Free Republic

The Washington D.C. City Council has created so many hoops for handgun owners to jump through before they can exercise their Second Amendment rights, they may require legal counsel just to identify what the hoops are.  This sorry state of affairs is much to the satisfaction of The Washington Post, which called for just such an obstructionist policy in an editorial.  At least one of those hoops is illegal, according to the Supreme Court, but a Post news story spun that fact as the opinion of “opponents of the handgun ban.”  Is editorial policy coloring the news?The Washington Post is...

Pasadena officers talked to girlfriend after shootings A woman who knew one of the burglars gunned down by Pasadena homeowner Joe Horn told police she had warned her friend that his habit of breaking into homes would cost him his life, according to recently released police records. As part of a 31-page police report, Diamond Morgan, 24, of Houston, told Pasadena police investigators that she knew Diego Ortiz was a criminal. "Morgan stated that she told Ortiz three days ago that he was going to end up dead for the things that he was doing," police detective M.E. Bruegger wrote...

Scalia's selective historyBy Jack RakoveAppeals to the evidence of history figured prominently in last week's Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller, striking down a sweeping ban on handguns and affirming that the 2nd Amendment protects a fundamentally individual right "to keep and bear arms." Yet read the two main opinions by Justices Antonin Scalia (for the conservative majority) and John Paul Stevens (in dissent), and you will see that different ways of defining and reading what counts as historical evidence expose a fault line between them.One would have to be terribly naive to think that how these...

Letter to the Editor: It's about time we get real about gun control in our cities. If we can have sobriety checkpoints and now motorcycle checkpoints, why don't we have cops creating gun checkpoints? Have them create checkpoints in the city where the gun violence is running rampant. Give the cops metal detectors and make people stop and get checked for guns. They are illegal and they are a lot worse than drunken drivers, and motorcyclists without the correct credentials. Let's get real here and start doing something about all these guns on our streets. If it's legal to stop...

On Tuesday, April 8, the Assembly Public Safety Committee will consider legislation that would require gun owners to obtain a “permit-to-purchase” before buying handgun ammunition. Introduced by State Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-45), Assembly Bill 2062 puts ammunition sales in the crosshairs. AB2062 would require that law-abiding gun owners obtain a permit to buy handgun ammunition and would impose severe restrictions on the private transfers of handgun ammunition. Applicants for a “permit-to-purchase” would be required to submit to a background check, pay a $35 fee, and wait as long as 30 days to receive the permit. Under AB2062, it...

An airline passenger claimed that a security guard threatened to arrest him because he was wearing a T-shirt showing a cartoon robot with a gun. Brad Jayakody, 30, from London, said he was stopped from passing through security at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after his Transformers T-shirt was deemed 'offensive.' The IT consultant was set to fly off on a business trip to Dusseldorf in Germany when he was pulled to one side. Brad Jayakody w Brad Jayakody wearing the Transformers T-shift which caused offence at Heathrow Mr Jayakody said the first guard started joking with him about the Transformers character...

City Hall Reporter One set of rules for aldermen, one set for rest of us, he says Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue today decried the "double standard" that prompted Mayor Daley to endorse the idea of temporarily re-opening gun registration in Chicago after a request from Ald. Richard Mell (33rd). "We have retired police officers who have a right to carry concealed weapons across the country, and they're being barred from registering their weapons in Chicago. We've taken one of these cases to Circuit Court. Dick Mell has taken his case to the City Council," the union president...

OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) -- Oakland police are worried that more and more people will take the law into their own hands, after two store owners shot two robbers in recent days. People have a right to protect themselves, but things can get out of hand quickly if everyone starts packing a weapon, said Deputy Police Chief Dave Kozicki. "That's a concern that law enforcement has all the time, that people will engage in vigilantism," said Kozicki. A 22-year-old Oakland man was shot at least three times and critically wounded when he tried to hold up a liquor store Saturday night....

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and David Wright Report: Timing is everything in politics and, for Barack Obama's campaign, today's endorsement by the American Hunters and Shooters Association showed both good and bad timing. The good news, for Obama: the support of this gunowners' rights group may help him overcome the controversy over his suggestion that small voters "cling to guns and religion" because they're "bitter." The bad news? Today was the anniversary of the deadly Virginia Tech massacre. “Sen. Obama will be a strong voice an unabashed voice for America's hunters and shooters and it is with great pleasure that...

