Free Republic

In a report highlighting the "open carry" gun movement, KTVU's Lloyd LaCuesta interviewed locals who are hanging out in public, packing heat and exerting their Second Amendment right for all the world to see. Advocates across the country are picnicking together, going to zoos, going to church and picking up trash. Most notably, supporters protested Obama this past summer. In the Bay area, David Julian, 27, and others are hanging out at a Cupertino Starbucks, sipping their Venti coffees with guns holstered to their hips.

Our interest in a single Supreme Court case has perhaps never been as high as it is in a case currently being briefed. The issues are fascinating on several levels, and the potential impact of a ruling is big. The case is McDonald v. City of Chicago, for which the court granted cert on Sept. 30. The petitioners in the case, a group challenging a gun-control ordinance in Chicago, filed their brief with the court earlier this week. Were the court to adopt their position — something well within the realm of possibility — we could be looking at a...

The federal government has no right to regulate guns made, sold and used within Utah, state lawmakers at a committee hearing decided Wednesday. The Legislature's Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee advanced a bill that its sponsor, Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, calls the "Firearms Freedom Act." If upheld in federal courts -- a big if, considering past rulings on states' rights -- Utahns purchasing Utah-made guns would not face federal requirements such as background checks. "I love the idea of the firearms," said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, "and I love to swipe at the federal government on this...

Yesterday, Somali pirates attacked the commercial cargo ship Maersk Alabama. This time, however, an armed security team successfully thwarted the attackers. Last April, Somali pirates successfully attacked the Alabama, kidnapping ship’s Captain Phillips and holding him hostage until Navy SEAL snipers killed the captors. In 2008, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Navy’s fleet in that area, specifically warned that the Navy “can’t be everywhere” and that “shipping companies have to take responsibility for their own ships.” It appears that after the last near-tragedy, Maersk took the warning seriously. But the story also highlights media bias against self-defense....

There has been a close association between sexually transmitted diseases and the military for as long as the two have existed, but the focus of this article is not Venereal Disease, but a different kind of VD that has shocked the military community and the nation. The VD which currently plagues the military and puts our soldiers at grave risk is the policy of Victim Disarmament which has been increasingly prevalent even as laws in the civilian world have been moving in the opposite direction While some have pointed to regulation changes during the Clinton administration as the turning point,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Before the Senate Judiciary Committee November 18th, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder revealed a stunningly broad and aggressive anti-gun agenda. "The President of the United States asked that politicians not use the Ft. Hood attack to engage in 'political theater.' It appears those committed to attacking gun owners and the Second Amendment simply can't help themselves and are engaged in blaming guns and gun owners on the heels of this terrorist attack. Sadly it looks like 'politics as usual,'" said LEAA's spokesperson, Ted Deeds. After explaining and defending his decision to give enemy combatants constitutional...

Two people attempted to rob the BFM Market in East St. Louis at 4 am yesterday. An alert employee shot at the robbers, who retreated. One of the wounded robbers was dropped off at the hospital, where he expired of his injuries. The other robber is still at large. Free Republic is banned from posting the original sources.

Two men attempted to Rob Gifford's gas station in Reader Sunday night, but all they got away with were some ventilation holes in their getaway vehicle. At approximately 11:20 p.m. a man went to the residence next door to the station and asked owner Tom Gifford if he could use his phone because his car had broken down. Gifford got the phone and when he turned around, the man was holding an knife and a second man wearing a ski mask was in his house holding a pistol. The unmasked man asked for money and drugs; Gifford complied. "They didn't...

David Michaels, a left-wing ideologue who supports junk science and seeks to restrict gun possession, has been approved by the Senate Health Committee to head the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Only two Senators -- both Republicans -- voted against Michaels, who was nominated by President Obama. The vote occurred with no discussion, and no hearing was even held on his nomination, although hearings have consistently been held on nominees in the past, even for far less controversial picks. Gun-law expert David Kopel explains how Michaels wants to ban guns in and near workplaces, and could use his...

I got the following pictures in an e-mail. How would a revolver explode like this?

