Free Republic

(CN) - Concerns that a limitation on concealed-carry permits in Orange County, Calif., amounts to an all-out ban did not seem to resonate with the 9th Circuit. A three-judge panel with the federal appeals court met this week to consider a 2012 lawsuit challenging Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchen's policy of "denying law-abiding, competent adults ... state-required licenses to carry handguns in public for the purpose of self-defense." The policy requires gun owners to prove to the sheriff that they have a valid reason to carry their gun for self defense.

The criminal homicide rate for the general population has been added to more accurately compare to the murder plus manslaughter rate for those with a Minnesota carry permit. 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...

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....

Open carry activists in Orion Township, Mich., had the police called on them during their “For Liberty Friday” protest last week. However, they were pleasantly surprised when they were confronted by a sheriff’s deputy who completely supported their demonstration because it is protected under the Second Amendment. “We saw the a [sic] OC Sheriff car pull up so we all took out our camera-phones right away, anticipating trouble,” the video’s description reads. “This officer gets out of his car, waves to us, and walks right over. He shakes all of our hands, introduces himself, and states his purpose for walking...

Embracing advice from responding police following a home break-in where she hid from intruders, former Michigan State House representative and failed Detroit mayoral candidate Lisa Howze may decide to carry a gun, The Detroit News reported last Wednesday. “The officer told me it’s time to get my CPL license,” Howze told the press. “I had resisted for a long time, saying, no, I’m not getting a gun, I’m not getting a gun. Now I’m not resisting.” Why a concealed carry permit would be useful in a home robbery was left unsaid, so the assumption must be that she intends to...

So states State v. Christian (Ore. Aug. 15, 2013): [W]e conclude in the first instance that the ordinance [limited carrying] does, to some extent, burden protected conduct falling within the scope of the Second Amendment’s guarantee. [Footnote: ... Although Heller did not define the scope of the right to self-defense outside the home, we read the opinion as recognizing a right to self-defense outside the home to a degree yet to be determined by the Court....] But the court concluded that the ordinance at issue doesn’t restrict the right too much, partly because Oregon is a shall-issue state and people...

ST. PAUL, Minn.—A task force studying security at Minnesota's Capitol is starting a review of regulations for having firearms in the building. The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security has two hearings planned on the topic, the first coming Wednesday. Next week, the panel expects to take public testimony. People with proper permits and notice can have a gun with them in the Capitol and nearby buildings. Hundreds of people have declared their intention to do so since Minnesota last updated its handgun permit law. During last session's hearings on eventually unsuccessful gun legislation, some people showed up with their firearms...

Gov. Pat Quinn is off target in his bid to rewrite a bill that would allow Illinoisans to carry concealed firearms. Last week, and with only a week before a federal court deadline requiring the state to approve a concealed carry law, Quinn issued an amendatory veto of House Bill 183, the legislation passed in May by the Illinois General Assembly in an attempt to meet the court's mandate. Even though the bill was approved by wide margins in both the Illinois House and Senate, Quinn's amendatory veto sends the measure back to legislators with significant changes that the governor...

INGALLS — The Ingalls USD 477 school board agreed it was a good idea for top administrators to bring handguns to school. Then, the district learned it would lose its liability insurance coverage through EMC Insurance Co. if it authorized guns in school. "At this point, we are dropping the idea of this," Ingalls USD 477 Superintendent Dave Novack said Wednesday of handguns at school.

You can tell the conservatives liberals fear most because they start being automatically referred to as "discredited." Ask Sen. Ted Cruz. But no one is called "discredited" by liberals more often than the inestimable economist John Lott, author of the groundbreaking book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. Lott's economic analysis of the effect of concealed-carry laws on violent crime is the most thoroughly vetted study in the history of economics, perhaps in the history of the world. Some nut Dutch professor produces dozens of gag studies purportedly finding that thinking about red meat makes people...

