Free Republic

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- Forsyth Commissioners will decide whether or not to enact gun bans at their next meeting, Monday, February 13th. The scheduled vote will either promote the Second Amendment or trample upon it. This is your opportunity to be heard. Commissioner Bill Whiteheart has spoken out against this ban, but needs help. It appears that most of the Republican Commissioners support lawful carry, we need to establish a presence at this meeting to ensure they don’t develop cold feet. Under HB 650 that went into effect Dec. 1, only very narrowly defined “recreation areas” may be posted. Like some...

A statewide gun-rights nonprofit has commitments from 12 Winston-Salem residents who are willing to sue the city of Winston-Salem over a city ordinance prohibiting guns in parts of the city's parks, the nonprofit's president said Monday. Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, said he believes the Winston-Salem ordinance passed in November violates the spirit of a state law passed in July. The state law the General Assembly passed last summer allows people with concealed-carry permits to have guns in parks, but the law allows municipalities to ban guns from parks that have athletic facilities or playgrounds. Before the...

“There will come a day, a point in time, when that frog is cooked, and all our rights and all our freedoms and all our liberties are going to be gone, folks,” comments made by Ashe County Commissioner, Gerald Price, in support of a motion he had made to not ban the carrying of concealed weapons on county property. His motion was made after listening to nineteen speakers share their beliefs, pro or con, during a public hearing on the issue. Rita Prevette, director of Ashe County Parks and Recreation Department, was one of three speakers who encouraged the Commissioners...

The head of the National Park Service defended his decision to let Occupy protesters camp out in a park in the middle of Washington, D.C., though he said Tuesday the group will be given one last warning before being evicted. NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the District of Columbia that protests are a right under the First Amendment, although he acknowledged that some homeless people "have taken advantage of the situation." He added that this is not the first time the Park Service has allowed protesters to remain for weeks at...

Four people shot in Skyway and hours later, the same “person of interest” is allegedly involved in the slaying of a Mount Rainier National Park ranger, and in the aftermath, a debate is erupting over a 2010 law that allowed private citizens to carry loaded firearms in national parks in accordance with the laws of the state in which the park is located. Congress lifted a ban on carrying loaded guns in national parks in February 2010 amid warnings by critics that the action would lead to gun violence and poaching.—Seattle Times KING 5 morning anchor Joyce Taylor also tried...

Associated Press reported that on Sunday, a Mount Rainier National Park ranger was murdered by a man whom authorities suspect had earlier shot four people at a house party near Seattle. The story’s fairly well written until the conclusion, which is where writers place the message they want readers to take with. After writing about how sad this situation is — and it is – AP wrote: It has been legal for people to take loaded firearms into Mount Rainier since 2010, when a federal law went into effect that made possession of firearms in national parks subject to state...

Absolutely, people should be allowed to defend themselves anywhere. Providing the option to ban concealed-carry handguns from "recreational facilities" was a bad change to House Bill 650, which became law on Dec. 1. It should never have occurred. The inclusion of that provision was a lame attempt by ignorant state legislators to water down the bill. The personal choice of some state representatives to refrain from carrying a weapon for self-defense does not extend to allowing legislators to take that choice from other North Carolinians regardless of the location in question. So, yes, concealed carry should be allowed anywhere in...

With wintry weather poised to swoop into the cramped outdoor quarters of Occupy Wall Street protesters, it may not be long before more campers catch what's being called "Zuccotti lung." That's what demonstrators have dubbed the sickness that seems to be spreading among them at an unpleasantly high rate these days: "It's a real thing," Willie Carey, 28, told the New York Times. With little sleep in cold conditions, cigarettes and drinks being passed from mouth to mouth, and few opportunities to wash hands, Zuccotti Park may now just be the best place to catch respiratory viruses, norovirus (also known...

It’s crime all the time at Zuccotti ParkBy LARRY CELONA, JAMIE SCHRAM and KIRSTAN CONLEY Last Updated: 9:36 AM, November 7, 2011 Tent City is becoming Camp Crime. Occupy Wall Street squatters at Zuccotti Park have been busted in recent weeks for incidents ranging from petty thefts to menacing threats and from low-life drug sales to sicko sex attacks, law-enforcement sources told The Post. The complaints have been a near-daily phenomena since Oct. 11, just about three weeks after a few dozen anti-greed activists began occupying the private park. “There’s been a spike in crime the last few weeks,” one...

