hunt a bit for this information, which I think many are interested in. The accidental firearm death rate is down over 94% since 1905. You have to do a bit of work at the link to find the figures in the source.

FLORENCE, SC -- Investigators said an armed robbery victim shot the suspect in the parking lot of a store outside Florence early Thursday night. It happened about 6:45 p.m. at the Dollar General at 2223 E. Howe Springs Road, Florence County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Nunn said in a press release issued Friday afternoon. Investigators said the victim of an armed robbery, while sitting in his vehicle in the store parking lot, shot the suspect, who was wounded and fled from the scene, leaving his handgun behind, Nunn said. The suspect later was found to have been taken to an area...

The United Nations is more a comedy club than a sober forum for expanding humanity's civilization. How else can one explain that in the past few days Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has endorsed an anti-terrorism conference hosted by Iran and North Korea has assumed the presidency of a UN arms control agency? The foul Iranian regime is, after all, one of the world's most significant state sponsors of terrorism at home and abroad. The North Korean regime of Kim Jong Il has one of the world's worst records for the illegal sales of arms, missiles and nuclear weapons technology. Pyongyang is...

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is back on the air with another political ad, and this time his focus is guns.Just a few weeks after an operative from Al Qaeda released a video urging Islamic militants to take advantage of America as a country “absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms,” Mr. Bloomberg and his national anti-illegal gun coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released a commercial on Tuesday urging Congress to close what they say is a loophole in gun laws. That loophole is gun shows, the mayors say, where all kinds of people — even terrorists — can purchase firearms.The ad...

<p>Sheriff's officials say the robbery at Monaco Jewelers today is connected to holdups on Jan. 20 at Pacific Park Jewelers in Laguna Niguel and on Feb. 1 at Rita's Jewelry in Mission Viejo.</p> <p>Two of three people who tried to rob a jewelry store in San Juan Capistrano were shot and killed today by a store employee, a sheriff's official said.</p>

Milan, Illinois— Today, Illinois stands alone. It's the only state that does not allow its citizens to carry a concealed weapon. That's because Wednesday, Wisconsin became the 49th state to join the concealed carry club when its state assembly passed a bill allowing its citizens to carry personal weapons. Illinois' legislature was a few votes short of passing a concealed carry bill last month. It received 65 votes, six short of the 71 needed to pass the bill and override a promised veto from Governor Pat Quinn. Now, the news from Wisconsin has gun rights supporters even more energized to...

For five years Sean Murphy was driven to distraction by a painful blemish that no amount of creams, ointments or doctors' appointments could cure. So he came up with his own radical and permament procedure to remove the stubborn wart forever - he blasted it with a 12-bore shotgun. But not only did the blast take off almost his entire finger, it also left him facing 15 years in jail for the illegal possesion of a firearm. Yesterday, with only a stump to show for the middle of his left hand, and a suspended 16-week prison sentence, he insisted he...

Thursday they released hundreds of pages of search warrant documents, with a few lines redacted, but giving a much clearer picture of what led authorities to the Guerena home.

The county, through Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Barker, argued to be dismissed from the case because Metro is an independent legal entity that adopts its own policies, procedures and rules. Barker told the judge that under state law the county isn’t liable for Metro’s conduct.

A man who was killed trying to protect his girlfriend and a 16-year-old girl were among six people killed and at least 21 others wounded in separate shootings over the Memorial Day holiday and into the night, officials said. Two of the non-fatal shootings took place at a South Side beach. The spate of violence came only a day after the redeployment of 500 police officers from two specialized units to high-crime districts. The first slaying happened about 7:49 p.m. on the 7600 block of South Eberhart Avenue in the city's Chatham neighborhood, police said.

Now SB 321 goes to Governor Perry! At 6:30 p.m. today, May 27th, the Texas Senate passed the conference committee report on SB 321 by Hegar/Kleinschmidt. The House passed their version yesterday and NOW at last SB 321, the Employer Parking Lot bill, is on its way to Governor Perry's desk. The conference process is required because the House made changes to a Senate bill... This was also an opportunity to add a bit more immunity for employers, something of concern to Governor Perry, and make a tweak or two to the language. The only "carve-outs" forced on the bill...

