Free Republic

Subtitle: What Would the Romans do? Foremost among the reasons I despise the democrat party is its destructive nature. It builds nothing; it exists to destroy. In the name of social justice, it corrupts and soils every previously noble institution it comes to dominate. ‘Divide and conquer’ is a tactic as old as warfare, and one which the democrat party puts to skilled use for its nefarious goals. Together with their fellow travelers in the media, they exploit every possible Alinsky distinction in race, wealth, education, gender, and sexual orientation. Keep society back on its heels. Keep various factions at...

The Kansas Supreme Court held that courts are independent of the state's executive branch, when ruling on immunity from prosecution for self defense.In the case before the court, the self defense claim was very strong. Immunity from prosecution was granted. The state appealed, arguing that the judge was required to look at the evidence in the way most favorable to the prosecutor's case. From cjonline.com: The state’s highest court rejected a tougher standard set by a lower court for determining when someone can avoid prosecution for wounding or killing another person. The state Court of Appeals had said trial...

On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order activating the Militia in all 50 states and seven U.S. territories. The executive order claimed that as president he had authority as Commander in Chief to activate the militia, consisting of “All people capable of bearing arms”.In the order, President Trump urged all militia members to carry arms during their daily activities as a way to deter terrorism and prevent crime.President Trump's order was immediately decried as unconstitutional by Maximum Waters, spokesperson for the Democrat Party. Ms Waters stated that the order was blatantly illegal, because the activating militia law,...

Col. (retired)  Tom Brewer, Nebraska State Senator Nebraska has a Constitutional Carry bill that has been introduced in 2017. It is Legislative Bill 502(pdf). The bill was introduced by Senator Brewer, and was heard in committee on March 23rd. No action was taken at that time.  From omaha.com: The committee took no action Thursday on Legislative Bill 502. Because the bill does not have a priority designation, it likely would not be scheduled for debate this year even if the committee decides to advance it to the floor. State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon introduced the bill, saying he...

Governor Herbert has signed H.B. 198 into law. The bill provides for adults aged 18-20 to obtain a Utah concealed carry permit. The bill requires that permit holders meet minimum age requirements of other states when in those states. From utah.gov: This bill: â–¸ establishes a provisional permit to carry a concealed firearm; â–¸ stipulates that individuals must be at least 18 years of age, but no more than 20 years of age, to obtain the permit; â–¸ stipulates that the holder of a provisional permit issued by the state must meet eligibility requirements, including minimum age requirements, to...

H. 3930, a Constitutional Carry bill is on the move in South Carolina. On March 9th, it passed the Judiciary Constitutional Laws Subcommittee. On 21 March, it passed the full committee with a vote of 15 to 7.  Now it will advance to a vote before the full House. Last year a similar bill passed the House, but died in the Senate. From goupstate.com: The bill by state Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, calls for what is often referred to as “constitutional carry” by allowing people who are legally permitted to own a firearm to carry one – concealed or...

HB 292 is the Georgia omnibus gun law reform bill for 2017.  It is similar to the reform bill HB 1060, that passed the legislature last year. That bill was vetoed by Governor Deal.HB 292 has a couple of differences. Church carry is not addressed in the 2017 bill, and knife reform has been added as an amendment. Here are some of the features of HB 292, from georgiacarry.org: Will allow for a person moving into GA who has a valid firearms license or permit to carry on that permit for 90 days or upon person attaining a GWL;Allow for...

There are two accounts recorded of the incident pictured above. It happened on 12 March, in Tyler, Texas.  One account is from the eye witness who captured the video.  Audio is included with the video. On the audio, someone joins the videographer. The videographer explains what has happened. From the audio in the video: He tried to knife em, and rob em, and we had two open carrys, and the open carrys took him down. (snip) And that is what an open carry state is all about.Link to video In Texas, one license is required for both concealed and...

After President Trump won election in November of 2016, I explained how a Trump administration could eliminate gun free zones in the Army Corps of Engineers. One of the options to do this was with a court ordered settlement agreed to by both sides. Another method available to President Trump is a negotiated Court settlement. The ban on possession of weapons on land administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is being challenged in the Courts. Court cases in both the Ninth Circuit and in the Eleventh Circuit are active. A Trump administration could order the Corps of...

On a Saturday morning in Dallas, Texas, my daughter and I decided to eat breakfast out. My grandson mentioned pancakes, so my daughter decided on a Denny's that was reasonably close, at 4567 Frankford Road. It took about five minutes to load up a one year old and a two year old into the car, in the proper car seats, and another five minutes to drive to the restaurant. On the way in, I noticed the 30.07 sign that banned open carry in the restaurant. The 30.07 sign is required by Texas law, if a private property owner decides...