“This has been a nightmare,” said Brian Summers, who lives near Zuccotti Park. Summers said those trying to force corporations to become better corporate citizens should learn to be better citizens themselves. “It makes us feel horrible. We work down here, we live down here,” said Summers. Drums are played each and every day. The noise registers as 117 on a decibel meter. According to the federal government, regular exposure to 110 decibels can lead to permanent hearing loss. From blocks away, it might not be physically harmful, but neighbors say it's damaging lives. “We support the message, and a...

SAN DIEGO -- A full panel of federal judges has declined to rehear the case of a war memorial cross in a public park in San Diego that has been deemed unconstitutional by the court. A group fighting to preserve the monument announced Monday that the 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied its request. Five of the judges dissented, stating the cross should stay. A three-judge panel in January ruled that the cross conveys a message of religion and is unconstitutional. Kelly Shackelford says her organization will appeal to the Supreme Court. Shackelford is an...

Protesters will resist any efforts to remove them from the Lower Manhattan park where they have been camped for nearly a month, despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg's order that they vacate the park at 7 a.m. Friday so it can be cleaned, an organizer said Thursday. "Come tomorrow morning, we will passively resist and make it as difficult a process to remove us as possible," said Occupy Wall Street spokesman Tyler Combelic. "It's not an occupation if you can't occupy the park." His words appeared to be backed up by the sentiment of the crowd of more than 1,000 protesters who...

A New York amusement park was shut down Tuesday after local police scuffled with Muslim visitors upset over the park’s headscarf ban. About 3,000 Muslims from New York City visited Rye Playland in Westchester County to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. When they arrived, women wearing headscarves found they could not go on some of the rides, as all headgear is prohibited so that hats don’t fall onto the tracks. When families lined up to get refunds, fights broke out and police arrived on the scene, the New York Daily News reports. Fifteen visitors were arrested and two...

SULTAN, Wash. (AP) - A Sultan nudist club is suing to stop a public shooting range from being built near the park it runs for nude outdoor enthusiasts. Lake Bronson Club sued the state Board of Natural Resources and Snohomish County last week, saying the state can't transfer 150 acres of forestland to the county for a gun range. The lawsuit alleges state law requires the land be used for a public park. Club secretary Jodi Halfhill says it's not a good idea to have a shooting range a mile from a social camping club. The club has about 320...

CORAL GABLES— Starting this month, the city of Coral Gables will issue warning notices to owners of pickup trucks who do not park their trucks inside their garages at night. Since the 1960s, the city has banned people from parking their pickup trucks in their driveways or on city streets from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. After Aug. 8, Coral Gables will start issuing tickets to people who violate the parking ban. The city has resumed enforcement of this controversial law because last month, the Florida Supreme Court decided not to consider an appeal by Lowell Kuvin, who sued Coral...

HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) – The city of Hastings is looking to curb vandalism at a local park by installing a device that emits a high-frequency sound only heard by teens and some adults. Parks and Recreation Director Barry Bernstein said their looking to redevelop Cari Park near Red Wing Boulevard and are considering adding the security device known as SonicScreen, made by Miracletech Security. It would be installed by Webber Recreational Design, which is a company in Hastings. “It’s a sound barrier that would be activated when the park is closed to reduce loitering on the play equipment,” Bernstein said....

Delaware Park vandals do 'thousands' in damageBy Deidre Williams NEWS STAFF REPORTER Updated: May 24, 2011, 4:57 PM Delaware Park has always brought fun and joy for Suzanne Matheson and Matthew Mitchell and their 3-year-old son, Jamie. Monday, it brought shock and sadness. "Needless destruction," she said of the damage vandals had wrought. The damage came at the hands of a group of more than 100 teenagers and young adults who went on a destructive spree Saturday night, according to officials from Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. They were joined Monday by law enforcement and some members of the Common Council...

The state legislature currently has a bill under consideration that would allow citizens with concealed-carry firearm permits to be armed in parks. Critics object to the bill because they contend that the presence of guns in children's recreational areas would compromise their safety. Keep in mind that those citizens with concealed weapons permits currently carry firearms in many places where children are present. In the 15-plus years of the state's concealed-carry history, there have been no examples where the presence of legally carried firearms has posed a child/public safety issue. On the contrary, given that most instances of mass gun...

