Free Republic

Growing up in rural South Carolina on my family's farm, I developed a love, appreciation and, most importantly, a respect for firearms. To this day, I remain a collector of firearms and a supporter of the American right to keep and bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment. I was taught that safety is paramount to gun ownership, so I have always encouraged responsible gun ownership and use for all Americans. With that being said, I have noticed a disturbing trend in our country: an ever-increasing number of shootings and gun-related deaths. And while the quick response from some,...

Courtney Lancaster, a mother and Navy Veteran, expressed her outrage after police pulled up to her door and asked to search her home for weapons. According to the police, the school safety officer at Lancaster’s 11-year-old son’s school, Seneca Elementary, called law enforcement after spotting a BB gun in the background of a virtual class meeting.“I had no idea what to think. I’ve never been in any legal trouble whatsoever. I’ve never had any negative encounter with law enforcement,” she told Fox 45 News. “I had no idea. I really didn’t know what to think.”Although officers searched her 5th grader’s...

What I am about to say may surprise some people, especially considering that I am the president and founder of the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). Despite the fact that I have been pleasantly surprised by the large swath of Americans who are working to improve their preparedness in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic — indeed, the last two months have seen record firearms sales — I want to emphasize that going out and purchasing a gun is not the sole requirement of actually being prepared. Rather, it's a small step at the beginning of a lifelong and...

A 14-year-old boy was struck and killed by a stray bullet in what was apparently a freak accident while riding in the back seat of a car with his family Sunday. Zackary Kempke and his family were driving near the Monte Cristo mountain range in a remote area of Rich County in Utah when he was struck in the head, according to the Rich County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said the bullet came from someone who was shooting at a target several hundred feet away from where Kempke was shot. The individual who fired the shot and multiple witnesses...

Require all Schools get insurance for students while on school property. Why? Because look what is required for you to have employees on your property. The Insurance Company's underwriters require that you pay insurance rates that are subject to the likelihood that they will sustain a claim. What does this mean, 1. those insured take steps to reduce their rates such as taking steps that are identified by insurers that reduce their risk. 2. those who are extremely risky can't obtain insurance and therefore can't have students. 3. the insurance companies investigate all claims to determine the root cause to...

A 12-year-old girl was booked on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm Thursday after a shooting at Sal Castro Middle School left four students injured, authorities said. Los Angeles police do not believe that the shooting was intentional, spokesman Josh Rubenstein said Thursday evening. "At this time, the information suggests that this was an isolated incident, involving the negligent discharge of a firearm, where innocent children and a staff member were unfortunately injured," the LAPD said in a statement. The girl was taken to Los Angeles County's Central Juvenile Hall. The gunfire erupted in a classroom at the school...

There are many gun school out there teaching tactical shooting. What we don’t see is a marriage between gun tactics and martial arts. Some of this may be useful and other are just downright dangerous. This video shows one “tactical shooting style” that is not only dangerous but hilarious. This family you see taking part in this tactical training were rolling, shooting over each others heads while in different stances, this is not the group to shoot with. We share videos such as this to show that just because someone think they can safely tactical shoot they may be very...

Range safety is certainly not much of a thought in this shocking video. Soldiers train while firing live ammunition at each other. Witness this Russian tactical exercise that is nothing short of insane. That’s a gun range training video like no other! These soldiers are actually firing live ammunition at each other. Gun safety is thrown out the window in this action packed video. These guys are taking “train as you fight” just a little too far, see the full crazy Russian tactical shoot video here.

Some people are just asking to hurt themselves when they hold a firearm. We show these videos because nobody got hurt and it’s a hoot watching people be so ignorant of basic firearm safety. It’s also good to remind ourselves of how dangerous firearms can be when they aren't handled properly. Here's a few to look at and you can see the rest of the 17 who never learned gun safety here.

<p>Gun safety is no laughing matter. These shooters forgot that (or never learned in the first place) and paid a heavy price.</p> <p>Doing Frankenstein things with that .44 Magnum loaded with hollow points?</p> <p>Once again, Iron feet do not stop bullets.</p>

Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) called for campaign finance reform to mitigate the gun lobby’s influence on the political process and urged Democrats to drop the phrase “gun control.” Esty said gay Americans, in particular, shouldn’t support government “control” of any aspect of their lives so they should use the term “gun safety” instead of “gun control” when advocating for tougher gun laws. She told attendees at the Center for American Progress Action Fund event that the NRA leadership is “way out of touch” with its membership on the issue of background checks for every gun sale. “I mean, the numbers...

