Free Republic

I had my first Multiple Sclerosis (MS) episode in 2005 (the formal diagnosis would come later). Naturally, I remember it well: we had just come off the most active hurricane season in history. It was the year of Hurricanes Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. We had so many storms, the National Hurricane Center went to the Greek alphabet because we had run out of names. I was working long hours that fall and was feeling overwhelmingly tired, stressed and depressed from all the devastation we were seeing on television. Little did I know that as I was warning people...

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) may not know much about the Tea Party, but his primary challenger and the deep-pocketed Club for Growth are planning to introduce him. Cochran told a local news outlet on Monday that he’s not that familiar with the grassroots conservative movement, which has helped produce a challenge to him in his primary election from state Sen. Chris McDaniel. "The Tea Party, you know, is something I don't really know a lot about," Cochran said during a campaign stop in the state. "It's a free country. We have open opportunities for people to participate in the...

Following what is becoming a national trend, legislation to prevent wasteful destruction of valuable firearms has been introduced in Mississippi by Representative Gary Alan Chism, Republican.  The legislation, House Bill 139, prevents the wasteful destruction of firearms collected at gun turn in events that are conducted with the assistance of government resources.  Instead, the firearms would be returned to lawful commercial channels and the money placed in the general fund of the governmental body that is assisting the turn in event, often referred to by the misnomer "buy back".   The events are not "buy backs" because the people buying...

The State of Oklahoma passed its Open Carry Law in early 2012, one year prior to the Mississippi law. By all appearances it would seem that Oklahoma did an outstanding job in looking ahead with a proactive plan to limit challenges for the future. Sadly, Mississippi’s approach has been more reactive than proactive. Shortly after the Oklahoma legislative session ended, law enforcement authorities began to develop plans to deal with their new open carry law. Stories began to surface as early as a month or so following the end of the session and up to the effective date of the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., are backing legislation that would allow persons with state-issued conceal carry permits to use them in other states with conceal carry laws. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2014 (S.1908) is intended to defend the Second Amendment rights of individuals with conceal carry permits, allowing them to carry those privileges from their home state to other states that also have conceal carry laws. “I am strongly committed to upholding Americans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Wicker said. “This legislation would ensure this right is not limited to...

The bill also includes a sweetener for Virginians. Under the old provisions shot down by the Supreme Court, the Old Dominion was one of nine states with histories of voter discrimination required to get federal approval before they changed their election procedures. Under the new proposal – which aims to update the formula dictating which states are subject to the extra scrutiny – only four states would be forced to seek such approval. Virginia is not among them. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a long-time voting rights champion and a lead sponsor of the updated protections, noted Thursday that Rep. Spencer...

My brother's wife wanted to know the history behind the southern tradition of the New Year's Day meal, and that started a search. I thought I'd share it with you. First, let me show you What hog jowl is, is, by J.A. Bolton Storyteller I hope your family will be enjoying the traditional meal of collards, black-eyed peas, hog jowl and cornbread for New Year’s Day. I thought in today’s column I would try to explain some of the folklore and customs behind the delicious meal we observe here in the south on New Year’s. I probably need to...

The armed robber shot the store owner in the leg before all the money had been handed over. Authorities say the gunman then walked outside and returned to get the rest of the cash, but by that time the owner had managed to get a gun. When the gunman approached, the owner shot the robber at least 11 times.

Home> Health NASCAR Driver Trevor Bayne Says MS Diagnosis 'Doesn't Change a Thing' Nov. 13, 2013 By ANTHONY CASTELLANO via Good Morning America Share 234 Share on email 5 Comments PHOTO: Trevor Bayne reacts after winning the NASCAR Nationwide auto race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Trevor Bayne Diagnosed with MS at 20 Next Video NASCAR Star Trevor Bayne's New Pit Crew Auto Start: On | Off NASCAR driver Trevor Bayne's need for speed propelled him to become the youngest driver to ever win the prestigious Daytona 500, but the 22-year-old is determined to continue his career despite being...

Mississippi’s newest Gun Rights Organization: Mississippi Carry Go to www.MississippiCarry.org and join today.  Also checkout their Facebook Page.Its time we rally behind an organization and fight for our rights.  Mississippi Carry can make a difference if we stand together.  We can not divide ourselves and spend our energy arguing with each other.  I believe those organizing Mississippi Carry are ready to work with other organizations to further the cause of liberty and freedom through protecting our right to carry a firearm for protection. So it doesn’t matter if you open carry or conceal carry,  join Mississippi Carry and help...

JURIST Guest Columnist M. Reed Martz of Freeland Martz, PLLC discusses recent court decisions concerning a Mississippi legislative measure aimed at clairifying state gun possession laws... On July 1, 2013, Mississippi was set to clear up any ambiguity as to whether its Constitution of 1890 and statutes allowed the open (unconcealed) carry of a firearm or other deadly weapon without a permit. That was the plan, at least, until Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith and other Hinds County law enforcement officers, as well as several state Representatives who twice voted in favor of the bill, obtained a temporary...

