Free Republic

In South Carolina, both licensed open Carry and Constitutional Carry bills (H3094 and H3096) have passed the House and are sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee, waiting to be scheduled for a vote. One Second Amendment activist, James Moffitt wrote, on 24 March, about the Senate Judiciary Committee:This is typically where most 2A friendly bills go to die. Everyone reading this should be contacting the Senate Judiciary committee members now. I can guarantee you Moms Demand Action will be filling up their inboxes and flooding their voice mail. The time for action is NOW!!The Judiciary Committee Chair is powerful Republican...

The open carry activists did not win the open carry victory in Texas because of public opinion, at least not on the superficial and transitory image of public opinion that is usually measured. It was won because the activists developed means and methods to communicate around the elite establishment, grew their own organizations and vision, and exerted raw political power to bend the government to their will. They had several advantages. The facts were on their side; the Constitution is on their side; and the culture is on their side. Against them were the big government elites, big media,...

On 28 January, a young man in a red hoodie snatched a pistol from a man openly carrying it, in Detroit, Michigan. The robbery occurred in the BP gas station at Seven Mile and Wyoming Ave. A confederate held the store door open. It was unclear if there was another confederate in the getaway vehicle. The getaway vehicle did not have a rear license plate. Google maps BP at Seven Mile and Wyoming, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten The man openly carrying the pistol was identified as being 53 years old. The surveillance video, released on 20 February, reportedly...

On Wednesday, an en banc panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the second amendment right to keep and bear arms does not citizens include the right to carry a firearm, either openly or concealed, in public .The court issued the ruling in the case of George Young Jr. V Hawaii, a lawsuit challenging a Hawaii firearm licensing law, which states residents seeking license to openly carry a firearm in public must demonstrate “the urgency or the need” to carry a firearm, must be of good moral character, and must be “engaged in the...

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) - A South Carolina committee passed a bill Tuesday called the “Open Carry with Training" Act, putting the state one step closer to allowing the open carry of guns. Right now, residents in the Palmetto State can only apply for a concealed weapons permit. Under this new law, people with those permits could carry freely. The bill would require citizens to complete training to do this. Proponents of the bill say it’s “common sense" and that 2nd Amendment rights need to be recognized now. Those against the bill say they are not opposed to the concept...

IMG NSSF.org U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- There are only five states which currently ban the open carry of handguns in most public areas, most of the time. They are: Illinois, New York, California, Florida, and South Carolina. New Jersey and Hawaii ban open carry in practice, but legally, anyone with a permit can open carry. It is just extremely difficult to obtain a permit.South Carolina is moving toward restoring the right to openly carry handguns in public with House Bill 3094, labeled “Open Carry with Training”.The bill is reasonably easy to read and understand. From scstatehouse.gov:TO AMEND SECTION 23-31-210, CODE OF...

Image screenshot from Youtube video KETV, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten There are few Governors who unabashedly support the exercise of Second Amendment rights at protests inside their own state Capitol buildings. Governor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska is one of them.On 12 January 2021, Governor Pete Ricketts gave a press conference about how the Covid19 protective measures.At about 42:11 in the video, a reporter asks about potential “armed protestors” at the Capitol. From Governor Ricketts:So, If people want to protest and bring their guns, obviously open carry is allowed in Nebraska. But I would suggest that everybody remember that...

The saga of  Michigan Secretary of State, radical democrat Jocelyn Benson's attempt to ban open carry at the Michigan polling places, without the legal authority to do so, continues. After the edict was declared on 16 October by Benson, Tom Lambert and a number of groups supporting the right to arms filed a lawsuit to stop the illegal usurpation of power on 22 October 2020. Michigan Judge Christopher Murray, of the Michigan Court of Claims, struck down the ban on open carry as exceeding the authority of Secretary Benson, in part, because she did not follow the necessary procedure. The...

 Image from lawsuit, public document, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten On 27 October, 2020,  Judge Christopher Murray, at the  Michigan Court of Claims, issued an opinion striking down Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's edict banning the open carry of guns at all polling places on election day. The edict was issued on 16 October.  Tom Lambert and several right to bear arms groups sued to stop the order extral-legal order on 22 October, 2020. From freep.com: "The court’s duty is not to act as an overseer of the Department of State, nor is it to impose its view on...

A Michigan Court of Claims judge on Tuesday struck down Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's directive that sought to ban the open carry of firearms at polling places on Election Day. Judge Christopher Murray granted the pro-gun-rights groups who filed the lawsuit a preliminary injunction, effectively reversing Benson's October 16 order and eliminating a universal ban on the open carry of firearms at or within 100 feet of polling locations or absentee counting boards on Election Day..... Murray wanted to narrowly define his argument, writing, "The Court's duty is not to act as an overseer of the Department of State,...

Michigan Open Carry Sues Michigan AG for violation of Law and Rights Michigan Secretary of State Joycelyn Benson has taken the dictatorial step of banning open carry at all polling places on election day in Michigan. Open carry, in accordance with Michigan law, has been legal in Michigan for the entire history of the state. It appears, by caprice or for political purposes, Benson has decided to change the long precedent for the 2020 elections. Benson is acting as a dictator, imposing restrictions the legislator and governor have refused to pass, although they have had numerous opportunities to do so....

