Free Republic

On Thursday, November 19, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee will consider House Bill 40. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5205 HB40, sponsored by State Representative Scott Perry (R-92), would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground to protect themselves and their family. HB40 would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is...

BREWTON -- An 81-year-old man shot and killed a masked gunman during a home invasion early this morning at a residence north of Brewton, Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said. The sheriff said the robber had been released from a Nebraska jail just two days before he was killed. Smith declined to identify the homeowner, but said the man and his wife were in bed in their home along U.S. 31 north of town about 3 a.m. when the intruder kicked in the door to the home and entered their bedroom, demanding money. Smith said the homeowner managed to retrieve...

In view of the latest info on the pharmacist shooting, I think it is important for each of us to know what our individual states say about self defense. I would recommend that FReepers from each state post a "Castle Doctrine - Yourownstate" thread so that their fellow FReepers and lurkers know what their status is. Washington state has no specific Castle Doctrine. But neither is there a "duty to retreat" statute either. Here is the RCW: RCW 9A.16.050Homicide — By other person — When justifiable. Homicide is also justifiable when committed either: (1) In the lawful defense of the...

Please Contact the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Today! State Senator Richard Alloway (R-33) has introduced critical self-defense reform legislation (Senate Bill 842) to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners in Pennsylvania. This Castle Doctrine self-defense bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB842 would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their...

Sen. Richard Alloway II, R-Waynesboro, introduced legislation Tuesday that would establish more legal protection for gun owners who act in self-defense. Alloway's legislation would establish the Castle Doctrine in Pennsylvania, which is a right-to-defend-yourself law that allows individuals to use force to protect themselves in their homes and vehicles. Pennsylvania has laws in place to protect individuals who use force in self-defense, but Alloway said he is concerned about Pennsylvania's "duty to retreat" clause, which requires individuals to avoid using force if they can safely retreat or surrender their possessions to an attacker. "The current law requires the duty to...

Oklahoma lawmakers are close to approving a bill that allows pregnant women to use deadly force to protect their unborn children. State lawmakers passed the Use of Force for the Protection of the Unborn Act this week and if the Senate approves it in a final vote, as expected, it will be sent to the governor's desk. The bill was crafted after a Michigan woman who was carrying quadruplets stabbed and killed her boyfriend after he struck her in the stomach. The woman lost the babies and was convicted of manslaughter.

SENATE, No. 2641 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 213th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 26, 2009 Sponsored by: Senator KEVIN J. O'TOOLE District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic) STATEMENT This bill, the "New Jersey Right to Home Defense Law," authorizes a person to use force, including deadly force, in those instances where the person reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm from an intruder or attacker in his home or residence. The bill sets forth the circumstances under which a person is presumed to have a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm. Those circumstance include...

Seriously, do the kindly folks at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's editorial board even know what the definition of the word logic is? In theirs headlined, "Hysteria fuels sales of guns and ammo," the Sun-Sentinel takes Floridians to task for being so stupid as to be afraid of Obama's gun banning plans, claiming that Obama "didn't do it." But, even after telling readers no one wants to ban guns, the piece ends with the Sun-Sentinel editorial board advocating for the banning of guns! So the message is, no one wants a gun ban but we should ban guns? This is the...

HOUSE BILL No. 6394 September 3, 2008, Introduced by Reps. Elsenheimer and Walker and referred to the Committee on Intergovernmental, Urban and Regional Affairs. A bill to amend 2006 PA 110, entitled "Michigan zoning enabling act," (MCL 125.3101 to 125.3702) by adding section 409.

"Dale Henderson, a prominent Maine landowner who owns two pieces of land that the new trail runs through, is challenging the state over ownership of parts of the new Sunrise Trail. About 50 miles of the project recently was opened to hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. But Henderson isn’t waiting for the courts to decide his fate. He already has taken matters into his own hands. The landowner recently erected barricades to stop users from traversing his property. In the town of Hancock, Henderson put up a berm on the tracks at one end and a stone...

Arizona rancher Roger Barnett initially faced the possibility of paying $32 million to compensate several illegal immigrants he stopped at gunpoint on his land. He walked away instead with a verdict that rejected any notion he violated the trespassers' civil rights and affirmed that U.S. citizens can still detain aliens crossing the border. What remains to be seen, though, is what impact the $77,800 in damages that a jury Tuesday ordered Mr. Barnett to pay will have on America's larger immigration debate and the efforts of some illegals to get compensation from a country they aren't even allowed to enter....

