Free Republic

Well, here we go again. Another group of wealthy, elitist supporters of gun control have come together, spending their own money to form a new organization to pursue their personal, pet agenda. This would be unremarkable, except that this time they are using the rare gambit of pretending to be a group that actually supports the Second Amendment. Note I said rare—not unprecedented. You would think that a group of self-styled entrepreneurs would perform some basic market research before launching this charade. If they had, they would have found they are not the first to mount such a deception. They...

<p>SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have banned future sales of most semi-automatic rifles that accept detachable magazines, part of a firearms package approved by state lawmakers in response to mass shootings in other states.</p>

Earlier this week, the ACLU sent a letter to ATF Deputy Director Thomas Brandon after an outside working application submitted by ATF Special Agent and Operation Fast and Furious whistleblower John Dodson was denied. Dodson's outside work application was for a book manuscript, The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious, which Dodson worked on in his own time. The request was denied by Deputy Ethics Official Greg Serres in August 2013 on the basis that supervisors can deny outside employment “for any reason" and that the publication of his manuscript would have a...

Alaska's governor, Sean Parnell, announced Thursday that a special counsel has been named to investigate raids by conducted by federal and state authorities near the town of Chicken. "Alaskans deserve to know all the facts in this case," Parnell said in a Thursday press release. "While these facts are being gathered, I will continue to be vigilant in defense of Alaskans' liberty and personal property.

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have banned future sales of most semi-automatic rifles that accept detachable magazines, part of a firearms package approved by state lawmakers in response to mass shootings in other states. The governor announced signing other gun-related legislation on Friday but rejected the centerpiece bill, which would have imposed the nation’s toughest restrictions on gun ownership.

"This guy approached him on going to scare, possibly beat, up, not kill somebody, and he would pay him, and pay him quite a bit of money," she explained. They say Dennison went to the home on Foss Hill Lane to scare the homeowner into paying back an outstanding debt. "I know it's not legal, it's not right," Thibault admitted. They say their family is struggling financially and so Dennison was trying to help. But State Police tell another side of this story. "He was up to no good," explained police spokesman Steve McCausland. Police say Dennison, wearing a black...

So the zombies are at your door. Death is upon you, but the gun shop is just a block away. You make a run for it, and you make it to the most extensive armory for miles. Time to make a decision: Which guns do you grab? Contrary to popular belief, not every gun will do the job the same, so to help make up your mind on which guns will save your life, here are my eight best guns for the zombie apocalypse.

Gun-rights advocates are ready to launch a recall attempt aimed at some of California's most vulnerable Democratic state lawmakers - and the party's supermajority hold on the Legislature - if Gov. Jerry Brown signs some of the dozen-plus gun-control bills sitting on his desk. They're emboldened by the successful recalls last month of two Colorado Democratic legislators who supported gun restrictions, including the leader of the state Senate. Voters replaced both with Republicans. "As soon as the results came in Colorado, our phones started ringing," said Jennifer Kerns, the California political consultant who helped lead the Colorado recalls. "Until then,...

PENDLETON, OREGON - Harassed by someone at the park an elderly woman pulled a gun from her waistband and fired a shot in the air. Pendleton police say she would have been well within her rights to shoot and kill the fellow park goer. Neighbors have the right to be on edge. A young woman's murder went unsolved for a year until the random beating of a jogger on the riverwalk. Anna Salvador has lived in Pendleton for most of her life. She said, "I actually took 2 knives from my kitchen with me just because I was nervous about...

My, don't they look proud. But after shooting this rare albino moose near Belle Cote in Nova Scotia last week — and posting the pics to social media — the trio has sparked considerable outrage, particularly among the region's Mi'kmaq indigenous community. These guys breached a kind of unwritten code of conduct that has also upset many in the hunting community.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that on October 4, 2013, it filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) lawsuit with the Supreme Court of the New York requesting that the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg be ordered to produce all records of communications between the Office of the Mayor, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), and Vice President Joe Biden. The FOIL suit also requested that the mayor’s office be required to produce records of a January 9, 2013, meeting attended by MAIG representatives, Biden, and Attorney General Eric Holder. (Judicial Watch v....

