Free Republic

Senator Larry Martin was responsible for heading the effort to kill the legislative efforts in support of open carry in South Carolina. During this effort, he said the following. “If the 2nd amendment has been as you interpret it, why hasn’t SC law reflected that for the last 140 years? I’m sorry but you are describing an ‘unlimited’ right that has never been the case with the 2nd Amendment. My view of the 2nd Amendment has always been the right to own guns and keep them in our homes, business, and property and not to wear a gun whenever to...

Minnesota sheriffs' offices issued almost double the number of permits to carry handguns in 2013 than they had the year before, according to figures released by the state Friday. It was the largest number since the state's permit-to-carry law was enacted in 2003. As of Friday, more than 165,000 people had valid permits to carry guns in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Andrew Rothman, Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance president, estimates about 4 percent of adults eligible in Minnesota to obtain carry permits have them now. "Mostly, you'd never know it," he said. "Most carry-permit holders...

Minnesota's largest police group and police union are suing the NFL and the Vikings, claiming the league's new ban on off-duty cops carrying their guns to games is illegal. The Minnesota law that allows businesses to bar weapons specifically exempts "active licensed" peace officers, and state law trumps NFL rules, the lawsuit says. But the National Football League disagrees, saying the law doesn't apply to it. Although an NFL spokesman declined to comment on the suit, when police officials complained about the policy last fall, the league's security chief said a ticket to a game is a license that teams...

TULSA, Oklahoma - An Oklahoma legislator proposes a bill that would allow gun owners to "carry firearms without getting a license." The way Oklahoma's law works now, anyone who passes a background check can buy a firearm. But to carry a gun, openly or concealed, you must have a handgun license. To get that license there's a lengthy process, and one state senator said that goes against the constitution. "I've always been a strong proponent of the 2nd amendment," said Republican state senator Nathan Dahm. Dahm said the nation's right to bear arms is being violated. "I believe that it...

What's your favorite CCW wear and why?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minneapolis man helped stop a robbery by pulling a gun on the bad guys. Matt Dosser saw two men standing outside the University Market in northeast Minneapolis Tuesday night. One had a gun, and they had just attacked the clerk inside. “I was really scared for his life,” Dosser said. “They were trying to kill him, in my opinion.” It was his immediate reaction when he saw two men enter his store around 9:15 p.m. They wore their hoodies tight around their faces, and they began asking questions that didn’t make sense. After a couple uneasy...

The victim of an attempted robbery in St. Paul took action when one of the robbers pointed a gun at him, firing his own gun and wounding one of the robbers. One of the robbers simultaneously fired in the direction of the victim, who was not hurt, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The Ramsey County attorney's office charged one of the robbery suspects, Marcel Lee Galloway, with aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery and first-degree attempted aggravated robbery, along with second-degree assault. Galloway, 21, of St. Paul, was shot in the leg during the incident. The county attorney's...

After ranking the Best States for Gun Owners in 2013, we’re back to rank the Best Concealed Carry States. Since federal law specifically addressing the issuance of concealed carry licenses does not yet exist in the U.S., individual states are left with the task of regulating concealed carry laws within their own borders. Over the past few decades, most states in the country have gradually shifted their carry laws to become less restrictive. Despite fewer restrictions, legally carrying a concealed firearm remains vastly different from one state to another—and in some cases one town to another. The diversity of laws...

(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...