Free Republic

Washington, D.C., will drop its appeal of a federal court ruling that overturned the city’s ban on carrying handguns in public, Attorney General Karl Racine announced Wednesday. City attorneys will instead focus on defending concealed-carry laws adopted by legislators in the months after U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. declared the ban was unconstitutional. “We need to focus our energies not on litigating old laws, but defending new ones that our leaders enacted in good faith to comply with court rulings while still protecting public safety,” Mr. Racine said. Up until Judge Scullin’s ruling in July, D.C. residents...

On Friday, Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that made Wisconsin the 49th state to allow law-abiding citizens to carry firearms. Walker had tried to get the bill passed for years while a state legislator, but his Democratic predecessor, Jim Doyle, and Democrats in the legislature had stymied those efforts. This time the bill passed with bipartisan support and allows Wisconsin residents to get permits on a must-issue basis — meaning that the state cannot deny a permit application without justifiable cause, such as a felony record: In one stroke, the legislation takes Wisconsin from being one of the final...

Gun enthusiasts said it would deter crime. Gun-control advocates said the measure would increase it, spawning needless deaths. But Minnesota's permit-to-carry handgun law appears to have done neither, according to an analysis of state crime statistics. Instead, it has accomplished something else entirely in the five years since it was enacted: It's kept clerks at sheriffs' offices hopping busy with paperwork. In anticipation of the five-year renewal deadline, the Dakota County sheriff's office added a second clerk to handle permit applications and background checks for residents who wish to carry their guns in public. But the rush hasn't been as...

This week’s school shooting in Cleveland has again raised the illogical cry to take guns away from legal owners because a disturbed youth wielding illegal guns has done something crazy. One of the stupidest aspects of liberal philosophy (and one of Mayor Giuliani’s main handicaps) is the belief that our Founding Fathers made a mistake in enshrining in our Constitution the right of individuals to bear arms.

Madison - Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a concealed weapons bill Tuesday shot the emotional issue back to four Senate Democrats, who will decide whether the Senate takes the first step toward overriding the governor. Concealed Weapons Bill Photo/Elizabeth Flores With law-enforcement officers behind him, Gov. Jim Doyle announces in Dane County on Tuesday that he has vetoed concealed-carry legislation. What's Next The State Senate will vote, probably in December, on whether to override the concealed-carry veto. A two-thirds vote of the 33 senators is required to do so. The original Senate vote to pass the bill was 24-8. If...