New Jersey Governor, John Corzine, signed into law a new ban limiting New Jersey residents to the purchase of just one handgun every 30 days. But, in the fever pitched liberal rush to limit handgun purchases, the Legislature's poorly drafted law also banned legitimate gun dealers from buying more than one handgun a month too. The law does not apply to Police purchases and Curio & Relic Licensees’ purchases. Nor, does it apply to transfers of handguns between licensed retail dealers. The problem is that the law does not exempt dealer purchases from wholesale distributor suppliers from the one handgun...

Medford teacher Shirley Katz, who was denied permission to take her handgun to South Medford High School, has lost her appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals. The court opinion, issued Wednesday by Judge Jack Landau, upheld a November 2007 decision by the Jackson County Circuit Court that affirmed the Medford School District's authority to prohibit employees from carrying firearms on school grounds.

Recently in the Cincinnatus Standard I wrote about "teachable moments with the media." Sadly the lesson must continue as we talk about how the media looks at issues with bias and distortion. One must conclude they are quite lazy, as they don't do their homework and seem quite willing to accept anything spoon-fed to them that fits their liberal mental template without critical thought. In the process they miss the facts, pass on the fabricated material, and thus do the public a great general disservice. October was a hot month of media activity and there is much I can comment...

In a report highlighting the "open carry" gun movement, KTVU's Lloyd LaCuesta interviewed locals who are hanging out in public, packing heat and exerting their Second Amendment right for all the world to see. Advocates across the country are picnicking together, going to zoos, going to church and picking up trash. Most notably, supporters protested Obama this past summer. In the Bay area, David Julian, 27, and others are hanging out at a Cupertino Starbucks, sipping their Venti coffees with guns holstered to their hips. Supporters, who appear to come from all backgrounds, also say they're toting firearms to educate...

Just how much clout does the gun lobby have on Capitol Hill? This week may prove to be a crucial test: A House-Senate conference committee is about to take up a massive transportation-funding bill that is pitting advocates of gun rights against security-minded members worried about the threat of terrorist attacks on Amtrak trains. Tucked into the measure is a controversial National Rifle Association-backed amendment that would cut off $1.5 billion in subsidies to Amtrak unless the federally backed national passenger-train company reverses its post-9/11 security policies and permits train passengers to travel with handguns and other firearms as part...

The Seventh Circuit last week vacated a man’s conviction for possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. However, the court did not strike the statute down as unconstitutional, but remanded the case to the district court to give the government the opportunity to “establish a reasonable fit” between the “statute’s means and its end.” Addressing the record made before the district court, Judge Diane S. Sykes wrote for the court, “The government … has premised its argument almost entirely on Heller’s reference to the presumptive validity of felon-dispossession laws and reasoned by...

In an effort to rebut the idea that allowing law-abiding Americans to carry handguns in public helps prevent crime, the Violence Policy Center has begun compiling a list of homicides committed by people with carry permits. "Concealed handgun permit holders killed eight law enforcement officers and 77 private citizens (including 10 shooters who killed themselves after an attack) during the period May 2007 through October 2009," it says, based on news reports. "Contrary to the false promises of the gun lobby," says VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, "the simple and deadly fact is that state concealed handgun systems are arming...

An Indianapolis, IN homeowner held a burglar at gunpoint until the police arrived. Police say that the burglar, who was armed with a screwdriver, broke in to a home on the southwest side of Indianapolis late Monday night and began rummaging around. The homeowner reportedly grabbed his self defense gun, fired a shot that struck a glass door, and then held the home invader at gunpoint until police arrived. Police reportedly took 22 year old Jorge Barrera into custody, where he now faces burglary charges.

As the new hunting season begins today, animal rights activists are threatening to disrupt meets as "observers", as well as joining hunts undercover. The saboteurs will film constantly using new telescopic lenses so hunts can be monitored from a distance. They will also use hidden cameras in clothing and time-delay devices dotted around the countryside. (edit) Hunting was banned in 2005 but since then the number of people taking part in the sport has continued to increase, with 50,000 mounted followers expected this year compared to 40,000 in 2004. This year there are expected to be a further 50,000...

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...

