Free Republic

HB 615 would make Georgia's list of places off limits resemble more liberal states like New Hampshire, Oregon, or, as has been written here before, California. As with any bill that seeks to reduce Georgia's overly restrictive list of places where the right to bear arms is categorically prohibited, HB 615 has drawn its share of detractors, including those who help shape public opinion for the mainstream media. This morning, Maureen Downey, a long time reporter and editorial opinion writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, writes about HB 615 in her blog and invites your comments. Ms. Downey is a...

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- In the middle of America, you wouldn’t expect it to be so difficult to get a concealed carry permit. But in Iowa, it is — especially if the local sheriff doesn’t like you. That’s why I’m glad to introduce you to a great new organization fighting on this issue. Iowa Gun Owners has been pushing for a major reform of Iowa’s “Might Issue” concealed carry laws. Not since Alaska (in 2003) has a state passed a no-permit-needed concealed carry law, enacting real carry freedom for law-abiding gun owners. Iowa Gun Owners burst on to the scene in their...

If bill sponsors and gun owners get their way in Virginia and New Mexico this year, they will be able to carry concealed handguns inside alcohol serving restaurants just like they already do in public shopping malls, movie theaters, and most other public places. Gun owners and their civil rights groups pushing for these reforms are buoyed by the recent repeal of similar bans in Tennessee, Arizona, and Georgia. The Virginia bill is patroned by Delegate Mark Cole (R - Spotsylvania, Fauquier, and Stafford Counties) and the New Mexico bill is sponsored by Senator George Munoz (D - Gallup), and...

So as I study pictures of this strange revolver which promises better ergonomics and control over recoil because the bore is in line with the web of the shooter’s hand, it occurs to me the one additional feature to include would be the equally innovative Medusa Revolver Cylinder which can fire up to 25 different cartridges in the .38 Special-9mm range.

During Christmas week, a registered sex offender with a conviction for attempted murder used a gun to take three hostages at a Wytheville, Va., post office. Not too surprisingly, the national media gave the crime extensive news coverage. Such sensationalism leaves a distorted image about what happens with guns every day in the United States. When guns work to stop crime, there's not nearly as much drama to sensationalize and, as a result, that much less coverage. In Oklahoma City the previous week, an armed citizen singlehandedly stopped an attack that surely would have resulted in a multiple-victim public shooting....

Petition.... Right to carry in NJ. Click on the link and brings you to a petition.

Rep. Tim Bearden is once again pushing legislation that would expand the number of places in Georgia gun owners can carry firearms, joining a host of other lawmakers trying to modify the state’s gun laws. Bearden, R-Villa Rica, joins a group of other gun rights advocates planning a push to build on a 2008 measure that allowed those with permits to carry firearms into state parks, restaurants that serve alcohol and mass transit facilities. Following its passage, the new law was met with a handful of legal challenges, with a federal judges ruling in late 2008 that officials representing Hartsfield-...

A Roanoke man says officers violated his rights during a dispute about his gun license. A Roanoke man is suing city police over an altercation with officers that he said began as an argument about his permit to carry a concealed firearm. Aaron A. Stevenson filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke alleging that his constitutional rights were violated during a May 6 traffic stop. He named two officers, Chief Joe Gaskins and the city as defendants. On Wednesday, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson referred questions to City Attorney Bill Hackworth, who was out of town and could...

Happy New Year from Ohioans For Concealed Carry! 2009 was a special year for OFCC as we celebrated our ten year anniversary. We'd like to thank each and every one of you who have helped us be successful and done so much for protecting and expanding gun rights in the state of Ohio. As we look back on the year, we saw some key victories as well as some unfortunate tragedies, in particular the loss of OhioCCW Forums moderator Jeff Kirchner in late July. Jeff was a long-time volunteer and his loss is still felt. One of the key themes...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WRCB) -- Leon McKinney is recovering at Erlanger Medical Center from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and legs. He is in serious condition. McKinney was shot over the weekend while attempting to rob a Stockton Drive homeowner, according to Chattanooga Police. His is a name familiar to law enforcement. He's spent his adult life in trouble with police. His criminal history dates back to 2004, when he was only eighteen years-old. He's been charged with 21 offenses since, not including the most recent robbery-related charges. In July of this year, McKinney was accused of robbing a friend....