Two years ago, Romeoville Illinois held a gun “buy back. They took in 73 guns, pictured above. Some of those firearms are very nice indeed, and worth much more than the $60 that police were paying people for them. Third from the left of the middle row of long guns appears to be an M1 carbine and sling. Two over on the left is a classic .22 target rifle, two over to the right a classic hunting tool, a pump action .22 rifle, probably a Winchester 1906.  In the center of that row are two Stevens Crackshot .22 rifles,...

Colorado is working hard to reform its antiquated knife bans.  In the late 1950's and early 1960's, a wave of bans on knives swept the nation. The were propelled by emotional tirades of a New York Congressman, and fueled by allegations of widespread use by gangs, in spite of a lack of data. There was no wave of knife violence. But the fake media of the day was able to sweep bans on “gravity” and “switchblade” knives through legislatures across the country.  A federal ban in the interstate shipping of automatic knives was enacted into law in 1958, and...

On Friday, March 17, 2017, Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota vetoed HB 1072, known as the Constitutional Carry bill, and HB 1156, which would have allowed a small number of South Dakota holders of Enhanced Concealed Carry permits to carry inside of the state Capitol. His veto letters reproduced below, sans headers and signature block. From sd.gov: I herewith return to you House Bill 1072 with my VETO.  House Bill 1072 is an Act to repeal and revise certain provisions relating to permits to carry a concealed pistol. The proponents of House Bill 1072 did not testify about...

Michael Bloomberg has continued to pump money into state politics to find ways to infringe on the Second Amendment. His latest attempt was stopped in New Mexico on Monday, 13 March, 2017.  A key vote against the measure came form Representative Eliseo Alcon (D) Milan. From nmpolitics.com: A legislative committee on Monday effectively killed a bill to expand background checks for gun purchases — an issue that drew large crowds to the Capitol as well as big campaign contributions and intense lobbying and advertising. The House Judiciary Committee voted 7-6 to table House Bill 548 after a lengthy hearing....

At the Ranch in Arizona, I keep water trickling for a water hole. It is the only reliable water for about three miles in any direction.  I have a game camera there, and sometimes obtain interesting photographs, like the bobcat and coyote interaction above from a couple of months ago.  The water hole is about 15 yards from the backstop of the pistol range.  Some of the water pipe was exposed over the last few years. My bother and I were at the range, shooting 170 grain cast lead .40 caliber projectiles at a half silhouette steel target.   After...

In this interesting video of an attempted robbery, the clerk's situational awareness allows him to respond quickly. The shooting occurred on March 10, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. The clerk is suspicious of the customer coming in the door with his hand hidden. The clerk draws his semi-auto from his right side back pocket.  The lack of a holster is a good clue to a lack of training. Store personnel armed themselves after three armed robberies in a year. Link to video: In the video, I was only able to detect two shots.  One can be heard as the suspect...

U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice In a recent article in Military.com, senior federal judge Walter H. Rice was quoted. The judge has been with the District Court since 1980.  His opinion about federal jurisdiction over legal carry on federal facilities is correct as to the state of current law, as far as I have determined. At the moment, federal officials can bar the carry of private arms at their facilities with proper signage. But it was the statement of the judge's personal opinion about the Second Amendment that was interesting. Judge Price said he supported the Second...

After nearly four years in the courts, Wisconsin Carry, Inc. won a historic victory for the right to bear arms in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Carry had sued the City of Madison, because the City had refused to remove a rule that had been instituted in 2005 by the City Transit and Parking Commission. The rule forbid the transportation of any weapons on city buses. The case started in 2013. Wisconsin has a strong state constitutional protection for the bearing of arms. Wisconsin Carry did not invoke that protection directly, nor did they cite the Second Amendment.  Wisconsin had passed a...

Image courtesy Abington Police In Pennsylvania, Abington police destroyed 185 guns they had been collecting since 1998. From abingtonpd.org: In January, 2017 Abington Police disposed of 185 guns that had accumulated in secure evidence storage since 1998. The guns were ones that had been surrendered to APD for disposal or that otherwise could not be returned to a qualified owner. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office obtained a court order for APD authorizing the disposal of these guns and on January 26, 2017 these guns were disposed of under the watchful eyes of Abington Police Evidence Custodians. The guns were...

Senator Nelson from Florida has filed a restrictive bill that would stifle innovation and experimentation, without significantly impacting terrorists or criminals. Interestingly, a complete exemption would be included for the U.S. government and agencies. The bill is titled the “Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act of 2017“. Nelson mis-characterizes the state of the art with this falsehood: “Thanks to advances in technology, anyone with a 3-D printer can simply print a fully-functioning firearm that can be snuck through a metal detector without being noticed,” Nelson said. “These guns pose a real threat to our safety and we need to be doing...