Democrats attempt to derail Nevada CCW reform by referring a unanimously passed bill (AB282) back to a Senate conference room to die a slow death as the 2011 State Legislature draws to a close. This morning, as I watched the webcast on my phone: Assemblyman William Horne(D-Las Vegas) attempted to derail this reform by sending it back to the Senate rejecting Amendment 780 which speaks to the fees charged for what is our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Co-conspiring with Horne was Debbie Smith (D-Sparks) who was chairing the committee. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) and Kelly Kite(R-Minden) had the...

A leisurely Saturday afternoon in the park quickly mutated into a real-life horror scene when three pit bulls attacked a man and his German shepherd without warning, police said. During the unprovoked attack, the man pulled out his concealed weapon and opened fire, hitting one of the pit bulls and scaring off the others. "If I didn't have my gun - I'd be dead right now," he later told KOMO News. "It was an instant decision. It's not something I wanted to do. I love animals." Kirkland police Sgt. Rob Saloum said the violent drama unfolded Saturday as a local...

The Uptown robbers struck again Tuesday night, only this time their victim was armed, police say. Edward Curtis, 61, who described himself to police as an ex-Marine, fired several shots at a group of men who attacked him as he got out of his car near his apartment, according to police records. Curtis thinks he may have struck one of the men, said Minneapolis Police Lt. Mike Fossum. "He had just parked his car in the parking lot," said Fossum. "These guys blitzed him. They just started kicking his ass. He managed to get off three rounds." The suspects, one...

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the only cases to reach appellate court arising from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2006 civil lawsuits against out-of-state firearms retailers that interfered with as many as 18 ongoing criminal investigations. Not surprisingly, Mayor Bloomberg filed those cases in federal district court in Brooklyn, N.Y., before his handpicked judge, Jack B. Weinstein. While the appellate court ruled the defendants’ strategy of avoiding the charade of a “trial” before Judge Weinstein where the outcome would be a forgone conclusion resulted in their waiver and forfeiture of jurisdictional defenses, Judge...

Rebels in Libya claimed on Monday that they killed 57 of leader Muammar Qaddafi’s soldiers and destroyed 17 military vehicles in a shootout that took place on Monday in the city of Ajdabiya. One of the rebel commanders told the Al Jazeera network that two of his men were killed during the shootout and added that the Libyan troops were led by one of Qaddafi’s sons

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A proposal expanding the right to use deadly force in self-defense continues its advance through the Republican-controlled Legislature. The gun bill from GOP Rep. Tony Cornish goes before a House judiciary panel Wednesday after passing a public safety committee last week. The legislation would grant the right to defend oneself using deadly force in an expanded definition of home, including a garage, car, deck, tent, boat, overnight accommodation or other dwelling. The person wouldn't have to retreat from a threatening situation first.

Panetta said that bin Laden made "some threatening moves that were made that clearly represented a clear threat to our guys. And that's the reason they fired." The SEALs were back in the U.S. at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington for debriefing on the raid, lawmakers said after meeting with Panetta. The question of how to present bin Laden's death to the world is a difficult balancing act for the White House. President Barack Obama told Americans that justice had been done, but the White House also declared that bin Laden's body was treated respectfully and sent to rest...

Two important pro-gun bills need your immediate attention. As we reported last week, House File 1467 passed in the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee by a 10 to 7 vote. HB 1467, which is sponsored by state Representative Tony Cornish (R-24B), is now before the House Judiciary Committee and will be voted on during its hearing at 8:15 a.m. this Wednesday, May 4. The Senate companion bill sponsored by state Senator Gretchen Hoffman (R-10), Senate File 1357 Senate File 1357, is expected to be considered by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee as early...

A crusader for city bodegas wants to turn deli owners into Dirty Harrys - by urging them to pack heat behind the counter. Luis Ducasse, head of the Bodega Association of the United States, has been targeting cornershops and delis in crime-ridden neighborhoods, handing out gun-license applications to owners. "Deli owners make for easy victims," he said. "A person can come in wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun, and the person behind the counter has no place to go, or way to fight back." The pistol push began after at least 12 deli owners from the Bronx and...