Some Ohio lawmakers want to modify the state’s concealed-weapons law by vastly expanding the circumstances in which a person has no duty to retreat before using lethal force in self-defense. Such a “stand your ground” law is unnecessary. Worse, it would increase the danger of gun violence — something this state and its cities hardly need. City councils in several Ohio communities, including Toledo, Akron, Dayton, and Cincinnati, formally oppose the proposed bill. Members of the Ohio Student Association also have protested it. Current Ohio law states that people need not retreat in their residence, their vehicle, or the vehicle...

Solicitation: Q3964120134 Notice Type: Modification/Amendment Synopsis: Added: Jan 13, 2012 10:43 am Modified: Jan 17, 2012 12:37 pm AMENDMENT NOTICE:This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, in conjunction with FAR 13.5, as applicable, and as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; bids are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.The solicitation number is Q3964120134 and is issued as an invitation for bids (IFB), unless otherwise indicated herein.The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect...

WHEELING -- The ex-police officer who opened fire on a federal courthouse in West Virginia was a trained shooter who knew how to kill, yet federal officials said Thursday that he waved people away moments before he started spraying bullets into the glass facade and was later shot dead by law enforcement. Neither the FBI nor federal prosecutors would discuss the motive for 55-year-old Thomas J. Piccard's assault. But two possible theories emerged as investigators gathered evidence and neighbors revealed that Piccard had recently told them he was dying of cancer. U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said the building being the...

A father in South Carolina who fired his handgun in self-defense–and in the process killing an apparent innocent bystander–has successfully argued that he is not subject to criminal or civil liability under the state’s self-defense immunity law. South Carolina’s self-defense immunity statute–§16-11-450. Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil actions; law enforcement officer exception; costs.–is essentially identical to Florida’s self-defense immunity statute currently under legislative review (as covered by Legal Insurrection here)–§776.032. Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force. The Issue Is Self-Defense Immunity, Not “Stand Your Ground” As is frequently the case in Florida, news...

AUBURN, AL (WSFA) - The Auburn Police Department says it has arrested two people following a shooting that happened Sunday evening in the 800 block of Annalue Drive. Officers were called to the residence just before 9 p.m. on a report that a man found two people inside his home. The homeowner fired several shots at the suspects who then fled the scene. The victim reported two Samsung cell phones valued at $600 were taken in the burglary.

COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - An alert homeowner will not face charges after shooting and wounding a man who was trespassing on his property in Colleton County on Sunday night, authorities say. According to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened at 1772 Smyly Road just before midnight. When they arrived, they spoke with the homeowner, who said he heard a noise coming from his shed and looked out the window to find an unknown person coming out of the shed with an object in his hand. The homeowner said he fired a warning shot, and when the suspect...

A Harvey woman shot and wounded her ex-boyfriend after he hit her with a baseball bat and tried to choke her, authorities said. Clarence Fultz, 26, of Harvey, limped away after he was shot on Sept. 27, but authorities did not arrest him until Friday, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. Fultz and the victim, a 28-year-old woman, lived together for about five months in a Harvey apartment before she asked him to leave on the night of Sept. 26, an incident report said. Fultz left, but returned around 3 a.m. wanting to talk.He...

EL CAJON (CNS) - An investigation was under way Tuesday in El Cajon, where a 75-year-old man shot and wounded a teenage boy who had broken into the man's home, police said. The shooting in the 700 block of Terra Lane was reported around 11 a.m. Monday, according to El Cajon police. The man heard a noise coming from a back bedroom and armed himself with a handgun as he relayed information to a police dispatcher, Lt. Mark Coit said in a statement.

A Minnesota legislator wants a provision stripped from the Vikings new stadium lease that would prevent the building from being used by businesses that sell guns and other weapons. Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington said in a letter Thursday that the restriction could discourage hunting and outdoors groups from holding offseason events at the planned $975 million stadium, which is being built with a partial public subsidy. The Associated Press reported on the clause this week that is contained in a 30-year stadium lease.