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Homeowners and authorities in Incline Village, Nev., say they're on the lookout for a marauding, 700-pound black bear . The bear, they say, has caused as much as $70,000 in damage so far this year, including havoc wrought inside a home it has broken into several times, the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal reported Wednesday. "The deputies up there all say he's the biggest bear they've ever seen," Carl Lackey, a biologist and bear expert with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, told the newspaper. "He'll walk right by a trap. He won't go in them....

INDIANAPOLIS—Kerry A. Thomas, 46, Oakland City, Indiana, was charged late yesterday with Possession of unregistered machine guns and a destructive device, announced Timothy M. Morrison, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Indiana, following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, and the Evansville Police Department. The complaint alleges that on March 16, 2009, Thomas unlawfully possessed three machine guns—Gladiator Automobile and Cycle Factory 8X50 mmR Caliber machine gun; Marlin, model 1917, 30-06 caliber machine gun; and a Colt, AR-15, model XM16E1, 5.56 mm caliber machine gun—which had not...

The lesson from an unsuccessful pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden this week was simple: Guns talk. The Maersk Alabama, the American-flagged ship infamously attacked by pirates in April, was attacked again Monday when Somali pirates opened fire on the ship in an attempt to board it. But the pirates didn't get far this time, after a four-man security team aboard the ship fired back, thwarting the attack. It's the first time a large cargo ship with an armed security team aboard is known to have repelled an attack, says Vice Adm. William Gortney, who commands the Pacific region...

Patriots or extremists? That was the title of a CNN story that aired this morning, looking at how some 100 new volunteer militia groups have sprung up since President Obama was elected. The story focused on the Michigan Militia, filming them while they trained at Camp Stasa in Bancroft, a city halfway between Lansing and Flint. According to a show of hands at the training session, about half the members there were new. "Any time we get a democratic president in office people become concerned, including myself, and we get a resurgence out here," said a militia member identified only...

This month’s tragic — and probably preventable — mass shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas, certainly raises questions about why a lone shooter was able to unload not one but several magazines of ammunition over a several minute period – shooting and wounding more than 30 soldiers and killing 13, at a heavily restricted US Army base. Just as legitimate questions were raised following the mass killings on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, both military personnel and civilian citizens alike ought now to be asking of themselves and our elected and appointed leaders, not only whether the perpetrators of such...

<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>

...Under such legislation -- let's call it the Gun Insurance Act of 2009 -- every American would be required to buy some kind of gun. Those who cannot afford even the simplest weapon -- say, those whose 2009 annual income is less than twice the federal poverty level -- could be issued $500 vouchers that would be valid only at gun shops or gun shows, and would have to be used before the 2010 Census. (Just think: What a stimulus to private enterprise all these gun sales would provide, and how many new gun-selling jobs would be created!)

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   NRA Files Brief in McDonald v. Chicago   Tuesday, November 17, 2009   On November 16, the NRA filed its brief with the U.S. Supreme Court as Respondent in Support of Petitioner in McDonald v. City of Chicago. The NRA brief asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. In September, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the McDonald case, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. That court incorrectly claimed that prior...

About an hour ago, the Associated Press reported that the crew of the US-flagged merchant vessel Maersk Alabama repelled a pirate attack off the coast of Somalia.  This is the same ship that was boarded by pirates last April.  At that time, the captain of the ship was taken hostage and was held by pirates in a lifeboat for five days.  The incident ended when US Navy SEAL snipers simultaneously killed all three pirates aboard the lifeboat in a nighttime action.  This time, the pirates never got aboard the ship. What was the difference?  Guns.As the AP report makes abundantly clear,...

... private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship repelled the attack with gunfire...

Alan Gura, who successfully defended the individual right to keep and bear arms under Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller has now filed his brief in the case that seeks to apply that right to the states, McDonald v. City of Chicago. (Cato earlier filed a brief supporting Alan’s cert petition, the background to which you can read about here.) The question presented in this case is: Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated as against the States by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities or Due Process Clauses. Remarkably, only 7 of...

DRIGGS, Idaho (AP) — An 11-year-old boy shot a black bear on his family's front porch after he said it wouldn't leave. The boy was at his home near Driggs, just west of the Idaho-Wyoming border, with his younger sisters last Wednesday when the bear showed up. The youngster says he couldn't shoo it away, so he went and got his gun and shot it. Black bears in the area have prompted multiple complaint calls, largely because they've been hanging around a transfer station. It wasn't clear if the bear shot by the boy was also attracted by the transfer...