It is inaccurate to call these “homemade” guns. They are really craftsmen or artisan or even jobshop guns. Do they have the fit and finish or capacity of even the crudest Western jobshop gun? Probably not. Do they do the job required of them? Apparently so.

A community organization breaks into a foreclosed home in what they are calling an act of civil disobedience. The group wants to train homeowners facing eviction on peaceful ways they can remain in their homes. Derek Valcourt reports their actions are not without controversy. Near Patterson Park, the padlock on the door and the sign in the window tell part of Donna Hanks foreclosure story. "The mortgage went up $300 in one month," said Hanks, former homeowner. She says the bank refused to modify her loan and foreclosed, kicking her out of the house in September. The community group ACORN...

The financial meltdown has produced a vast patchwork of foreclosed and abandoned single-family homes across America, accelerating the decades-long migration of our nation's poor from cities to the suburban fringe. In 2005, as rising property values reduced affordable-housing stock in inner-city neighborhoods, suburban poverty, in raw numbers, topped urban poverty for the first time. The trend will continue. By 2025, predicts planning expert Arthur C. Nelson, America will face a market surplus of 22 million large-lot homes (a sixth of an acre or more), attracting millions of low-income residents deeper into suburbia where decay and social and geographic isolation will...

Police said a Johnstown man fired three shots after he found a burglar inside his Hornerstown home. One of those bullets almost hit a police officer. Just before 2 a.m. Monday, police said Earl Carnahan called to report a burglary at his home on Horner Street. A Johnstown police officer was nearby and saw the burglar running out of the house. The officer said he chased the Willie Gates down a nearby alley.

A masked gunman died early this morning after he exchanged fire with a resident inside a Wellington home, authorities said. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Pete Palenzuela said Heath Miller, a school teacher, killed the intruder, who police have not yet identified.

Prosecutors have cleared a Colorado Springs man in the Dec. 28 fatal shooting of a local golf pro who was drunkenly trying to break into the man's home, apparently believing he was entering his own apartment.

HELENA Two bills put before lawmakers Thursday would put on the books a widely recognized right to use a gun on home intruders posing a serious threat, but one Republican says the Legislature needs to go farther in protecting Montanans’ Second Amendment rights. Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman, and Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings, presented their bills in Senate and House hearings Thursday morning with the backing of law-enforcement officials and prosecutors from across the state. The identical bills would enshrine the so-called “Castle Doctrine,” a common-law concept that holds a person can use deadly force in their own home if...

Friday, January 16, 2009 No one, including the Brady Campaign, seriously believes that Barack Obama was elected president because of his support for gun control. But Brady is pretending that it provided Obama the margin of victory in November, and has provided him with a very long list of gun bans and other restrictions that it expects from him in return. If for no other reason, Obama might want to tell Brady "no," because if he were to do their bidding, they would be sure to demand that he do even more. That's demonstrated by Brady's statement that their current...

NEW PORT RICHEY - Max Horn fired six shots into Joseph Martell, killing the 34-year-old in the crowded streets of last year's Chasco Fiesta. That grave but simple fact could soon become a test of the state's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves under certain conditions. Horn's attorneys, Peter Brick and Keith Hammond, contend their client shot Martell in self-defense and therefore should be immune from a second-degree murder prosecution. The attorneys spent nearly five hours Thursday arguing the motion for immunity in front of Circuit Judge Michael Andrews. "The testimony...

One week into the new year, San Antonio residents and police have already used deadly force to protect themselves or their homes in three incidents, resulting in two people dead and two injured. The shootings follow a year in which residents and police killed more than twice as many people as the previous year in what officials have deemed justified homicides, in which the shooter acted within the law. A fatal shooting of two suspected home invaders Tuesday night marked the latest example of a resident using deadly force to fend off intruders, authorities said. “It appears to be a...

My friend just called. She live on Amosland Road in Ridley Twp. Pennsylvania. It is a main road and across from a school which is a polling place. Her's is a neighborhood with a lot of senior citizens and a majority republican area. There were several McCain/Palin on people's lawns. When she woke up this morning, for a large 3 block area - they were slashed with box cutters. Her elderly next door neighbor was frightened. She said that someone kicked on her back door at 6AM this morning and yelled "Obama". It has been reported to the police and...