Good news but not great news, for reasons you’ll shortly see. Which way’s the trend moving? Gallup doesn’t offer historical data to compare and it’s hard to tell from other pollsters, whose surveys on this issue tend to stick to questions about whether gun laws should be made stricter or not. CNN did poll the “individual right vs. militia right” question a few months ago, though, and found 65 percent support at the time, 72 percent among men and 58 percent among women. The margin of error there, as in the Gallup poll, was three percent, so there may well...

A Wisconsin company that disguises deadly firearms with bright paints and camouflage has a new target: Mayor Bloomberg. Lauer Custom Weaponry, whose products were banned in the city in 2006 because they make dangerous guns look like innocent toys, is taunting the anti-gun mayor with a line of paints named "The Bloomberg Collection." The company - which named its purple hue after Barney, the dinosaur beloved by toddlers - is peddling a rainbow of candy-colored paints for each of the five boroughs. There's red for Manhattan, rose for the Bronx, blue for Brooklyn, green for Queens and orange for Staten...

There was an outcry at the statehouse Wednesday from county sheriffs objecting to a bill they say would make it harder for them to deny permits to carry concealed weapons. The bill changes Iowa law to say the sheriff shall issue a permit except for a limited list of reasons, including felony convictions and drug addiction. If a permit's denied a written explanation would be required. Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, says there needs to be more consistency statewide in issuing the permits. Dubuque county Sheriff Kenneth Runde said that won't work. He said if he knows someone...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- In a new tactic against urban crime, the mayors of several East Coast cities, including New York, plan to launch a database that will allow them to share information on known gun offenders. The database, expected to be operational later this year, will pool data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with information collected by local agencies, including ballistics information and intelligence gathered from debriefings of gun offenders. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and other urban leaders said Wednesday that the first-of-its-kind database will make it more difficult for...

Rudy Giuliani appears to be pondering an end to his long pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination. In a meeting in the back of his chartered plane en route to St. Petersburg, Fla., a short while ago, the onetime, longtime GOP front-runner told a small group of reporters, including The Times' Louise Roug: "The winner of Florida will win the nomination."

www.gunowners.org/a010808.htmJan 2008 Q&A On The Veterans Disarmament Act -- How the new law will affect you and where we go from here Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 Tuesday, January 8, 2008 As most Americans were preparing for the Christmas holidays last month, the U.S. Congress pulled another fast one when only few people were watching. It was December 19. Most Congressmen had left town and were either at the airport or in the air returning home. They weren't in Washington, DC, because their party leadership had told them that all the major...

When Americans nominate their presidential candidates next year, the Second Amendment won't be the first thing on their minds. The issue didn't even appear in a recent CNN poll that found that the economy, Iraq, health care, immigration, and terrorism are the nation's biggest concerns. But in a country where 36 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans have firearms in their homes, the issue is still a locked and loaded one for candidates of both parties. Republican presidential hopefuls, as expected, worked hard to win over the members of the National Rifle Association at the organization's convention in...

Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's previously stalled bill toughening the national gun background check system in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings sailed through both chambers of Congress within hours yesterday after a flurry of legislative activity. "I don't know whether to laugh or to cry," said McCarthy (D-Mineola), who saw her legislation pass the House in June only to have it blocked in the Senate. "You don't know how many times it's come to this point." In a statement, Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "This simple but very important bill has been a long time coming. It will...

Last April, an unbelievable tragedy unfolded in Blacksburg. A student, armed and angry, plotted and carried out a brutal assault on the students and faculty at Virginia Tech. After an early morning attack which left two people dead, he locked the doors to an academic building, and then moved methodically from room to room, shooting the occupants while they sat, stood, hid or attempted to flee. ... This Sunday, another unbelievable tragedy unfolded in Colorado. A young man, armed and angry, plotted and carried out a brutal assault on members of a Christian mission organization and a church. After an...

Colorado is certainly gaining a worldwide reputation these days. But it's not for our magnificent mountains or fantastic skiing. It's for our horrific murders, first in schools and now in churches. What a reputation! Columbine shook us to the core. Wherever I travel, when I say I'm from Colorado, that's the first thing people ask about. Then we had Platte Canyon. And now the Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada and the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Children mowed down by severely depressed classmates and demented adults. Where will this stop? Of course, we're not the only ones. We've seen...

Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey is shifting his position on Washington's 31-year ban on handgun ownership as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the issue. Ramsey says there needs to be reasonable control over guns, but he says handgun registration can provide that control. The former chief, who is set to take over Philadelphia's police department in January, says the nation is not going to ban handguns and he's taking a realistic approach to the issue.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The man who killed four people at a church and missionary training center died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound, police said Tuesday. Matthew Murray, 24, was struck multiple times by a security officer at New Life Church Sunday but died after firing a single shot at himself, the El Paso County Coroner's Office concluded after an autopsy.

Iowans should press presidential candidates for their views on assault weapons in light of Wednesday's shopping-mall massacre in Omaha, a national gun-control advocate said Thursday. Most Democratic candidates support reinstating a federal assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004. Most Republican candidates oppose reinstating the ban, saying it was ineffective. Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Thursday that the 30-round ammunition clips Robert Hawkins reportedly used in Wednesday's shootings in Omaha would have been illegal to purchase under the assault-weapons ban. Helmke said it was not clear whether the gun itself, described as an AK-47-style...

Among the top tier Republican candidates, Rush says that only Fred has been a consistent conservative. You have been given your marching orders. Now you know who to vote for. RUSH: …the genuine moderate as opposed to conservative aspects of three of the top-tier, four of the top-tier candidates were on full-fledged display last night. There was one candidate who did not display any moderateness or liberalism or have any of his past forays into those areas displayed, and that candidate was Fred Thompson. … …we have a campaign now where most of the candidates are not genuine conservatives. They...

This is why a lot of people wanted Fred Thompson in the race. Who do you trust? Mitt today or Mitt from...whenever he changed his mind on abortion. What? Three years ago? That doesn't smack of a real change of heart more than a political calculation. If the abortion issue doesn't bother you then listen to Mitt run from the "Reagan-Bush" years.

LADSON, S.C., Nov. 24 — Joe McCormick, a burly man over six feet tall, a World War II-era Mauser rifle at his side, said he was frightened. “Giuliani scares me,” Mr. McCormick said of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “What does a mayor of New York know about guns?” Fred D. Thompson, who was about 30 yards away — just past the “Confederate Cutlery” collection of knives, fingering an M-1 rifle at the Land of Sky Gun Show here Saturday — was more his kind of candidate. Mr....

COLUMBIA, S.C. - When Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson walks down the aisles of a gun show Saturday in Charleston, the game he's hunting won't be hard to spot. The former senator and actor is looking to differentiate himself from rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney - and use his appeal as a "country boy from Tennessee" who knows NASCAR and hunting to portray the city slickers as out of step with this early voting state's residents. There is little doubt gun rights are a tough issue for the front of the GOP pack. Former New York Mayor Giuliani has...

Yesterday, Senator Fred Thompson issued a statement on the Supreme Court's decision to grant certiorari in the District of Columbia gun ban case. It reads, in part: I’ve always understood the Second Amendment to mean what it says – it guarantees a citizen the right to “keep and bear” firearms, and that’s why I’ve been supportive of the National Rifle Association’s efforts to have the DC law overturned. In general, lawful gun ownership is a pretty simple matter. The Founders established gun-owner rights so that citizens would possess and be able to exercise the universal right of self-defense. Guns enable...

In what may turn out to be the most important Second Amendment ruling since 1939’s hideously misinterpreted Miller - and maybe the most important ruling on the Amendment in American history, the Supreme Court has granted cert to Parker v. D.C. and will be taking up the case in this session. Natch, Glenn Reynolds has tonsalinks. My first take (I have to admit I’m shaking in my boots at the negative possibilities here, given that I thought the SCOTUS would dodge this one) is that the Court will find an individual right, but do so in such a way that...

I believe I represent the average Republican voter, or at least a significant slice of the R base. My positions - in no particular order - are as follows: Immigration - Amnesty is a deal breaker. If they are here illegally and we come into contact with them, send them home. Iraq - We were winning, we are winning, and we will win. The various pitfalls and difficulties that we have had do not equal defeat. We need a President to stand firm, and to fire all the traitors(I am not using this word lightly) in the State Department and...

Fred Thompson rolled onto Republican rival Rudy Giuliani's turf yesterday and rapped the ex-mayor's record on social issues as out of step with conservative voters. Following a Midtown fund-raiser, Thompson said Giuliani's pro-abortion, pro-gun control and pro-illegal-immigration positions as mayor are wrong for the GOP. "He believes in federal funding for abortion. I have a 100 percent pro-life voting record and voted against federal funding for abortion on a number of occasions," said Thompson. He said he has consistently supported the Second Amendment right to bear arms while Giuliani backed gun-licensing restrictions as mayor. "Rudy has supported a variety of...