Remember these headlines in the Sentinel from three years ago? " FBI: Murder rate soars in Orlando." "Armed robberies shatter calm." They make headlines such as these from recent weeks all the more striking. "Odd recession perk: Crime actually falls." "FBI: Orlando violent crime drops 30%." Crime is down in most cities across the nation this year, despite the job loss and other hardships created by the recession. New York, the nation's largest city, is headed for its lowest murder count since 1962. Theories behind the crime drop include better security measures, stiffer sentencing and an aging population. But it...

A unique business is opening in Fernley early next month. Already set up with an office on U.S. Highway 95A near Main Street, the Defensive Pistol Institute is accepting applications for classes in safe gun use. Owner Cal Eilrich, a Fernley city councilman and member of many shooting organizations as well as the owner of a local shooting range, is offering his expertise to teach the art of handling firearms. “The classes are set up for a number of things from introductory to firearms to the National Rifle Association (NRA) basic pistol course. There are all sorts of levels of...

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- The Seminole Sheriff's Office said a man shot and killed his daughter's boyfriend on a Seminole County street. The Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened just after 3 p.m. at the intersection of Dodd Road and Biscayne Drive. Officials said the man was Orlando Regional Medical Center where he died. Several witnesses at the scene said the two men were arguing before the shooting and that they believe the father shot in self defense. "He pulled out a gun that he had with him, that he carried most the time, and shot him from the hip...

Scott Webb showed up at the Dec. 15 Algonac City Council meeting with a gun. It was perfectly legal. Webb had a semi-automatic 40-caliber pistol lawfully holstered at his side, while he addressed the council regarding the state gun law. He resides in Clinton Township, but said he has friends in Algonac and frequents the city parks often during summer events. He said one of his friends discovered an ordinance on Algonac's books banning citizens from carrying guns, including concealed weapons. "My friend said, 'I didn't think they could do that,'" said Webb, who carries his gun openly and also...

She was never even shot. She survived a beating and watched two men’s lives end, and that is horror enough. But now the widowed Mrs. Burroughs has become something else — a symbol of what happens when the agenda-driven biases of true believers corrupt pseudo-scientific research. Sadly, the non-death of Christine Burroughs was just part of the Violence Policy Center’s attempt to demonize carry permit holders as a group. It can’t even claim to be sure that its including valid permit carriers among those they would demonize. While the VPC cites Humberto Delgado as having a North Carolina-issued concealed carry...

Bitterwallet posted video of this infomercial-esque product called The Back-Up. It's a $40 shotgun rack that slides between your bed's box spring and mattress - easy access for when you need to blow an intruder's face apart. According to The Back-Up's official website, research shows: If a shotgun is in the corner of a room or under the bed, one must turn their back on a perpetrator to access it The BackUp allows for 2 second accessibility when in need. The Back-Up provides this from a lying position in bed. Just reach 8 inches along the side of the mattress,...

An opinion from South Carolina’s attorney general is forcing the Georgetown County School District to rethink an illegal policy that bans concealed weapons on school property. Henry McMaster told the district that the policy, which prohibits visitors, parents, teachers and students from carrying weapons on school property including parking lots — even with a concealed carry permit — was a violation of state law. That law was approved by the General Assembly earlier this year and allows anyone with a concealed carry permit to keep weapons locked in their vehicles on school property. Rep. Thad Viers (R-Horry) requested the opinion...

Foreword: As a follow-up to my recent column on competing concealed carry bills in Iowa, I have invited representatives from state gun rights groups Iowa Gun Owners and Iowa Carry to educate us on their positions. The following response is from Sean McClanahan, President, Iowa Carry: We’ve had several meetings with Chris Rager, both in person and on the phone. We have a copy of the NRA’s proposed legislation available on our main website. Keep in mind that this is *proposed* legislation. Nothing is set in stone right now, and changes can still be made. In fact, as I send...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A man is in police custody after opening fire at a northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex near Hefner and Council roads. Police said the man started firing multiple shots in the parking lot of the Tammaron Village apartments around 4 p.m. Thursday. Witnesses said the man initially went into the apartment complex's main office. When employees locked him out, he opened fire in the parking lot. As the man was firing shots, another citizen armed with a gun came around the corner and ordered the gunman to put his weapon down. The gunman dropped his weapon and...

Foreword: As a follow-up to my recent column on competing concealed carry bills in Iowa, I have invited representatives from state gun rights groups Iowa Gun Owners and Iowa Carry to educate us on their positions. The following response is from Aaron Dorr, Executive Director of Iowa Gun Owners: In his recent article, Jeff Knox of the Firearms Coalition has brought to light some very disturbing components of the NRA’s proposed concealed carry bill in Iowa. He mentioned our organization, Iowa Gun Owners, as the state based group that is opposed to this bill. He is correct. The 5,000 members...

