Free Republic

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a voter-approved California law that would have forced gun owners to get rid of high-capacity ammunition magazines by this Saturday. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, who is based in San Diego, issued a preliminary injuction Thursday that found the law was likely unconstitutional because it prevented people from using firearms that employed “whatever common magazine size he or she judges best suits the situation.” The law would have barred people from possessing magazines containing more than 10 bullets. “The State of California’s desire to criminalize simple possession of a firearm magazine able to hold...

California’s new Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) Program laws went into effect on January 1, 2015. On January 6, 2015, a lawsuit, Belemjian v. Harris, was filed in California Superior Court on behalf of the California Rifle and Pistol Association (http://www.crpa.org), FFLGuard (http://www.fflguard.com), and several individual gun owners and firearm instructors against the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop any enforcement of “underground regulations” that the DOJ illegally adopted when it tried to implement the FSC laws. The lawsuit also seeks to stop California’s new long-gun safe handling demonstration law from being enforced until the DOJ adopts implementing regulations through...

Apparently, Attorney General (AG) Kamala Harris has changed California State Department of Justice policy and is now limiting federal law enforcement agents’ ability to acquire handguns. The AG says the feds can only buy firearms listed on the Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale (like the rest of us). Understandably, federal law enforcement officers aren’t happy about it. Welcome feds, to the California disarmament festival.

Hello FRiends, Mrs. Dog needs a new pair of knees so I wondering if anyone has experience or advice on medical tourism to Mexico. She does not want to go to Asia and she's not excited about TJ but Monterrey is on the table. Thanks, Atomic Dog

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The world's first nuclear-powered surface warship, the USS Long Beach, was put up for auction as scrap metal on Tuesday to be dismantled and recycled, after spending the past 17 years mothballed in a naval shipyard in Washington state. The 720-foot (219-metre) vessel, the first American cruiser since the end of World War Two to be built new from the keel up, boasted the world's highest bridge and was the last such U.S. vessel with teakwood decks, according to Navy history. Long Beach, commissioned in 1961, is not the first warship to be recycled. But the defense...

San Carlos, CA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California, seeking to have the state’s definition of so-called “assault weapons” declared unconstitutionally vague. Joining SAF and Calguns in the lawsuit is Brendan John Richards, an Iraq combat veteran who served as a U.S. Marine, and whose arrest and six-day incarceration in the Sonoma County jail – and subsequent dismissal of all charges – was the catalyst for this legal action. Named as defendants are California Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, the City of Rohnert Park...

An angry electorate… More divided than during the Bush years… Marked by nasty ads and commentary, over-the-top rhetoric, and even violence. These are just some of the ways that political observers have described American voters and the 2010 mid-term elections. Without a doubt, many election contests were bitterly fought and divisive. Now comes the hard work of legislating and governing. It won’t be easy for either side, but if there is one thing the new Congress and President Obama ought to agree on, it’s that gun violence victims deserve their support, their leadership, and their determination. And that should be...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sold securities that fetched a negative yield for the first time, implying investors are willing to pay the government to own its debt.

Gentlemen, May I present my newest acquisition. A genuine "service grade" M1 Garand. I told everyone that this was a "Christmas gift from my uncle" which, in a way it was. I ordered this from the CMP the first week in December. I expected it around February but it showed up Christmas Eve. How's that for a government agency? Take another look at this bad boy. All I wanted was a shooter but this gun is beautiful. The stock is a little off but a little Tung oil will fix that right up. I am posting this for a reason....

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill which included an expanded credit facility for the IMF and effective U.S. approval for the proposed IMF sale of 400 tons of gold. The Obama administration has pushed a bill through the U.S. House of Representatives approving $106 billion in supplemental funding, primarily for the Iraq and Afghanistan 'security' efforts, but attached to it was also an expanded credit facility for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of a massive $108 billion which included an agreement to allow U.S,. members of the IMF Board to agree the proposed $13 billion sale of...

John Schiffeler, a 68-year-old retired university instructor on ancient China, was walking his dog on a popular beach south of Carmel earlier this month. And, though he didn't know it, he was about to learn something disconcerting about the higher costs of modern life. Schiffeler recalls that the north end of Monastery Beach was almost deserted, except for himself, his 4-year-old German shepherd, Ares, and a couple. He asked the couple if they would mind if he let Ares off his 30-foot retractable leash. They said no problem. And Schiffeler broke the law: Dogs are supposed to be on a...