Justices to decide whether to take up case on strict limits approved in D.C. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will discuss gun control today in a private conference that soon could explode publicly. Behind closed doors, the nine justices will consider taking a case that challenges the District of Columbia's stringent handgun ban. Their ultimate decision will shape how far other cities and states can go with their own gun restrictions. "If the court decides to take this up, it's very likely it will end up being the most important Second Amendment case in history," said Dennis Henigan, the legal...

The last month has been the best one of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He appears to be emerging as a viable conservative alternative -- rising in polls in Iowa and finally putting together a serious fundraising effort. There's just one problem with this rosy scenario. And, its name is the Club For Growth. The Club, a D.C. based organization that proudly touts both its fiscal conservatism and its willingness to dabble in contested Republican primaries, seems intent on not allowing Huckabee to coalesce the Republican conservative base behind his candidacy. From the start...

Via the Google Snooze Alerts came this, which notes that Fred Thompson managed to get all of his facts wrong on guns and the UN. It links to this bit by Mark Leon Goldberg which notes things Fred gets wrong. Such as: As you can see, these are pretty broad directives. And as you can see, no country is required to do anything. In fact, the only UN body that can require something of a member state is the Security Council, on which the United States has a veto. Here's the report (via David Hardy) that Fred was referring to....

(New York - WABC, October 23, 2007) - Last week, The Investigators went undercover to expose a gaping loophole in New York state's gun laws. Now Governor Eliot Spitzer is promising to examine the problem more closely. The Investigators Jim Hoffer has the story. The black powder rifle's exemption from gun laws is one of the last remaining major gun loopholes in the state of New York. But the days of buying this deadly weapon no questions asked may be numbered. Our undercover investigation showed with alarming clarity just how easy it is to get a black powder rifle in...

This time, it was Cleveland. A 14-year-old suspended high school student entered Cleveland's Success Tech Academy, a gun in each hand, and opened fire, wounding four. Later, we learn the shooter's past included violent confrontations, mental problems and at least one previous suspension. A month earlier, he told a friend he intended to shoot up the school. But no one apparently took his behavior seriously enough to notify authorities. Meanwhile, a high school teacher in Oregon, with a permit to carry a concealed weapon plus training, sought permission to carry her firearm to school. In fear of her former husband,...

MEDFORD, Ore -- English teacher Shirley Katz insists she needs to take her pistol with her to school because she fears her ex-husband could show up and try to harm her. She's also worried about a Columbine-style attack. Teacher Sues To Carry Weapon But Katz's district has barred teachers from bringing guns to school, so she is challenging the ban as unlawful, since Oregon is among states that allow people with a permit to carry concealed weapons into public buildings. sponsor "This is primarily about my Second Amendment right and Oregon law and the simple fact that I know it...

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took a rare, veiled swipe at his predecessor yesterday, challenging Rudolph W. Giuliani’s assertion that a lawsuit Mr. Giuliani filed as mayor against gun manufacturers had changed so much that he may no longer support it. Saying that the case had “not changed at all” since its inception, Mr. Bloomberg told reporters at a news conference at City Hall, “We believe that it’s a good case, and we hope to win it.” Last week, Mr. Giuliani, a Republican candidate for president, told the National Rifle Association that the suit had “taken several turns and several twists...

The National Rifle Association, which did not endorse President Bush in 2000 and 2004 until just a month before the general election, is considering stepping into the presidential campaign fray early next year during the primary season, the group's chief lobbyist says. While the NRA waited until October in each of the past two presidential election years before endorsing a candidate, the group plans to take a more high-profile role early in the 2008 Republican nomination process. "Historically, we have not gotten involved in primaries. We traditionally wait until after the conventions," said Chris Cox, head lobbyist for the NRA....

Rudolph W. Giuliani will go before the rank and file of the National Rifle Association on Friday, seeking support for his Republican presidential campaign from a group he once likened to "extremists" for its efforts to repeal the ban on assault weapons. But even as the former New York mayor strives to burnish his Second Amendment credentials at the gathering in Washington, a panel of federal judges in his home town will be hearing arguments on the lawsuit that Giuliani filed seven years ago aimed at punishing the nation's gun manufacturers for violent crimes involving firearms. Announcing the lawsuit in...