The democratic left is against the right of individuals to defend their lives and property. They oppose Americans being armed to defend themselves in their communities, they don't like people fighting especially if the victim stands up for himself, they don't even want Americans to have a military. This is mainly because the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is in opposition to the leftist ideals of collectivism and group think. Property and life are especially immoral to the left. Growing up in school I was told that I had to get a teacher if I was...

I need to know about my right to defend myself as it is applicable in Minnesota. I have a person making threats against me and my family, he assaulted me (unsuccessfully I might add), and threw a 6' tall Shepard's hook into our picture window trying to taunt me to come out and fight (I called 911, got him arrested, but he got out in less than 6 hours and is back in my neighborhood). Will an OFP provide me anymore levity should I need to protect myself of my family with deadly force? When can I use deadly force...

More than fourty civil rights activists openly carried guns in down town Hastings today to demonstrate their right to bear arms. Michigan is one of 44 states where citizens have maintained their right to carry guns openly. Six states have repressed the right during the long years of suppression of the 2nd amendment by the MSM and "Progressive" judges. Even the Brady Bunch acknowledges that carring arms openly is a right. A spokesman for the Brady campaign, Peter Hamm, said that they have the right to carry openly, but called the freedom fighters "childish". The movement to openly display the...

The 78-year-old grandmother of an Olympic sprinter has shown that athleticism runs in the family, after she chased and caught a mugger who stole her purse.

The Supreme Court ruling on gun laws last Thursday created media frenzy. Editorials, columnists, anchors and pundits predicted it would result in an American Armageddon. According to the major media outlets in the nation, innocent lives will be lost, the Supreme Court justices have joined forces with city criminals and life as we’ve known it is over. Who knew upholding the Constitution would have such disastrous effects?

  Jack Straw ... law will back heroes            New law to back 'have-a-go-heroes'     By CLODAGH HARTLEY Home Affairs Correspondent Published: 12 Jul 2008     NEW legislation will protect “have-a-go heroes” who intervene in crimes or use force to defend themselves, Justice Secretary Jack Straw vowed last night. From Monday a person’s actions will be judged on the situation “as they saw it at the time” — even if in hindsight the force could be classed as unreasonable, according to insiders. Mr Straw told The Sun: “We’re not going to have a...

TAMPA - TAMPA - Robert Cash Jr. said he felt like somebody was targeting his Palma Ceia home. About two weeks ago, he found a claw hammer covered with a rag in a backyard flower bed. Last week, he saw the gate to his wooden privacy fence in the 4100 block of West San Luis Street had been opened. He secured it with a new lock. "It was obvious something was about to happen," recalled Cash, 40. "You don't know what to think." About 2:50 a.m. Saturday, everything gelled. Tampa police said Cash surprised a man who had tunneled under...

Just hours before a San Antonio homeowner shot and critically wounded a 21-year-old man who police said walked into his home, a Harris County grand jury cleared a Pasadena grandfather in the shooting deaths of two men suspected in a burglary of his neighbor's house last fall. The grand jury's action in the case of Joe Horn, 62, and the shooting by San Antonio homeowner Brian K. Stevens, 30, on Monday came one week after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed an individual's right to own a gun, striking down a longtime ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., that may lead...

'Castle Doctrine' Gives Texans Unprecedented Authority to Take Action Against Intruders A Texas man who shot and killed two men he believed to be burglarizing his neighbor's home won't be going to trial. A grand jury today failed to indict Joe Horn, a 61-year-old computer technician who lives in an affluent subdivision in Pasadena, Texas.In the Lone Star state, where the six-gun tamed the frontier, shooting bad guys is a time-honored tradition, and Horn's case centered on a Texas state law based on the old idea that "a man's home is his castle." The "castle law" gives Texans unprecedented legal...