[excerpted] We therefore conclude that the right to keep and bear arms is “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.” Colonial revolutionaries, the Founders, and a host of commentators and lawmakers living during the first one hundred years of the Republic all insisted on the fundamental nature of the right. It has long been regarded as the “true palladium of liberty.” Colonists relied on it to assert and to win their independence, and the victorious Union sought to prevent a recalcitrant South from abridging it less than a century later. The crucial role this deeply rooted right has played...

In the first Great Depression, the government tried, for several years, between 1929 and 1933, to maintain a fiction that the U.S. dollar was still convertible and as “good as gold”, in spite of having irresponsibly printed more dollars than they had gold to back them. Back in the 1920s, just like during the last 22 years, the Federal Reserve had run its printing press overtime, and, as a result, it couldn’t deliver. The U.S. Treasury eventually ran out of the gold, in the face of overwhelming public demand, resulting in the infamous gold confiscation order, by President Franklin Roosevelt,...

The Administration is Not Dealing Straight With Us on Mexico's Gun Problem Let's set things straight right up front. Yes, some guns are being smuggled into Mexico from the U.S. Most are handguns. But, handguns are being illegally trafficked from state to state and from the U.S. to Canada. It should come as no surprise that guns are smuggled into Mexico. But, the problem being portrayed by the U.S. media and our government is not as it seems. You see, Mexico doesn't allow ownership of most firearms, so ordinary Mexican people seeking self-protection will find a way to get them...

According to the Washington Post, Congress is poised this week to pass legislation giving the District of Columbia a voting Representative in Congress. Kinda' funny that the DC Council urges Congress create a Constitutional right to Congressional representation out of thin air while thumbing its nose at the Supreme Court's Heller decision (regarding the enumerated Constitutional right to bear arms) by enacting onerous registration requirements and new bans on scary looking rifles and pistols not approved for sale in California. It's time Congress put its foot down and preempt the DC City Council on gun control. In almost every state,...

The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia. The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company. Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate. Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer. The primary phase will be...

wo Salinas police officers fired their guns about 11:30p.m. Tuesday after stopping a vehicle near North Sanborn Road and Freedom Parkway, police said. The officers fired several shots after they "perceived a threat" when contacting the driver and passenger, police said. No one was hit and no arrests were made. Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave according to department policy. Cmdr. Dino Bardoni, who leads the department's investigations division, was not available to comment Wednesday. Cmdr. Al Ruiz, appointed to answer questions in Bardoni's absence, said more information could be released today. "We are still investigating," he said....

Republican congressional candidate Jeff Taylor said Thursday he is quitting the Republican Party because it has turned away from the family and small-government values he admires. Taylor, 49, a Salinas agribusinessman who won the GOP nomination in June to challenge long-time incumbent Democratic Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel, said he changed his party registration from Republican to "decline to state." "It's been on my heart for months," Taylor said after a news conference to announce his departure from the GOP fold. "I have been hearing this nagging spirit say, 'This is the way I want you to go.'" Taylor said...

For first time in modern history, a presidential race is actually going to be decided by the vice presidential pick. Thanks to Sarah Palin, this is no longer a contest between Barack Obama and John McCain - it's between Brother Barack and Sistah Sarah. Rock star vs. rock star. Inexperienced vs. inexperienced. Newcomer vs. newcomer. Change vs. change. His "change" is East Coast intellectual. Her "change" is NASCAR. His change is wine and cheese. Her change is mayonnaise by the gallon.

A Chinese labourer with only a basic school education has made a submarine at home. Tao Xiangli made the 1.6 tonnes submarine mostly from metal barrels and improvised parts by hand, reports Zhong'an Online. "Metal barrels are possibly the best material for me because of their low cost," said Tao, a migrant worker in Beijing. The 20ft submarine is cramped inside with room for only one person but it features pressure metres, monitoring cameras, a TV set, oxygen supply and headlights. "Although the equipment is simple, it's enough for a basic submarine, and more importantly, it enables the passenger to...