Now THIS is refreshing! A youngster in school whose extracurricular activities include marksmanship. Rally round boys, we need to nurture all the gems we find!

What often happens when a young person receives such a charge is that he or she will appear in Court, many times without an attorney, and plead "no contest", be found guilty, and pay the fine and go home. I have seen this happen countless times in Courts. Young people, unable to afford a lawyer, take the easy way out because they don't have the money, don't want to miss work to go to Court again to fight the charge or get a better deal. Unfortunately, what these young people don't know, and what the Judge and Prosecutor failed to...

Northern District of Georgia federal judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. ruled today that carrying a firearm on MARTA justifies forcible detention by the police, in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed over the half hour long detention and disarmament of GeorgiaCarry.Org member Christopher Raissi. Christopher Raissi holds a Georgia firearms license and frequently carries a handgun concealed. On October 14, 2008, he was carrying concealed on MARTA. He did not know that a MARTA police officer observing the parking lot had seen him holstering and concealing his firearm while still at his car. Therefore, he was surprised when he was...

Manassas, VA --(AmmoLand.com)- The Firearms Coalition yesterday issued a scathing denunciation of legislation proposed by the National Rifle Association for the state of Iowa saying that Iowa is the latest instance of the NRA cavalry riding in to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In Iowa, Sheriffs have broad discretion in the issuance or denial of permits to carry concealed weapons and Iowa GunVoters have been rallying support for removing that discretion and moving the state to a “shall issue” system. In the last legislative session an Alaska-style bill, pushed by local grass roots rights activists led by the...

Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right Related Articles * House File 596 analysis--Iowa Gun Owners * Iowa legislation update--Iowa Carry Jeff Knox of the Firearms Coalition says the NRA is derailing a good concealed carry bill and pushing a bad one in Iowa: [O]ne would expect advocates to unite around the Alaska-style bill for this legislative session with an eye towards either passing a very good bill, or forcing a clear record vote on such a bill and using that vote against opponents in the next General Election. Instead, after ignoring the state for decades, NRA has decided to ride...

In research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, in which almost 2,000 felons were interviewed, 34% of felons said they had been “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim" and 40% of these criminals admitted that they had been deterred from committing a crime out of fear that the potential victim was armed. Allowing law-abiding people to arm themselves offers more than piece of mind for those individuals -- it pays off for everybody through lower crime rates. Statistics from the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report of 2007 .....

Gary Sherman….Gary Sherman….Gary Sherman. I should know that name. Now I remember Gary Sherman was the critical vote needed desperately by Governor Doyle to preserve open carry in Wisconsin five years ago. He is the Assembly Representative who voted for SB214 and then switched his vote against it to sustain the Governor’s veto of SB214. This legislation was the concealed carry law that passed the legislature with a bi-partisan two thirds super majority. By convincing Representative Sherman to switch his vote, the Governor was able to guarantee that his veto of SB214 would be sustained by just one critical vote,...

An Orange County couple is recovering from a terrifying shoot-out with a robber. The couple was jumped at the gate of their Ocoee subdivision late Tuesday night, not far from the Gas Food and Go convenience store they own on Silver Star Road in Pine Hills. The husband was back at work Wednesday afternoon and he had two wounds on his forehead. His wife was in the hospital recovering after getting shot once in the shoulder. AT THE SCENE: Armed Robber Ambushes Ocoee Couple The couple was heading home after a night of work when they were ambushed. As Phai...

MARLOW, Oklahoma – A small force in Stephens County is already under investigation by state and federal authorities but new controversy is brewing as two more Marlow police officers are accused of criminal conduct. One officer has resigned, another is still on the force, but together they join the growing list of Marlow cops accused of corruption. In Stephens County, many share the district attorney's opinion of the Marlow Police department. "I don't completely trust some of the officers at Marlow," said District Attorney Bret Burns. The D.A., who has already asked the FBI and OSBI to investigate the department...

Mayor Bloomberg's "future-crime" vision of American gun control is one where a United States citizen [will be denied gun purchases if] her name was added by a federal bureaucrat to the no-fly list . . . It is also at least foreseeable that under this scheme . . . TSA agents might confiscate guns from the checked baggage of airport travelers.