The tyrants and dictators at the United Nations will stop at nothing to register, ban and, eventually, confiscate firearms owned by law-abiding Americans like you and me. The U.N. has been working for nearly 15 years to force its gun banning Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on the United States. Now, thanks to President Barack Obama, they are closer than ever.This past June, Obama helped the U.N. pass the ATT, thereby openly inviting the world’s worst human rights abusers to dictate gun policy here in the United States. Obama’s Secretary of State, John Kerry, excitedly announced that he and President Obama...

Minnesota is one of a few states that track crimes committed by Concealed Carry permit holders.  When the Minnesota law was passed, an annual report of crimes committed by permit holders was required.  The Minnesota permit is simply a permit to carry, the law does not discriminate between carrying concealed and carrying openly.  Reports for the law are available for 2003, and 2005-2012 in pdf files.   The number of people with Minnesota permits that commit murder or manslaughter is remarkably low.  Only three instances are recorded in the Minnesota Carry Permit annual reports for the nine years reported....

Award-winning journalist and author Jake Tapper says most reporters’ bias comes from being out of touch. In an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit today, Tapper wrote: “I think there are a lot of hard-working reporters in NYC and DC who have never fired a gun, or never worked a 9-5 manual labor job, or lived in the middle of the country, or worried about their next paycheck, or have anyone in their family who serves in the military and I think that creates a cultural bias. But I also think there are a lot of reporters who work to...

Mimicking the 'bump fire' technique that can be utilized to fire a semi-auto rifle nonstop (from the hip), a new $6000 rifle from Slide-Fire keeps the stock (and your trigger finger) steady while the rest of the gun moves with the recoil, pulling the trigger against your stationary finger and producing the desired hail of gunfire...  The weapon utilizes loopholes in federal firearms law, whereas the stock of such a gun is simply not regulated as to it's movement/or lack of, nor how this is now being utilized to produce a full-auto effect... just the traditional mechanical elements of...

Authorities arrested Kenneth A. Keith, 48, of Burnside this afternoon and charged him with three counts of murder and robbery in connection with the Sept. 20 triple homicide at ABC Gold, Games and More

The U.S. Marshals Service says a man with an assault-type rifle fired 15 to 20 shots at the federal courthouse in Wheeling. W.Va., before security officers returned fire, critically wounding the man.

4 dead, 12 wounded during weekend violence Four men are dead and at least 12 others have been wounded in violence across the city since Friday afternoon.

Transparency: The Justice Department blocks a tell-all book by an ATF special agent on how Brian Terry, Jaime Zapata and hundreds of Mexican nationals were killed with weapons supplied by this administration. ATF Special Agent John Dodson is a national hero who in 2011 blew the whistle on Operation Fast and Furious, the Obama administration's gun-running operation to Mexico. Testifying before Congress, he disclosed that his supervisors had authorized the flow of semiautomatic weapons into Mexico instead of interdicting them, weapons that found their way into the hands of Mexican drug cartels with deadly results. Dodson has put his intimate...

SANTA CLARA CO., Calif. — San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith has been charged with felony possession of assault weapons which were discovered after shooting at his house back in 2012, according to authorities. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s announced Wednesday that 24-year-old Smith has been charged with three felony counts of assault weapon possession, after three rifles that are illegal to own in California were found at Smith's residence back in June of 2012. “The preamble to the assault weapons law states that each assault weapon ‘has such a high rate of fire and capacity for firepower that...

Opponents of Governor Cuomo’s anti-gun legislation packed a firehouse in upstate New York last night, demonstrating that they’re still plenty fired up about the unconstitutional SAFE Act. While the palpable anger towards the governor’s gun grab is still intense almost a year after it was passed without public review, some comments really spell out why the law is so controversial. “Never in my 38 years of law enforcement, until recently, have we been asked to go after honest, law-abiding, good citizens,” said Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar. Added another lawmaker: “You’ve made us the most liberal, strictest gun law state...