On Thursday, 34 year old Vietnamese man named Kiet Than Ly entered a Smith’s store in Salt Lake City, Utah. He purchased a knife and started to leave the store. As he reached the parking lot, he pulled out the knife and began stabbing other customers and shouting: “You killed my people! You killed my people!” One person was stabbed in the stomach and another was stabbed in the head and arms as they tried to defend themselves. As Ly looked for a third victim, a 47 year old man with a conceal carry permit saw what was happening. He...

People would be able to carry concealed weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol under legislation approved by the Louisiana House on Thursday. The House voted 62-24 for the measure, sponsored by state Rep. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, amid protests that gun rights proponents are going too far. State Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, a former State Police commander, said legislators should stop allowing outside forces from “using Louisiana as a testing ground,” an apparent reference to the National Rifle Association. He said the state is becoming “a laughingstock.” Landry said the state has a high national rating when it comes to...

Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take a case challenging New York state's extremely restrictive "may issue" system for designating whose lives are worthy of armed defense. From Fox News: The justices on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a strict New York law that makes it difficult for residents to get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. The court did not comment in turning away an appeal from five state residents and the Second Amendment Foundation. Their lawsuit also drew support from the National Rifle Association and 20 states. Despite that lack of comment...

Friday afternoon Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed 11 bills into law, including SB 21 which amends several firearms-related statutes including authorizing official recognition of any valid concealed carry permit from another state for individuals traveling through or visiting Kansas. Thanks to Gov Brownback, Kansas now has the best Concealed Carry reciprocity in the nation!

Welcome to the Friend or Foe web site. This site serves the gun owner community by listing the experiences people have while out and about carrying a firearm for self protection.

Union members in Chicago are now intent on carrying guns aboard their buses if members of the civilian public are allowed to do so. And naturally, they want more taxpayer money for their trouble. The NRA has insisted on concealed-carry laws that would allow the general public to carry guns on public transit; now Amalgamated Transit Union Division 308 President Robert Kelly says such a policy is “outrageous and cannot be allowed.” Chicago Transit Authority President Forrest Claypool agrees, “It would be disastrous to allow passengers to carry concealed weapons on our trains and buses.” But sensing an opportunity to...

Carry your 16" AR discreetly with this takedown kit, which lets you store your rifle in a standard briefcase. It doesn't get much cooler than this! Check out this link to get your own:

The controlled study documented in these videos show that concealed carry permit holders are fooling themselves if they think they will be able to react effectively to armed aggressors. Most CCW holders won't even be able to un-holster their gun. They will more likely be killed themselves or kill innocent bystanders than stop the aggressor. For more details, see "Unintended Consequences: Pro-Handgun Experts Prove That Handguns Are a Dangerous Choice for Self-Defense." http://www.vpc.org/studies/unincont.htm. CCW permit holders don't protect innocent people. They kill them.

OK. What are your real solutions to make schools' "Gun Free" zones safer? The current policies are as useful as the TSA - they only give the illusion of safety while actually accomplishing nothing. I think there are a few different changes that can be made both to the schools and the policies in place. I've tried to limit it to things which aren't really that noticeable to the students. My idea was to make them safer without making things look all that different. First of all the doors should lock when closing and people should need to be buzzed...

(NaturalNews) In the midst of all the anti-gun hysteria following the senseless murder of 26 people - 20 of them first graders - at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., one story that is repeatedly overlooked is how often a firearm has been used to save lives and stop senseless murders. We here at Natural News believe the mainstream media, which so often overlooks these kinds of stories because they don't fit into the statist government worldview held by the majority of news editors, has done a disservice to the public by ignoring these acts of selflessness and heroism....

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A bill prefiled in the South Carolina Senate would allow adults who can legally buy guns to carry them without having concealed weapons permits. "The Second Amendment says that our rights to have firearms cannot be infringed upon and that's what the federal government is doing right now," says Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, the sponsor of the bill. He and Sen. Kevin Bryant co-sponsored the same bill last year, but it never made it out of committee. To get a concealed weapons permit, you have to complete a training class of at least eight hours. It has...