ST. PETERSBURG — Now that surveillance cameras are watching virtually every store and parking lot, it's increasingly common to see footage of robberies, fights and even shootings. But the disturbing video of a double murder in downtown St. Petersburg is something different. In graphic detail, with eight different cameras and relatively good sound, the video shows the entire August 2008 robbery of Central Food Mart, and the shootings of three men. Even in an era when video has become ubiquitous, prosecutors say this stands out as perhaps the clearest and most complete recording ever of a local murder — and...

These are the times that make men vomit. Have you seen the latest Gunowners Of America Alert? Mr. Milquetoast himself, Harry Reid, may pass some version of ObamaNationCare because NOT ONE Senate Republican has the brass to stand up and just say NO.....not one more lie....not one more penny... not one more day.... not one more usurpation. What possible power does this pantywaist Reid have over Senators like North Carolina's Richard Burr to silence him into submission? The State that gave the nation Jesse Helms (Senator NO), now has Richard Burr (Senator Go-Along-To-Get-Along).

The Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (D) has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the third quarter of 2009. The demand for licenses to conceal carry firearms remained strong last quarter, marking an unprecedented ten quarters in a row with an increased demand compared to the same year over year period. Concealed carry continues to be something both long-time and new gun owners are interested in. If you buy a handgun for self defense, it makes sense to get the license needed to carry it with you. The third quarter in 2009 saw a whopping 54% increase over...

Senator Ralph K. Smith (R - Roanoke) Virginia State Senator Ralph K. Smith (R - Roanoke) has pre-filed Senate Bill 3 ahead of the 2010 Virginia General Assembly session. SB 3 would require Clerks of Virginia's Circuit Courts to accept renewal applications for concealed handgun permits by mail and to mail the permit to the applicant once it approved by the court. Senator Smith's mail order gun permit proposal is likely the first of an avalanche of mainly pro but also some anti-gun rights bills to be considered by the 2010 Virginia General Assembly. Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip...

Submitted by .Sean on November 19, 2009 - 4:24pm The Lafayette County Republican Central Committee is proudly celebrating a new crazy billboard on I-70 near Grain Valley. It calls for citizens to "starve the beast" and "vote out incumbents" -- and if that doesn't work, "PREPARE FOR WAR."

Montana state law says that guns made and shot in the state are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government and that the federal should not tread on state law. Montana District 61 representative Joel Boniek sponsored House Bill 246, the bill says state law trumps federal law when it comes to gun laws. Firearms that are made and stay in Montana do not fall under the interstate commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution and is not in Congress' jurisdiction, according to Boniek who spoke Wednesday at the Big Sky Pachyderm luncheon. His law is in court at the...

Not only should we be careful in what we wish for, but we should be ever so diligent when drafting pro gun legislation. One of the greatest evils against the Bill of Rights is legislation that doesn't pass the constitutional test. This can happen even when the legislators have the best of intentions. Alaska police officers regularly disarm law abiding citizens, taking their firearms and running the serial numbers through the system. This in itself is a violation of the “fourth amendment”. No surprise here, officers that have taken an oath to uphold the constitution are regularly breaking this same...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Bloomington, Indiana Herald-Times Treats Law-Abiding Gun Owners like Registered Sex Offenders!   Tuesday, December 01, 2009   On November 30, 2009, the Bloomington Herald-Times made the following announcement:“This week, HeraldTimesOnline.com will launch its new gun permit database. You’ll be able to search gun permit records by county, city or town and street."The Herald-Times has begun receiving calls and emails, and their response is a defiant defense of their online gun permit database. Anyone who visits the newspaper website will be able to search the number of permits on a given street or neighborhood....

A Miami catering company turned into a crime scene Monday morning after police and paramedics rushed to help a man who had been shot. The man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to Miami Fire Spokesman Ignatius Carroll. The shooting occurred sometime after 9 a.m. inside Yolene Catering on the 5900 block of Northwest Second Avenue. Yolene Francois, the owner, told CBS4's Tiffani Helberg that her husband shot a man in self defense. She said the man had worked for them briefly. He allegedly came in demanding money and picked up a chair as if to strike him. That's...

Nov 29, 2009 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Monroe County resident Brent Haley carries his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a holster on his hip anywhere the law allows. "I have carried my handgun into the public mall on many occasions, out to dinner with my wife or even over to my father's house for Christmas morning," Haley said. "I always carry my handguns fully loaded with a cartridge chambered and ready to fire." Haley, like many other handgun owners within Monroe County, said he carries his handgun for protection in case he ever needed it. He hasn't...