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier seems to think that gun-control laws don’t apply to the liberal elite. The police chief helped Sen. Dianne Feinstein acquire “assault weapons,” which are illegal to possess in the District, for a news conference early this year to promote a ban on these firearms, then tried to cover up the police involvement. Now, a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals Chief Lanier’s shocking willingness to bend the rules for partisan and ideological purposes. Lobbyist Chuck DeWitt emailed Chief Lanier on Christmas Eve last year. “Sen. Feinstein has asked us...

 Richard Keese (Source: Anderson Co. Sheriff's Office Richard Keese is very lucky.   If that bullet had hit 1 inch lower, he would almost certainly be in the morgue, not the jail.   From the Foxcarolina: Lt. Sheila Cole with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said about 3 p.m. a man forced his way into a Mays Street home and attacked a woman inside the home. The elderly homeowner then shot the man with a revolver, grazing his head, according to Cole. A firearm makes an elderly woman more than a match for a healthy male with a baseball bat.  Richard...

Editor's note: Compiled from responses submitted to reporter Rick Bella, who asked readers to share their stories and observations about getting a concealed handgun license and carrying concealed weapons. Submissions have been edited for length and clarity. Watch for Bella's full report Tuesday on Oregonlive and Wednesday in The Oregonian. Ed Hurtley Portland I have had a Multnomah County-issued CHL for about 2.5 years now. I took a class with an instructor that was a referral from a friend. The class was very well run, and had a mix of people; white, minority, male, female, liberal, conservative. I have only...

According to an internal Cleveland police memo unearthed by cleveland.com the NFL’s banning off-duty cops carrying in or around FirstEnergy Stadium. What’s more, “The rule, which police said took effect Sept. 11, applies to all NFL facilities and all off-duty federal, state and local law enforcement officers .

Scientists, engineers and policymakers are all figuring out ways drones can be used better and more smartly, more precise and less damaging to civilians, with longer range and better staying power. One method under development is by increasing autonomy on the drone itself. Eventually, drones may have the technical ability to make even lethal decisions autonomously: to respond to a programmed set of inputs, select a target and fire their weapons without a human reviewing or checking the result. Yet the idea of the U.S. military deploying a lethal autonomous robot, or LAR, is sparking controversy. Though autonomy might address...

CABAZON (CBSLA.com) — A Riverside County father and his two adult sons were in custody Tuesday after authorities found explosive munitions stored in an underground bunker at their residence. Bruce Borynack, 49, Zachariah Borynack, 25, and Zephaniah Borynack, 23, of Cherry Valley, were arrested Sunday at a residence in the 10000 block of Nancy Ave. around 9:20 a.m. after authorities served a search warrant on the property, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Prior to serving the search warrant, Bruce and Zachariah Borynack were seen driving away from the residence, authorities said. A traffic stop conducted in the area...

A new NFL security policy bars off-duty police officers from carrying their guns into football games. Although it is normal for police officers to carry a gun 24/7--in case they come face to face with a criminal whom they had arrested and who may have revenge on his mind--the NFL says police who are not specifically assigned to work the game are not allowed to carry their guns.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A suspect in an attempted home invasion was killed Monday after being shot by the homeowner, according to Fort Wayne police. Police were called just before midnight Monday to a shooting on Melita Street, near downtown Fort Wayne. FWPD spokesman Officer Michael Joyner said a preliminary investigation revealed a burglar attempted to enter the home and was shot by the homeowner in self-defense. Joyner said information was not immediately available if the intruder made it into the house.

NEW CARLISLE — A woman yelled to her husband for help after a burglar surprised her in their home Wednesday night on West Lake Avenue. The woman's husband held the burglar at gunpoint briefly before the man took off running out the back door of the home.