‘Forget About the Law’ Union Bosses & White House Advisors Bob Park & Rich Trumka Admitting They Are Overriding US Law & Sovereignty With The International Labor Movement http://www.theblaze.com/stories/forget-about-the-law-union-bosses-white-house-advisors-bob-park-rich-trumka-admitting-they-are-overriding-us-law-sovereignty-with-the-international-labor-movement/

A federal lawsuit claims a Branch County tea party group was denied the right to display banners and signs at a tea party rally at a public park in Coldwater because it was “too political” and “too controversial.” The Coldwater City Council then passed a resolution banning all banners and signs in that park. The Thomas More Law Center law firm filed its lawsuit last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Attorney Robert Muise of the Thomas More Law Center alleged that Coldwater City Manager Jeff Budd objected because the Common Sense Patriots of...

Today's inspiration was easy: Colorado National Monument Click the small ones for much larger images.

The tennis court at former President Jimmy Carter‘s private home is swept twice a day, his pool is cleaned daily and his grass cut, his flower beds weeded and his windows washed on a regular basis — all at taxpayers’ expense.

By all accounts, 63-year-old Robert Boardman of Port Angeles was a stand-up guy; a fellow who enjoyed hiking in the Olympics and who probably never imagined that he would be killed by – of all things – a mountain goat. But his death earlier this month on Klahhane Ridge several days ago should remind everyone that the campaign to allow the carrying of defensive firearms in national parks – a campaign championed by the National Rifle Association, Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Virginia Citizens Defense League and other gun rights organizations – had to...

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is considering putting an off-leash dog area in Martin Luther King Park, and it’s stirring up heavy emotions on both sides. It’s a memorial park and some believe having a dog park there is disrespectful to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet, the controversy is so typical of others lately – who decides what public spaces become sacred ground and what does that really mean for all of us?

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The town where the Civil War's tide-turning battle was waged is fighting dissension in its own ranks, with even hard-core preservationists split over a proposed casino that would rise near the historic battlefield and be named for the line that divided North and South. It's the second time in five years that Gettysburg has fought over a plan to build a casino. This time it's the Mason Dixon Resort & Casino, proposed on a hotel and conference center site within a mile of the southern boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park. "No Casino" and "Pro Casino" signs...

The political effort leading to adoption last year of a new statute allowing defensive firearms to be carried in national parks got a major affirmation – albeit tragic – Wednesday morning when a bear rampaged through a campground near Yellowstone National Park, killing one person and injuring two other campers. One can probably knock on wood that this did not happen in one of Washington's three national parks, which are currently at the height of the tourist season and they are loaded with campers who may not understand "bear country etiquette." The Seattle Times ran a story about this attack...

Vice President Biden to visit Yellowstone on Monday Posted: Friday, July 23, 2010 12:15 am | Updated: 9:59 am, Fri Jul 23, 2010. By DANIEL PERSON, Chronicle Staff Writer Vice President Joe Biden will visit Yellowstone National Park on Monday, the White House said in a written statement Friday. At 11:45 a.m. Monday, the vice president will speak to workers outside the Madison Junior Ranger Station, located just inside the park's West Entrance. He will be joined by the director of the National Park Service, Jonathan Jarvis. During his trip west, Biden will also visit Grand Canyon National Park. His...

Sometimes these blasphemy death threats come from crankish jihadi sympathizers who’d never have the stones to actually do anything about it. And sometimes they don’t. The Virginia man who warned on a radical Islamic website that the creators of the cartoon series “South Park” will be targeted for death for their caricature of the Prophet Muhammad has been arrested on charges that he provided material support to the terrorist organization Al Shabab, federal officials said Wednesday. Zachary Adam Chesser, aka Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, admitted to federal agents that he attempted on two occasions to travel to Somalia to join Al...

Several moms are planning a protest at an Orange County park after they say a park employee tried to stop them from nursing their infants in public. Two of the mothers say a lifeguard at Kelly Park at Rock Springs in Apopka blew a whistle and told them that they were exposing themselves and breaking the law as they nursed their infants last month. Shawna Mitchell and Celena Chavez said a manager at the park did not know whether it was legal for the women to breastfeed publicly. A mother can breastfeed her child anywhere the mother is authorized to...