According to a piece in the Everett Herald recently re-elected council member, John "Freedom County" Koster, doesn't think there are enough venues for gun owners in Snohomish County and is hoping to repeal the county's current ban on firearms in the county's parks. Herald reporter Noah Haglund writes, "If a new law passes, you could feel free to tote a legally owned firearm into county parks. Just don’t shoot it, unless it’s in self-defense. County code, as it reads now, prohibits people from carrying or discharging guns in county parks. Lifting the long-standing ban is mostly a house-keeping measure to...

Police beat ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Two gunmen rob Razorback Pizza Two men armed with handguns robbed Razorback Pizza in southwest Little Rock late Sunday, forcing people to the floor before taking money from the register, safe, employees and customers and firing shots randomly as they ran away. No one was injured. The men walked into the restaurant at 10900 Stagecoach Road not long after 9:30 p.m. showing their weapons, police said. They ordered customers and employees to put their personal belongings — wallets, cell phones and other items — into bags. The gunmen then forced the customers from the bar into...

Last week, the body of Chicago school board president Michael Scott was found in the Chicago River with a single bullet wound in his head. The big story was that this powerful, well-connected public official had, according to the county medical examiner, committed suicide. The less-noticed story was that he did it with an illegal weapon. After all, handgun ownership is not allowed in the city of Chicago, which has one of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and Scott killed himself with a .380-caliber sidearm. Unlike most Chicagoans, Scott could have been a legal handgun owner. Because...

In an effort to rebut the idea that allowing law-abiding Americans to carry handguns in public helps prevent crime, the Violence Policy Center has begun compiling a list of homicides committed by people with carry permits. "Concealed handgun permit holders killed eight law enforcement officers and 77 private citizens (including 10 shooters who killed themselves after an attack) during the period May 2007 through October 2009," it says, based on news reports. "Contrary to the false promises of the gun lobby," says VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, "the simple and deadly fact is that state concealed handgun systems are arming...

The lesson from an unsuccessful pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden this week was simple: Guns talk. The Maersk Alabama, the American-flagged ship infamously attacked by pirates in April, was attacked again Monday when Somali pirates opened fire on the ship in an attempt to board it. But the pirates didn't get far this time, after a four-man security team aboard the ship fired back, thwarting the attack. It's the first time a large cargo ship with an armed security team aboard is known to have repelled an attack, says Vice Adm. William Gortney, who commands the Pacific region...

Readers of this blog know I have long admired from afar the activities of the New Hampshire "Free Staters". One of the best ideas they have had is an emergency communications network dubbed Porcupine 411. Now I learn they want to spread their idea nationwide. God Bless them!

In any case it is certainly not the job of We, The Abused to walk on eggshells lest we somehow be condemned for our righteous wrath when They, The Abusers are unpunished, unrepentant and unrestrained. If that is the message of Mike Vanderboegh he must be ignored. Miniature Fort Sumters occur around us all every day, from the unprovoked SWAT assault on a completely innocent family based on the undocumented testimony of a “Confidential Informant” CLICK LINK HERE to the unprovoked investigation of a family for “illegal food sales”.CLICK LINK HERE or CLICK LINK HERE They all share the same...

As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I was brought to tears by the horrific massacre at Fort Hood, Texas. Seeing coverage of my former comrades brutally murdered at my former duty station was almost too much to take. The news that it was allegedly the act of a fellow soldier remains unfathomable. While stationed there a few years back, we knew were sitting ducks for a terrorist attack and that only the appearance of security kept it from happening. Anyone on the inside, like the alleged gunman in this case, knew he could easily pull off such a massacre....

This is a big week for the Virginia Tech chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. It's Defense Education Week, and the student group, which has 100 to 200 members, has organized a week's worth of seminars and gatherings in support of concealed carry on Virginia college campuses. Monday night's featured speaker was Philip Van Cleave, president of the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League. Earlier Monday, I spoke to Ken Stanton, 32, a serious-sounding engineering graduate student and the vice president of the Virginia Tech chapter of the concealed carry group. Here's his argument in favor of guns on...

A Multnomah County jury Monday ordered the city of Portland to pay three men a total of $175,000 for a 2007 encounter with police at a downtown parking garage in which the men accused officers of battery, assault and false arrest. The jurors found the testimony of two independent witnesses especially compelling. The witnesses, a young college couple, saw the entire episode and corroborated the stories of the three men: Harold Hammick, Ri'Chard Booth and Alex Clay. "Justice does work," Clay said after the verdict. "The system does work." A city attorney had argued last week during the trial that...