PHOENIX -- It was a wild weekend for a valley homeowner. He returns home from work to find an intruder in his home. That homeowner, armed with a gun, fired shots at the suspect -- killing him. Now we're hearing the 911 call that the homeowner made to police just moments after he pulled the trigger. We went to the homeowner's house and talked to him. He's really upset about the shooting and did not want to talk on-camera. But what he told us is exactly the same story he told a 911 operator when he called right after the...

An off-duty federal officer who fired his gun at a car that cut him off has a history of aggressive behavior, according to news reports. Angel Echevarria, an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, was recently arrested and charged with aggressive assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle in Boca Raton, Fla. after opening fire on a red Toyota that had committed a traffic infraction. According to the arrest affidavit, Echevarria claimed he was trying to shoot the tires of the Toyota to prevent it from fleeing the scene. But authorities concluded that too much time has elapsed between...

An off-duty federal officer who fired his gun at a car that cut him off has a history of aggressive behavior, according to news reports. Angel Echevarria, an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, was recently arrested and charged with aggressive assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle in Boca Raton, Fla. after opening fire on a red Toyota that had committed a traffic infraction. According to the arrest affidavit, Echevarria claimed he was trying to shoot the tires of the Toyota to prevent it from fleeing the scene. But authorities concluded that too much time has elapsed between...

California Assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly (R-33rd Dist.) says legislation awaiting Governor Jerry Brown's (D) signature not only bans "assault weapons" but "erases the Second Amendment."

A renewed and spirited effort is underway to recall Sen. Evie Hudak, a Democrat from Westminster, less than six months after an initial effort faltered. Organizers from within Senate District 19 were certified by the secretary of state late Friday to begin gathering signatures to have a recall placed on the ballot. The group, "Recall Hudak, too," must gather about 18,900 valid signatures within 60 days, and on its website the group even has a running ticker that counts down to the deadline. "She has infringed upon our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. She has voted to make...

Russia’s largest weapons producer has struggled to be profitable in the post-Cold War years, and now 49 percent of the Kalashnikov Group will be sold to private buyers for nearly $41 million. Despite three years of trying to overcome Kalashnikov's debts, state shareholder Rostec will sell its 49 percent stake to private investors, Vedomosti newspaper reports. The reported buyers are two businessmen affiliated with the Russian operator of airport link Aeroexpress, Alexey Krivoruchko, and part owner Andrey Bokarev. Bokarev is also the co-owner of TransMashHolding, a rail and transport company, as well as Kuzbassrazrezugol, a coal company, and Moscow Metro...

Olympia, Wash - The new gun control group, Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility (WAGR) has delivered the first batch of signatures to Olympia on October 4th, 2013. While the number of signatures being delivered were not released, Washington State required 246,372 signatures for a measure to be put on the ballot. The group has until January 3rd 2014 to gather signatures. If the signatures are gathered by that time there are three different things that can happen with the initiative. It can go to the legislature for a vote, and if passed become law. The legislature can opt not to...

Two Gwinnett County women claim they were threatened with a gun while conducting a protest to impeach President Barack Obama. "I was standing there with a sign and I looked and he had a gun pointed at me," protestor Toni Pendley told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh. Pendley said she was conducting a peaceful protest that elicited a not so peaceful reaction.

A troubled young mother is shot dead and our ruling class applauds. An unarmed 34-year-old woman suffering from postpartum depression is surrounded by the authorities while sitting in her car, and gunned down in cold blood. She is blocked in. She cannot move. And yet she is killed by heavily armed security officers. Her one-year old child witnesses this from the back seat. Why is this not a national tragedy? Miriam Carey was a young African-American woman who wanted to better herself. She went to college and graduated with a BA degree in health and nutrition science. She became a...

<p>Colorado gun rights advocates, coming off two successful efforts to recall Democratic state senators over votes to strengthen gun control laws, began collecting signatures in a third district over the weekend in hopes of booting another incumbent out of office.</p>

A suburban New York newspaper has sued Putnam County to compel it to release its pistol permit records. The Journal News says it sued Thursday after the county denied two Freedom of Information requests and a subsequent appeal...