Yesterday the National Park Service honored Ranger Scott Emmerich with the 2010 Harry Yount Award, the agency's highest honor for service to the Nation. Ranger Emmerich serves in Alaska's Glacier National Park. Apparently in response to various questions posed by the by the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe, Scott Emmerich is taking Americans' new gun rights in National Parks in stride. Emmerich explained that "I guess the biggest thing I'm cautious of is to not violate a person's Second Amendment rights. It's legal for them to carry a gun. The adjustment for park rangers was that we used to react immediately....

I guess the biggest thing I'm cautious of is to not violate a person's Second Amendment rights. It's legal for them to carry a gun. The adjustment for park rangers was that we used to react immediately. Now . . . you're just cautious. . . . There are some people who used to say they would never hike in Glacier National Park, but now they do because they're packing. They were worried about bears before, but now they can carry guns. . . . I would say 90 percent of visitors don't carry guns into a park and I'd...

A week ago, a hiker shot and killed a grizzly bear in Denali National Park (in Alaska): A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear in Denali National Park and Preserve on Friday after the animal charged toward his hiking companion. This is the first shooting incident since a change in federal law that allows firearms to be carried in many national parks and wildlife refuges went into effect in February. Granted, we have only the hikers' word for it that the shooting was indeed in self-defense, rather than pointless destruction of a magnificent animal, and park authorities are now...

It wasn't quite man-bites-dog, but there were men and there were dogs and there was biting.

ZION NATIONAL PARK — Zion is a unique national park where visitors receive a limited biblical and Book of Mormon education as part of their standard tour — whether they want it or not. That's because Zion is steeped in religious overtones — since the park's essential history and many of its names come from scripture. Ride the Zion shuttle buses and audio recordings recite to all passengers some of this religious history of the park, referring to the Book of Mormon and the Bible. For a few minutes, its reminiscent of a Temple Square tour. You'd be hard-pressed to...

The veiled threats against the Comedy Central show's creators should be taken very seriously. 'South Park" is hilarious, right? Not any more. Last week, Zachary Adam Chesser—a 20-year-old Muslim convert who now goes by the name Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee—posted a warning on the Web site RevolutionMuslim.com following the 200th episode of the show on Comedy Central. The episode, which trotted out many celebrities the show has previously satirized, also "featured" the Prophet Muhammad: He was heard once from within a U-Haul truck and a second time from inside a bear costume.

Baltimore Sun: It's not even that the terrorists have won, it's that wannabe terrorists have won. A group called Revolution Muslim, which by most accounts seems less a terrorist cell than, metaphorically speaking, a couple of guys living in their parents' basements, managed to scare Comedy Central this week into censoring South Park for mocking their religion, or rather, the ban in some quarters of depictions of the prophet Muhammed. The Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked the New York-based Revolution Muslim, says the group has no more than about a dozen members, is known mainly for spouting anti-Semitism, handing...

Participants of the Restore the Constitution rally came to Virginia this week with a long list of grievances. And they came bearing arms. Concerns ranged across the political spectrum, with protesters opposing everything from the federal requirement to purchase health insurance and the surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act to Social Security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ultimately, their open-carry rally at Fort Hunt Park in Mount Vernon and Gravelly Point Park in Arlington called for less government intrusion and a reduced amount of spending. "Most of us are libertarian, and we have libertarian concerns," said Andrew Graves,...

Arkansas is a beautiful state, blessed with many opportunities to enjoy its scenic splendor and other attractions. However, an Arkansas vacation is not advised for the gun-owning tourist. Following are many reasons why: * The entire Ozark National Forest and all other Wildlife Management Areas are off-limits to firearms of any kind, unless you have an Arkansas-approved gun permit. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have deemed themselves lords over these lands and have illegally enacted firearms regulations which are stricter than gun-hating California. Southern Arkansas is a confusing patchwork of gun laws due to the Wildlife Management Areas and...