Governor signs bill protecting those who shoot intruders in self-defense Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:53 PM By Mark Niquette THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Over the objections of law enforcement groups, Gov. Ted Strickland today signed into law a bill that relaxes certain gun restrictions and establishes a new “castle doctrine” for shooting an intruder in self-defense. The legislation, Senate Bill 184, takes effect in 90 days. It was backed by the National Rifle Association to establish a presumption that a person acted in self-defense when shooting someone who unlawfully enters his or her home or occupied vehicle. Supporters say it will...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Self defense or an excuse for murder? It's the question state lawmakers have debated for months when it comes to an intruder storming your home. The House approved several Senate amendments on Wednesday and the Castle Doctrine may now become law. Senate Bill 184, the conceal carry Castle Doctrine, has a wide range of support in the statehouse, including backing from Ohio's top leader, NBC 4's Matt Alvarez reported. "The bill as I understand it, in its current form, is something I will support," said Gov. Ted Strickland. If made law, the bill will clear up current...

jhouston@ledger-enquirer.com It's 3 a.m. and you hear a noise downstairs, but the dog's at the vet's clinic and you're supposed to be alone in your home. Your sidearm in hand, you make your way downstairs and see two furtive figures sacking up your family's valuables. When you yell, "Halt!" one of the figures runs toward you and you fire. The figure falls to the floor -- dead of a single gunshot wound -- and the other flees. So what happens when the police arrive? Are you in trouble with the law, or is the law on your side? In Georgia...

GRAND RAPIDS -- Before he could hit a man with a 4-pound hard plastic garbage can lid during an argument outside a Boston Square gas station last month, Gabriel Rodriguez was shot and killed, a homicide Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth ruled today was justifiable. Forsyth said he will not file charges against Glenn Tett for the Feb. 18 shooting that left Rodriguez dead, citing an imminent threat and videotape evidence that shows Rodriguez, 48, as the aggressor in the altercation. Tett, the 41-year-old brother of a Grand Rapids police officer, shot Rodriguez once in the head with a legally...

For many Texas legislators, last year's castle law seemed like a no-brainer. Anyone breaking into your home, car or business poses a grave threat; you should have the right to shoot first – and ask questions later. The new law has yet to see its day in court, but that day is coming. Homicide cases that pivot upon it could emerge by the middle of this year. Meanwhile, some prosecutors worry the law will cause more confusion than clarity in the courtroom.

A dispute over the proper valuation of 10 acres of property in Eisenhower Valley has two of the city’s oldest families and the Sanitation Authority pitted against each other, with the sellers asking for $40 million and the city holding out for $10 million less. The Hoof-Fagelson Tract, formerly a go-kart track that now serves as a maintenance parking lot for Thrifty Rent-A-Car, is landlocked on one side by Carlyle development, and on the other side by I-495. While the tract sits next to Alexandria’s Waste Treatment facility, it also adjoins a proposed $150 million office and retail development at...

CHEYENNE -- Declaring that Wyoming residents have a right to defend their homes, Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed a bill Thursday that spells out in statute that citizens may use deadly force on intruders. Freudenthal said he supported a last-minute change to House Bill 137 that narrowed the scope of the bill to only cover intrusions inside the home. "I was troubled as it came out of the House because it went outside the castle," said Freudenthal, referring to the bill's common title, the "castle doctrine," which is said to have originated from a concept in English common law that a...

If David Paterson as governor displays the opposition to eminent domain that he showed as a state senator, several high-profile development projects in New York City could be derailed or delayed, including a Columbia University expansion, the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, and the transformation of Willets Point in Queens. As a state Senate leader, Mr. Paterson in 2005 held a rally with Council Member Letitia James and state Senator William Perkins on the steps of City Hall during which he called for a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain. Mr. Paterson said a decision handed down by...

Preparing to hear oral arguments Tuesday on the extent of gun rights guaranteed by the Constitution's Second Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has before it a brief signed by Vice President Cheney opposing the Bush administration's stance. Even more remarkably, Cheney is faithfully reflecting the views of President George W. Bush. The government position filed with the Supreme Court by U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement stunned gun advocates by opposing the breadth of an appellate court affirmation of individual ownership rights. The Justice Department, not the vice president, is out of order. But if Bush agrees with Cheney, why did...

CHEYENNE -- Gov. Dave Freudenthal on Friday signed into law a bill that prohibits government officials from confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens. Sponsor Allen Jaggi, R-Lyman, has said House Bill 57 was prompted by the confiscation of guns by police in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Freudenthal said afterward that he was pleased to sign the bill, although he didn't think it addressed any real problem. But Freudenthal, an avid hunter who was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in his re-election campaign in 2006, said he can understand why supporters want the bill enacted here. "It's not understandable on...