WAUSAU - The state's concealed carry gun law is in the spotlight again after a fight stemming from a road rage incident in Wausau ended when one person involved pulled a gun. That 48-year-old Appleton man has a concealed carry permit. As we've reported, police arrested 30-year-old Nicholas Flanagan and 26-year-old Jessica Ratliff. Investigators say the Menominee, Michigan couple attacked Scott Van Patter after their vehicles collided. Wausau police provided FOX 11 with dash cam video showing officers arriving on the scene of a fight at a Menards parking lot Tuesday. Police say Van Patter was physically assaulted by Flanagan...

Open carry arrives with a whimper in OklahomaOpen carry advocates celebrated loosened gun restrictions with a quiet demonstration at an Oklahoma City diner, and police reported nothing out of the ordinary a day after open carry arrives. By Zeke Campfield | Published: November 1, 2012 Open carry arrived in Oklahoma without a hitch. Spokesmen with police departments in Oklahoma City, Norman and Edmond said their dispatchers did not receive a single call from citizens concerned about firearms on Thursday, the first day for the law allowing people with a state-issued permit to openly carry certain handguns in public. “It feels...

The quote (from a dissent in yesterday’s Dickens v. Ryan (9th Cir. Aug. 3, 2012)) comes up in an unusual context: The case was about whether Dickens could be sentenced to death for a felony-murder in which the killer was Dickens’ confederate in an armed robbery, and the specific issue was whether Dickens knew that the robbery created a grave risk of death; part of the evidence for this knowledge was that Dickens knew that the killer had a history of carrying guns. Moreover, the carrying itself was unusual, since the killer was a 14-year-old, who had run away from...

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- Since 2010, when Chicago’s aldermen responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago by rushing to impose the harshest possible restrictions on residents’ Second Amendment rights, the city’s new laws have been under legal attack. On June 19, Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois became the latest judge to undermine the city’s anti-gun ordinance, in the NRA-supported case of Gowder v. City of Chicago. In 1995, Shawn Gowder, a Vietnam veteran living in a high crime area, was convicted as a first-time offender for...

This video reveals an astonishingly easy way to stop massacres in mere seconds. It requires: * No police or 911. * No taxpayer expense. * Can be deployed anywhere. * Begins working in as little as five seconds. * Protects innocent lives Spread the word: Concealed carry SAVES LIVES.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — An elderly patron at a strip mall casino in Marion County shot two men who attempted to rob the place, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. According to investigators, two men burst into the Palms Internet Cafe on State Road 200 in Ocala on Friday afternoon. A sheriff's report said that one of the men was carrying a baseball bat, the other had a gun.

Concealed carry applicants in Wisconsin would need instruction in the use of deadly force and how to avoid violent situations under new rules the state Justice Department has proposed. DOJ has been operating under temporary rules governing how the agency issues permits since the concealed carry law went into effect. Those rules require training but don't lay out any specifics. The new rules not only require instruction on deadly force and de-escalation but mandate training on firearm safety rules and how to safely use, handle, transport and store firearms and ammunition. Training class sizes would be restricted to 50 students.

CHICAGO, July 10, 2012 — That is how Larry Oakes, a reporter for the Star-Tribune, describes Minnesotan Pat Cannon. Cannon is one of over 100,000 persons in Minnesota who has a concealed carry weapon permit. Oakes describes this as “acquired the power to kill.” Another lovely literary chestnut in describing Cannon and others who choose to carry is, “people who have taken on the means to use deadly force if they decide it's necessary.” Who decides whether deadly, or any other force is necessary? A more accurate statement would be, “if they decide it is justified.” There is a distinct...

Earlier this month, an attempt by the Obama Administration to slash funds for the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO) was rejected by the House of Representatives, which passed legislation to ensure that the program, which permits qualified and trained airline pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit of commercial flights, remains alive and well. “Pilots are the first line of defense against terrorist attacks in the sky, and the most cost-effective layer of security that we have in a system that’s prone to security breaches,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL), in a press release....