JURIST Guest Columnist John Frazer argues that the Mississippi legislature's amended definition of a "concealed" weapon is not unduly confusing or vague... A recent decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court may finally have laid to rest the state's status as home to one of the nation's most rigidly interpreted concealed weapons laws, as well as ending one of the oddest recent episodes of gun-related litigation in the US. At the beginning of 2013, Mississippi—like most states—prohibited the carrying of handguns and certain other weapons concealed without a permit. However, unlike any other state's "concealed" carry statute, Mississippi's statute prohibited carrying...

Gene Petit, who was best known nationally in the WWF as Cousin Luke of Hillbilly Jim's clan of wrestling relatives from Mud Lick, Kentucky, passed away this morning... Petit worked regularly until 2000, when back issues forced him out of the ring. He was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which he had been battling for years, leading him to drop way down from his recognizable weight. He had also battled diabetes and in recent years, was in a long-term health care facility...

LAWRENCE COUNTY, MS (Mississippi News Now) - Lawrence County authorities have identified the second suspect in a Tuesday morning home invasion that left one man dead. Thirty-four year old Michael Alford of Brookhaven is wanted for questioning and you should call the Lawrence County Sheriff's office, at 601-587-2961, if you see him. The incident happened at a mobile home on Henry Cox Road just outside the Monticello city limits. Sheriff Joel Thames says dispatchers received a call from David Maxwell at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Maxwell said his dog was barking and it woke him up. When he got up to...

House Bill 2 is settled, with a 9-0 MS Supreme Court decision, there is not much room for questions about the bills constitutionality.  So now we move on to understanding what H.B. 2 actually said and what that means to the citizens of Mississippi.  We’ve discussed what the bill does at length on Mississippi Gun News but a quick review might be in order.First the bill never directly addressed “open carry” so the idea that this was an open carry law was a complete fabrication by those who seek to limit our freedoms.  Open carry has always been “legal” in...

Open carry at a rally protesting IRS abuse in Arizona This is a blow for reason and the rule of law in Mississippi.  The injunction against House Bill 2 should never have occurred.   You can read some background here.  From wreg.com: The judge ruled the bill was unconstitutionally vague. The Supreme Court decided that decision was incorrect. House Bill 2 would allow people without a permit to carry firearms as long as they are within sight. Concealed weapons still require a permit.  Here is some history of the Mississippi Constitution and how it has been gutted in the past....

Two important documents have been filed with the Supreme Court of Mississippi in recent days in response to an injunction preventing House Bill 2, a law clarifying the definition of “concealed” and characterized by some as an “open carry” bill, from going into effect. A halt, egged on by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was placed on the new law’s implementation by an activist Hinds County Circuit Court Judge at the behest of an anti-gun prosecutor and legislators. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Schuler Smith’s Response in Opposition to the State of Mississippi’s Combined Petition to Vacate a Permanent Injunction...

Now we wait Attorney Lisa Mishune Ross who represents DA Robert Shuler Smith and the handful of Hinds County Constables who have been “confused” by House Bill 2, filed a rambling and mostly irrelevant brief with the MS Supreme Court supporting Judge Winston Kidd’s injunction against House Bill 2. After reading her brief I am concerned that we are left completely uninformed of Ms Ross’ stand on dueling. Ms Ross proposes to address three issues in her brief: A. Whether the phrase “called not be called into question” [ I believe she means "shall not be called into question"] means...

Claiming Mississippi's House Bill 2 clarification of "concealed" is "unconstitutionally vague," Hinds Country Circuit Court Judge Winston L. Kidd today placed a permanent injunction on the law to keep it from going into effect in his Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Injunctive Relief. “[T]he Court will grant an Injunction to delay the effect of House Bill 2 until such time as the Mississippi Legislature amends or clarifies House Bill 2 during the next legislative Session as it relates to a citizen's right to openly carry a weapon in a holster without requiring a permit,” Kidd ruled. “[The bill] shall not...

Judge Winston Kidd extended his Temporary Restraining Order against HB 2 until Friday according to "Jackson Jambalaya" who attended the proceedings this afternoon. The state argues that HB 2 only clarified the definition of concealed and that open carry is allowed under the MS Constitution of 1891. Rep. Andy Gipson (R-Rankin) who authored HB 2 released this statement earlier today before the beginning of the hearing. "The Amended Complaint filed with the Hinds County Circuit Court on July 1, 2013 alleges that House Bill 2 (which defined the term "concealed") is unconstitutional on three grounds: 1) "Unconstitutionally vague." House Bill...