FORT WORTH--A male died Monday in south Fort Worth after reportedly shooting himself in the head while showing a friend how the safety on his gun worked. Officers were dispatched about 5 p.m. to a home in the 4800 block of Madyson Ridge Drive, according to a police report. A 911 caller at the home reported that his friend was holding the gun to his own head when he pulled the trigger and it discharged, said officer Jimmy Pollozani, police spokesman.

At a news conference Friday, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, in partnership with City Councilmembers Jason Rogers Williams and James Gray and New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison announced a new city ordinance aimed at promoting gun safety in New Orleans.

Black Gun Rights Activist Launches ‘Black Guns Matter’Gun rights activist Maj Toure is seeking to educate his fellow black citizens on the importance of the Second Amendment, gun ownership, and gun safety via his new group, “Black Guns Matter” (BGM). The launch of BGM “kicked off a planned 13-city tour, with similar events in cities like Baltimore and Chicago with high rates of gun violence, where he feels gun training could make a difference.

Pick up a loaded AK clone, point it at your boyfriend's face at point blank range while you pin him to the bed.  The gun just "went off".  He is dead, and the woman is charged with negligent homicide. I wonder if Rosario was right handed.  Are those bruises below her left eye? The articles note that Gabriella does not have any prior arrests.  I found two for a Rosario Soto Leon in the Phoenix area, one on March 7th, another on April 20th, both in Maricopa County. Without further ID, it is impossible to know if it is...

On July 11, 2016, the Detroit Police Department teamed up with the National Shooting Sports Association (NSSA) to promote gun safety in Detroit.  Chief Craig was in attendance.  The goal was to prevent accidents with guns, especially accidents involving children.From wxyz.com: Detroit Police Chief James Craig will be joined by the National Shooting Sports Foundation later today where they'll be talking about firearm safety and proper storage and misuse of guns. The goal here is to promote the safe use of any firearm and help the community by handing out gun locks and information. Chief Craig has been at...

This election season has truly suffered without Jon Stewart behind The Daily Show desk, and Trevor Noah's tenure thus far has been tepid at best. But Noah & Co. did good last night, dedicating an entire episode to gun control thanks to the NRA's recent endorsement of Donald Trump and general stranglehold over any gun control policy proposed, no matter how small. Noah dug into Trump's hypocrisy when it comes to sucking up to the gun-clutching masses, considering he's voiced support of gun control in the past—even pointing out how at the NRA meeting last week, Trump said he gets...

Image from Westernjournalism.com Another company has paid for firearms safety training for employees.  What is interesting about this company is that it is a media company.  After decades of dominance by philosophically identical members of a media that propagandized for more and more infringements on the Second Amendment, this is a refreshing difference.  Not surprisingly, the media company is part of the new media. From westernjournalism.com: Liftable Media, Inc., the parent company of Western Journalism, paid for its employees to go through a concealed carry certification course over the weekend. About half of the staff took the company up on...

I thought young Freeper parents could use a reference thread for "everything your child should know about toy gun safety/ gun safety. For instance: 1) Don't point toy guns at children too young to play with them. 2) Play with toy guns with an adult present. 3 ) Toy guns are outside toys. Your house rules may vary, but I think having a conservative resource for this information would be a welcome response to more statist notions. What are your house rules? What do you teach (or have you taught) your children?

A blogger named Wes Siler criticised Ted Cruz for carrying a shotgun in the fashion in the photograph.  I am not sure if the critique was in jest,or serious.  It is not clear that Wes Siles is a liberal.  His favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt.  One of Wes' tweets advise on 16 ways to avoid being  "modern man" by the NYTs famous list.  Wes was soon corrected about shoulder carry, and rightly so. Shoulder carry, as exemplified by Senator Ted Cruz in the Picture, is explicitly suggested as a means of safely carrying a shotgun or rifle.  It is...