CHARLESTON — Quicker than a marksman could fire and reload, the House of Delegates agreed Thursday that a man’s home is his castle and it’s all right to gun down any intruder skulking about, in or out of the premises. “Your home is your castle,” Sen. Shirley Love, D-Fayette exulted upon learning the House Judiciary Committee sent his 2-year-old bill out, absent any effort to either amend or debate it. Within an hour, the full House shipped the bill on to Gov. Joe Manchin, with the only opposition vote cast by Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson. “When you think about it,...

Associated Press CHEYENNE - The House restored a critical provision to a self-defense bill Thursday, specifying that citizens have no duty to retreat before using deadly force. The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday had stripped the "no-retreat" language from the bill. But a motion to restore the language from sponsor Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, R-Thermopolis, passed Thursday in the House by a vote of 29-22. The House then gave preliminary approval to the entire bill, House Bill 137. It needs to pass twice more in the House before heading to the Senate. Quarberg and other supporters have said that Wyoming needs...

A man's home may be his castle, but a Senate committee yesterday decided that the actions taken against an invader are not immune from the law. The Courts of Justice Committee yesterday killed a Henrico delegate's bill that would have protected from prosecution and civil liability homeowners who use "any degree of physical force," including deadly physical force, against an intruder they consider a threat. In a bipartisan vote, the committee voted 11-4 to shelve House Bill 710, sponsored by Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico. A similar, so-called "castle" bill proposed by Janis last year met a similar fate. Three...

Here's a recent column of mine addressing the need for the Castle Doctrine in New York State: From the 07 January 2008 Lockport Union Sun and Journal (Lockport, NY) PROTECTING YOUR CASTLE WITH FORCE By Bob Confer A common urban legend says that if you shoot an intruder in your home you had better put a knife in his hand to reinforce your claim of self-defense. Mythical sensationalism it may be, but like most legends it has some basis in fact and to some extent many believe it to be sound advice. It does seem to have merit when one...

NEW ORLEANS — The Federal Emergency Management Agency said today it will step up efforts to move Gulf Coast hurricane victims out of more than 35,000 trailers because tests indicate some of the temporary homes contain high levels of formaldehyde. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fumes from 519 tested trailer and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi were — on average — about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes. FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison and CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said at a news conference they hope to get people out of...

As a United States Congressman, I take my oath to uphold all of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights very seriously. Unfortunately, too many in Washington DC believe they can pick-and-choose which provisions of the constitution they can uphold. For example, many politicians, judges, and bureaucrats believe they have the power to disregard our right to own guns, even though the second amendment explicitly guarantees the people's right to "keep and bear arms." Like the Founding Fathers, I believe that the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to a free society. Where law-abiding citizens are most freely...

(AP) When 70-year-old Betty Perry was accused of neglecting her lawn, she became defiant. Perry was arrested, handcuffed and briefly jailed in July for declining a ticket for failing to water her lawn. She agreed on Friday to resolve her case by pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge and paying a $100 fine. She also faces six months of probation. Perry was scheduled to go to trial Monday on a more serious charge of resisting arrest for refusing to give her name, accept a citation or allow herself to be handcuffed on her front steps. "She ends up with...

Armed Citizenry Will Not Be Oppressed Editor, Times-Dispatch: As a liberal, a member of the ACLU of Virginia, and a self-proclaimed student of the Constitution of this nation I was interested John Schuiteman's letter, "Safe Society Demands Tight Gun Regulation." The writer is correct that tightened gun regulation would probably increase public safety. However, public safety was not the concern of the drafters of the Constitution or the purpose of the Second Amendment.To exist in a society and interact with others brings two compelling and conflicting pressures to bear: safety and freedom. With more safety there is less freedom. With...

Protesters carried giant-size cutouts of guns as they rallied yesterday in New York City in support of the constitutional right to bear arms, which, they say, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to destroy. "He's attacking our gun rights under the guise of attacking illegal guns and crime," Nic Leobold, an organizer for the event held outside the gates of City Hall in downtown Manhattan, told WND. "Tens of thousands of New Yorkers actually own guns which are not registered and are therefore so-called illegal. But these people are not criminals, nor are they violent, they are respectable, responsible citizens and...