Michigan’s secretary of state wants voters to leave their guns at home this Election Day — or at least keep them 100 feet from any building containing polling places. On Friday, Jocelyn Benson issued guidance directed at local election officials clarifying that the open carry of guns on Election Day in, or close to, any voting locations — polling places, clerk’s offices and absent voter counting boards — is banned. “The open carry of a firearm is prohibited in a polling place, in any hallway used by voters to enter or exit, or within 100 feet of any entrance to...

On 24 September 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal heard the oral arguments in a virtual en banc panel to re-hear the case. The three-judge panel had held the Hawaii law violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution because it did not allow ordinary citizens a way to bear arms outside of the home for self-defense.Screen shot of virtual hearlng of the en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit in Young v. Hawaii. Cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten The Ninth Circuit has established a tradition of re-hearing cases favorable to the Second Amendment and not re-hearing cases which...

SACRAMENTO — A U.S. judge on Monday upheld California’s near-total ban on carrying guns in public even as protests in other states have seen counter-demonstrators armed with weapons. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller denied a review of a 2017 federal appeals court decision that upheld the law, which bans carrying concealed weapons in most urban areas and permits open-carry of weapons only if someone believes that a person is in immediate danger and law enforcement has failed to respond, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

...The following is a probable cause statement written by prosecutors based on information received from several police detectives with the Kenosha Police Department: ...McGinnis stated that the first round went into the ground and when the second shot went off, the defendant actually had the gun aimed at Rosenbaum. McGinnis stated he did not hear the two exchange any words. McGinnis said that the unarmed guy (Rosenbaum) was trying to get the defendant’s gun. McGinnis demonstrated by extending both of his hands in a quick grabbing motion and did that as a visual on how Rosenbaum tried to reach for...

Subway announced Wednesday it is banning the open carry of firearms in restaurants across the nation. WRAL reports the ban applies even in states where open carry is legal. Guns.com notes Subway’s firearm policy now says the restaurant chain requests “guests (other than authorized law enforcement) refrain from openly displaying firearms inside restaurants — even in states where ‘open carry’ is permitted.”

A Wisconsin Walmart manager recently followed store policy in Northern Wisconsin. They interacted with a long term friend of mine. He is an accomplished world traveler, due to his vocation as a missionary. He has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He has often remarked about how little freedom most of the world has, compared to the United States.He is a brave man. I marvel at the dangers he considers routine.  When in the United States, he openly carries a sidearm, most commonly a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol.  He says liberty, unclaimed and unused, is easier to lose....

They will be arriving in peace, and hoping to carry a message. Omar Chatman, 41, is one of the organizers for 1,000 brothers and sisters in arms, a pro-Second Amendment walk planned for Saturday led primarily by Black gun owners in Oklahoma. The demonstration, which will begin at 2 p.m. at Ralph Ellison Memorial Library, is intended to bring attention to the fact that Black Americans’ constitutional rights to carry firearms are not often respected, Chatman said. All are welcome to march in solidarity with the group, which expects between 200 and 300 people to attend in what they are...

The Denver Police Department arrested Jafar Partowmah on April 26 at the Capitol for openly carrying a firearm. The man was carrying two pistols. He is a permitted carrier. He was on the sidewalk and not starting anything. He was not brandishing or threatening. His shirt blew in the wind and the cops saw his weapon. He was arrested around 2 p.m. in the 1400 block of Lincoln Street. A protest was held at the Capitol Sunday because of the COVID-19 closures. Video below: https://twitter.com/EM_KA_17/status/1254729219625701376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1254729219625701376&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativeus.com%2Ftyranny-in-america-video-of-police-officers-arresting-a-concealed-carry-holder-with-his-permit-during-the-lockdown-protests%2F https://twitter.com/reallouiehuey/status/1254532521980645378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1254532521980645378&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativeus.com%2Ftyranny-in-america-video-of-police-officers-arresting-a-concealed-carry-holder-with-his-permit-during-the-lockdown-protests%2F https://twitter.com/reallouiehuey/status/1254529361782308865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1254529361782308865&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativeus.com%2Ftyranny-in-america-video-of-police-officers-arresting-a-concealed-carry-holder-with-his-permit-during-the-lockdown-protests%2F Colorado is an “open-carry” state, with some exceptions. Denver generally prohibits the open...

An 11-year-old girl toting a loaded AR-15 assault weapon appeared Monday at a legislative hearing with her grandfather, who is supporting a proposal that would allow visitors to Idaho who can legally possess firearms to carry a concealed handgun within city limits. Charles Nielsen addressed the committee that voted to send the legislation to the full House as Bailey Nielsen stood at his side with the weapon slung over her right shoulder, but did not say anything. “Bailey is carrying a loaded AR-15,” Charles Nielsen told lawmakers. “People live in fear, terrified of that which they do not understand. She’s...