Milford, NH --(Ammoland.com)- The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Constitutional Carry (HB 536) on this Wednesday, April 25th! I wish this meant the Senate intended to pass the bill. Unfortunately, my sources are telling me the Senate is already planning to kill this bill without a recorded vote. You read that right. Despite the fact that a majority of the Senate has pledged to support Constitutional Carry — Republican Senator Peter Bragdon is still leading the fight to make sure this bill doesn’t pass. What’s worse, in a sickening display of politics at its worst, anti-gun Senators...

Referencing today’s post on Glenn Beck and Constitutional Carry, I bumped into the founder of the Second Amendment Foundation at the NRA convention. I asked Alan Gottlieb if he could foresee a day when the entire country enjoyed permitless concealed carry (a la Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming and Vermont). “It’ll never happen,” the gun rights champion stated flatly. “New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii—it would have to get through the legislature, and that just isn’t in the cards.” Never? “Not in my lifetime.” Given Mr. Gottleib’s considerable contribution to our collective gun rights, let’s hope that’s a very long time. Let’s...

Guns.com is busy soaking in the sights, sounds (and smells?) of St. Louis at the 2012 NRA convention but our trip to Missouri has also given us a chance to mingle with gun owners, writers and lobbyists from across the country and swap notes. For example, the word on the street here in Saint Louie is that if a new proposal gets wings, NRA members will be permitted to carry their guns home with them, openly or concealed—on public transportation. Currently, Missouri state lawmakers are mired in legislation that works to block all cities (though this is clearly aimed St....

As expected, the Maryland Attorney General’s office has filed a timely notice of appeal in the case of Woollard v Sheridan which struck down Maryland’s requirement that an applicant for a handgun [carry] permit demonstrate a subjective “good and substantial reason.”

If you want to get these alerts directly, click here. A letter has been prepared and is waiting for you to send at AzCDL's Legislative Action Center. Current law allows the operator of any state or local government property, choosing to ban firearms, to simply slap up a “no firearms” sign while doing nothing to ensure the safety of those entering the property. HB 2729 would require them to also control access to the property using law enforcement officers, or armed guards and metal detectors, and would allow the operator of the property to be sued if they don’t comply...

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Pike County voters sent a message Tuesday in favor of gun rights. A question on Tuesday's primary ballot asked whether the county should adopt a constitutional carry of arms ordinance — and the answer was resoundingly yes by a vote of 3,214 to 550. Pittsfield chiropractor Dan Mefford spearheaded the ballot issue which he said had wide support from Democrats, Republicans and independent voters. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a poke in the eye for the thieves of liberty," Mefford said. "It's a thing whose time had come." Winning voter approval was key in sending what...

Dr. Suzanna Hupp was the special guest speaker at IGOLD in Springfield March 7. IGOLD is Illinois GunOwners’ Lobby Day. The purpose of IGOLD is to get Illinois in line with the other 49 states and allow its citizens the right to carry firearms for self-protection. The Illinois State Rifle Association is the primary sponsor of the event, but other organizations also participate. Each year since its inception, the attendance has grown. This year was no different. People from all over the state come to lobby their state legislators to persuade the last holdout, Illinois, to grant its citizens rights...

South Dakota HB 1248 is on Gov. Daugaard’s desk awaiting his signature. He has until March 19 to either sign or veto it. Gun Owners of America (GOA) strongly support this bill. I have been in touch with one of the co-sponsors of HB 1015, which was killed in committee. Rep. Betty Olson, SD District 28B told me that she took the original bill and added the requirement that residents must be 18 and hold a SD drivers license to carry a firearm without a state issued permit, because it was the only way to get the Bill out of...

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Self-defense is a fundamental right. The U.S. constitution, the constitutions of 44 states, common law, and the laws of all states recognize the right to use arms in self-defense. RTC laws respect the right to self-defense by allowing individuals to carry firearms for protection. The Supreme Court, striking down the District of Columbia’s handgun ban in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), ruled that “the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right,” and that the amendment protects “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. This meaning is...