Attorney Matt Brown said Monday a fatal shooting at Riverside Park on Nov. 5 was a case of self-defense, noting that Edward Jackson III was being beaten by two other men. However, prosecutor said the 18-year-old Jackson came to the park armed with a semi-automatic handgun. He said it was a jury question whether he is found guilty of criminal homicide, a lesser charge, or exonerated. General Sessions Court Judge David Bales bound the case to the Grand Jury on the criminal homicide count. He said he was "another case involving the plethora of guns, many of them unregistered, in...

Application of Second Amendment to be decided by Supreme Court Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll Lawyer Alan Gura says that owning semi-automatic guns is constitutional. The man who successfully challenged a prohibition against handguns in the District of Columbia before the Supreme Court said last night during a local debate about the Second Amendment that some states have gone too far. That's what happened in the District of Columbia, which required that firearms either be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, said Alan Gura, a lawyer from Alexandria, Va., who argued the Supreme Court case. "If you have a...

AUXVASSE - Bernie Breer, 67, died when his friend accidentally shot him after deer hunting off Route B in Callaway County. Breer was one of three hunters accidentally shot during the opening weekend of dear season. Breer's friend accidentally shot him while taking his gun off his shoulder. "The firearm discharged and hit the victim in the stomach area," Missouri Department of Conservation officer Tom Stother said. Officials reported hunters in Adair and Macon Counties were accidentally shot while deer hunting during the weekend. Last year, a total of five people were accidentally shot during all of deer season. None...

A Naples, Florida teenager was captured at gunpoint by armed men, and was forced to drive them to a Walmart, where they made him buy them a Playstation 3. The shopping spree at his expense began when he was kidnapped when he entered a gated community as he was going to visit a friend. It ended inside a Walmart. He told deputies who came to the store where he was released that he was forced to buy the video game controller just before they arrived at the crime scene. The ordeal began when he was kidnapped by armed teenage criminals...

More than 30,000 Americans were killed by firearms in 2006. That’s like the tragedies of Fort Hood and Columbine happening three times a day, every day, or the World Trade Center 10 times a year. It doesn’t matter who we are—Democrat, Republican, Mormon, non-Mormon, man, woman—we can all agree that the fact that more preschoolers are killed by guns than police officers are killed by gunfire in the line of duty is disturbing. Why do we put up with it? Time and again, gun lobbyists revive the tired “slippery slope” argument to oppose even common sense gun laws, such as...

Oleg Volk photo Related Articles * Ft. Hood: When our defenders are defenseless * Fort Hood: Austin American-Statesman promotes gun control * Gun foes exploit Fort Hood tragedy to subvert vets' rights, Sen. Burr responds * Questions about Fort Hood shooter you won't hear from 'mainstream' press * Lessons from Fort Hood shooting Reason Magazine's Jacob Sullum recently wrote a scathing criticism of the policy that rendered the victims of the Ft. Hood atrocity defensless against their cowardly attacker. Neither Smith nor the other victims of Hasan’s assault had guns because soldiers on military bases within the United States generally...

Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right Oregon Firearms Federation alerted its members about the Southern Poverty Law Center training Eugene police: The Southern Poverty Law Center, which considers opposition to draconian gun control laws to be "crackpot," has sent one of their "experts" to Eugene to teach police from multiple agencies about "Hate in America Today- a National Overview of Far Right Domestic Terrorism." You will recall that in the brave new world of Obama, "right wing terrorists" include gun owners, Constitutionalists, military veterans and supporters of limited government. Here's the EPD new release. Among other things, it says: The...

BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Second Amendment Foundation today filed its much-anticipated brief to the United States Supreme Court in the case of McDonald v. Chicago, which challenges the constitutionality of that city's ban on handguns. SAF is joined in the lawsuit by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and four individual plaintiffs. They are represented by attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued the landmark Heller case before the high court in 2008, leading to a ruling that the Second Amendment affirms and protects an individual right to keep and bear arms beyond the scope of serving in...