- - 38 leaders of cities meet in Trenton TRENTON -- Just two days after an AK-47 assault rifle and several other weapons were confiscated from a city teenager and a Miami-Dade County police officer was shot and killed in Florida, mayors gathered in the capital city for the U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership meeting called attention to the country's growing problem with gun violence.

While in Texas yesterday, Rudy took a weak swing at Fred's comments on Friday regarding Osama Bin Laden. Without mentioning the former senator and actor by name, Giuliani took umbrage with Thompson’s statement on Friday that 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden is "more symbolism than anything else." “It is just not symbolic,” said Giuliani following a brief reception for about 150 supporters outside the stadium. “If you think its just symbolic, I’m not sure you understand the full depth of Islamic terrorism.” “If you can remove some of that leadership you will see an ability to roll it back,” he...

Declined rate of death caused by firearms, universal health care, and increased environmental awareness. Now those all sound like significant positives as opposed to unaffordable health care, high mortality rates in instances where guns are involved and a society of environmental incontinence - all three of which we struggle with today. William J. Cromie of the Harvard University Gazette reports that more than 30,000 people are killed, and another 65,000 are injured in incidents involving firearms each year. The number of people killed alone could fill the entire Doyt L. Perry Stadium as well as the Ice Arena here the...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Authorities said they removed nearly 80,000 rounds of ammunition from the home of a South Bend man who warned that the world was going to end. South Bend police and federal agents blocked off streets around Kevin Rieder's home for six hours Wednesday while they removed the ammunition. Rieder, 38, was arrested Wednesday and charged with illegal possession of ammunition while subject to a restraining order, Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Schmidt said. The restraining order had been taken out by an ex-girlfriend, Schmidt said. Rieder told employees at a gun shop where he bought 18,000 rounds...

I have been hesitant to comment on this, as it will likely cause some readers to get a little worked up, but it needs to be commented on, and I will try to be fair minded. Today in an article online, Fred Thompson took issue with gun control laws in New York City, going back to the early 1990’s. He had this to say about the policy taken during this time period, and the quick reaction provided by the Giuliani camp, courtesy of the hill: “Now, the same activist federal judge from Brooklyn who provided Mayor Giuliani’s administration with the...

In five days most Americans will begin enjoying their long Labor Day weekend - the traditional end of summer - in the usual way: barbecuing, a final trip to the beach and watching sport. A strange group of nearly 20, however, will fan out across Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the presidential nominating process. They will trudge through cornfields and scamper from diners to town halls and school gymnasiums. They will lavish praise on their audiences and tell voters in each state - two of the whitest and least populated in America - why they are...

A top ally to Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani yesterday blasted Fred Thompson for attacking the former mayor -- and New York City -- before even declaring his candidacy for president. "Run or keep your mouth shut!" snarled Guy Molinari, New York co-chairman for the Giuliani presidential campaign. "If you want to bash people, jump into the pool. We're waiting for you," Molinari added. Giuliani's adviser called Thompson out of bounds for penning a column on his blog blasting New York City's gun-control laws under Giuliani and his successor, Mayor Bloomberg. "He's not just attacking Rudy. He's attacking every resident of...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign took aim at Fred Thompson, after the former senator posted a blog on his Web site criticizing New York City gun-control laws and singling out Giuliani by name. "When I was working in television, I spent quite a bit of time in New York City,” Thompson wrote, according to The Hill newspaper. "There are lots of things about the place I like, but New York gun laws don’t fall in that category. "Now, the same activist federal judge from Brooklyn who provided Mayor Giuliani’s administration with the legal ruling it sought to...

When I was working in television, I spent quite a bit of time in New York City. There are lots of things about the place I like, but New York gun laws don’t fall in that category. Anybody who knows me knows I’ve always cared deeply about the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. So I’ve always felt sort of relieved when I flew back home to where that particular civil liberty gets as much respect as the rest of the Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, New York is trying, again, to force its ways on the rest of...

Former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, who has not officially declared his presidential ambitions, took a not-very-veiled swipe yesterday at the leading Republican candidate, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, for supporting gun control. Mr. Thompson, who starred in “Law & Order,” wrote on his Web site: “When I was working in television, I spent quite a bit of time in New York City. There are lots of things about the place I like, but New York gun laws don’t fall in that category.” Then he decried a recent court ruling on a gun case, writing that...