Yesterday, the Arizona state Senate Judiciary Committee passed two important gun bills: House Bill 2729, by a 6 to 2 vote, and House Bill 2457 which passed unanimously. Both of these bills have already passed in the state House and are now eligible for a full Senate vote. HB 2729, sponsored by state Representative David Gowan (R-30), would amend various sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes to remove the current prohibition on entering a public establishment or attending any public event while carrying a weapon on one’s person and instead provide for regulation of firearms and ammunition on public property...

DOES THE Second Amendment protect an individual right to carry a gun outside the home? Last week, a federal judge in Maryland concluded that it does and in the process struck down a Maryland licensing provision for carrying concealed weapons in public. Judge Benson Everett Legg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Maryland issued a thoughtful and measured decision but one that should be reviewed by the federal appeals court.

A proposed bill that would allow law-abiding Colorado gun owners to carry a concealed firearm without a concealed carry permit would be dangerous and would shoot down important gun training, two local firearms instructors said Sunday. Leonard Jimenez, president of the Pueblo Municipal Shooters, and Patrick Watts, a retired Arizona sheriff's deputy and firearms instructor, said education is the only safe way for people to understand concealed weapons laws. Watts held a four-hour seminar on the subject at the shooter's club Sunday. The state's current law prohibits carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a weapon on school, college or university...

PIERRE — State senators gave final legislative approval today to a major change in South Dakota’s concealed weapon laws: Adults wouldn’t need to apply for a permit anymore. The measure instead would require only that a person be at least age 18, have a South Dakota driver license and otherwise be eligible under existing state law. The Senate voted 22-11 to send the legislation to Gov. Dennis Daugaard for his decision whether to sign it into law. Rep. Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, was prime sponsor of the measure, House Bill 1248. It initially won approval from the House of Representatives...

A measure to let South Dakotans carry concealed weapons without a permit passed out of committee Friday morning. House Bill 1248 would require only a valid South Dakota driver’s license for an adult to carry a concealed weapon, as long as they were able to pass the background check currently required to receive a concealed carry permit. They would not be required to actually undergo that background check, though. People could be only be charged with a crime after the fact, if it was later found that they could not pass the background check. Now, the full Senate will vote...

Georgians would be allowed to carry concealed weapons in bars, public schools, most government buildings, college campuses and other locations under a sweeping gun bill filed in the House. In addition to banishing many current restrictions, House Bill 981 would prevent police or the National Guard from disarming people during states of emergency, and it would allow citizens to sue if that occurred. Rep. Sean Jerguson, R-Woodstock, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said Thursday that it strikes a balance between the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, and personal property rights. For instance, any church or business,...

New Hampshire could soon become one of the most pro-gun states in the country – a sanctuary where the Constitution is paramount and Americans don’t need the government’s permission to exercise their God-given rights. The bill is House Bill 536, sponsored by Representative J. R. Hoell, and it has already passed the House. The issue is “constitutional carry” – a concept which recognizes that Americans have the Second Amendment right to carry firearms without getting the government’s permission. Granite Staters would still be able to get a concealed carry license – for the purpose of thwarting the Brady Law and...

RICHMOND — The Republican-controlled General Assembly may make it legal to carry concealed weapons without a permit, even though gun owners support the current law. Virginia law requires a permit for concealed carry, but a measure proposed by State Del. Mark Cole, (R-Spotsylvania), would eliminate the permit requirement, making it legal for all gun owners to carry a concealed weapon. But two gun owners visiting Dominion Shooting Range in Chesterfield on Friday oppose changes to the law. “I think you should have to get a permit,” said registered Republican Craig Perry, 58, of Moseley. “I don’t think just anybody should...

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...

It seems that if you're a New York Times reporter on a mission to prove something you think must be obvious and your research leads to the exact opposite result from what you smugly expected, you forge ahead and try to pretend that you proved your point anyway. At least that how it seems to have worked out for Times reporter Michael Luo in a report appearing in Tuesday's print edition which tried to show readers how one state which allows residents to carry concealed weapons with a permit is allegedly allowing large numbers of dangerous people to possess them....