Police say the man came into the D and A game room on Westheimer at noon Monday, pulled a gun and demanded money from the manager. As the man was leaving, the manager pulled out a gun and shot him. He later died at a hospital. No one else was hurt. Police tell us the manager will not face any charges.

One of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office's combat crosses given out Friday went to an unlikely candidate: a firefighter. It was the first combat cross the agency has given to someone who isn't a law enforcement officer. That's because County Fire-Rescue Capt. Edwin O'Berry helped stop an armed suspect who nearly beat a police officer to death. He stopped suspect Mauricio Cruz by shooting him. But it was also with the help of 13 firefighters that the officer was rescued. Those 12 men and one woman were honored with Samaritan awards at the Sheriff's Office annual awards ceremony.

An elderly Las Vegas, NV homeowner used his gun to fend off multiple home invaders early Thursday morning. Police say that an unknown number of intruders kicked in the door of a home near Rancho and Vegas Drive at 5:30AM. The intruders are said to have attacked the elderly homeowner, prompting him to grab his gun and fire in self defense. One of the attackers was fatally wounded, and the other criminals fled, according to police. The homewoner was unharmed. It is a sad fact that criminals prey on senior citizens, seeing them as easy targets. Unarmed senior citizens can...

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which considers opposition to draconian gun control laws to be "crackpot," has sent one of their "experts" to Eugene to teach police from multiple agencies about "Hate in America Today- a National Overview of Far Right Domestic Terrorism." You will recall that in the brave new world of Obama, "right wing terrorists" include gun owners, Constitutionalists, military veterans and supporters of limited government.

Smith & Wesson, the famed American gunmaker once owned by Tomkins, the British conglomerate, expects to nearly double its annual sales in the next three to five years as demand for its firearms soars in the recession. It is not alone. All over America demand for firearms and ammunition is rising amid concerns that rising unemployment, which passed 10 per cent this month, will lead inexorably to higher rates of crime. Fears of terrorism have also helped to lift demand, as have concerns among gun owners that the Obama Administration may introduce restrictions on gun ownership and impose additional taxes.

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Urgent Alert: Ask Your U.S. Senators And Representative To Sign Amicus Brief Supporting Second Amendment Rights In The States!   Friday, November 13, 2009   As a critical Second Amendment case goes before the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Jon Tester (D-MT), and Congressmen Mike Ross (D-AR) and Mark Souder (R-IN) are gathering signatures for an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief by Members of Congress.  And we need your support for this important effort next week.The case is McDonald v. City of Chicago, and it will answer the question of...

The Philippine government is experiencing the same kind of compliance with their Gun Registration Amnesty as New Jersey had with their “assault weapon” turn in program of the 1990’s. It was virtually ignored too. It is being ignored by thousands. Over 119,129 “loose” firearms have been registered in the Philipines gun registration amnesty. If a firearm isn’t registered with the Philippine police, it is considered “loose.” The police director general wants all owners of “loose” firearms be classified as a member of a "terrorist group." The Bradys haven't even come up with that one...yet. They would love to have everyone...

Commissioner Bassett said the measure failed because of lack of a motion Live Oak County commissioners decided this week not to ban recreational shooting on lots in a subdivision where residents had complained. Commissioner Jim Bassett said the measure failed Monday for lack of a motion. Officials had gathered response from residents in Lake Meadows Subdivision during a public hearing Oct. 15. “It was overwhelming among the residents that they want to keep it the way it was,” Bassett said. Shooting has been a contentious issue in Lake Meadows, where one couple sued two neighbors for shooting at target berms...

Attorney General Eric Holder is retreating on his commitment to pursue a controversial gun-control measure. Holder’s statements, recently delivered to senators in writing, clearly indicate the Obama administration is in no rush to reinstate the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. In response to written questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members, Holder adopted a much different tone on the ban than he did in February, when he said, “As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the...

A PYGMY hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Northern Territory. The hippo is normally native to the swamps of west Africa, in particular Liberia. The Northern Territory News reports, Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlighting for pigs with his mate Rusty on a station in the Douglas Daly district 200km south of Darwin on Saturday night. "It was about 1am and running away from us - from the tail end it just looked like a big pig," Mr Courtney said. "We got out, had a look at it, and thought 'that's not a pig,...