Notes from the Restore the Constitution rally at Ft. Hunt Park in Virginia, 19 April 2010. The sky was a brilliant clear blue, the woods a lovely forest green, and the Potomac the color of the sky as we drove to the open carry rally at Ft. Hunt National Park. We came there to celebrate the renewal of our Constitutional rights and federalism. The long overdue law that stripped the federal bureaucracy of its power to prevent citizens from carrying guns in parks had represented a brilliant political move by Senator Coburn of Oklahoma, and has been a bright spot...

Tuesday, April 6, Great Smoky Mountain National Park Ranger Bill Wright spoke to the monthly meeting of the Knoxville chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA). Wright is the chief law enforcement officer in the park. His rangers are responsible for all law enforcement in the park, in both Tennessee and North Carolina, since the Park straddles the state line. Earlier this year, on February 22, a 94 year ban on firearms in National Parks was lifted. Persons with "facially valid" carry permits may now carry firearms in the Park, under the laws of the state they are in. That...

Updated Monday 2pm CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) -- Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield insists the Saturday evening shooting was an isolated incident. Mayor Littlefield told reporters Monday afternoon that the incident was not gang related and the result of a "flash mob" invited to congregate at Coolidge Park by text messaging. Littlefield went on to say that police will increase bike patrol and police presence at Coolidge Park. Updated Monday 11:00 a.m. CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) - Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield has called a news conference for 1:30 p.m. Monday to address the weekend shootings at Coolidge Park. Joining the Mayor to address the public...

Yesterday a federal judge rejected a constitutional challenge to Seattle's ban on guns in city parks, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has not said that the Second Amendment applies to cities and states as well as the federal government. That will almost certainly change after the Court decides McDonald v. Chicago, the handgun ban case it heard last week. But since McDonald involves a blanket ban rather than restrictions on where guns can be kept or carried, the Court's ruling still will not resolve the question of whether regulations like Seattle's are consistent with the Second Amendment. Even the...

Hi people, I have to visit Los Angeles with my 20month old son in April. My first time in Los Angeles - wondering if anyone has suggestions what to do that can both entertain me an dmy wife and my 20 month old son. Think Disneyland and the theme parks are not suitable as he is too young. Ideas? -where to stay - which is safe neighborhood?

Remember World War I? Few alive today were around when we sent the doughboys off to liberate Europe; meanwhile back home, American citizens were banned from exercising their Second Amendment rights in National Parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Knoxville. Today, that 94 year old ban is being lifted as a result of Federal legislation enacted last year. One might ask if it is wise to allow handguns to be carried in such places. But, one might also ask, in view of serious violent crimes in parks, if it is wise to not carry a handgun in...

A bill now before the Legislature would restore the decades-old policies regulating guns in Acadia National Park, the St. Croix International Historic Site and the state’s portion of the Appalachian Trail. Specifically, it would require gun owners to keep their weapons unloaded, broken down and stowed away in vehicle trunks, glove boxes or other such compartments. LD 1737 should be passed, and legislators should not allow it to turn into a Second Amendment showdown. The bill would restore the gun policy in place since the Reagan administration; last year, Congress and President Barack Obama enacted a credit card reform bill...

What could a free man hope to accomplish by crossing without permission into North Korea, to ask its rulers to repent, close the prison camps and free the people? Robert Park, a young American of Korean descent made exactly that crossing on Christmas day, walking from China into North Korea across the frozen Tumen River. There are reports that as he crossed, he called out, “I came here to proclaim God’s love.” A manifesto attributed to Park, leader of a Christian group advocating human rights for North Koreans, includes the statement: “All we are asking is for all North Koreans...

"...The charity was the Joyce Foundation on whose board of directors Obama served and which gave nearly $1.1 million in two separate grants that were “instrumental in developing and launching the privately-owned Chicago Climate Exchange, which now calls itself “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” And that’s only the beginning of this tawdry tale, Mr. Barnes. The “privately-owned” Chicago Climate Exchange is heavily influenced by Obama cohorts Al Gore and Maurice Strong. For years now Strong and Gore have been cashing in on that lucrative cottage industry known...

Hollywood isn't alone in its anticipation of Armageddon. Writing in the summer issue of World Policy Journal, Maurice Strong - Canada's very own prophet of doom - unequivocally embraces the apocalypse. Straight-forwardly entitled "Facing Down Armageddon: Environment at a Crossroads," Mr. Strong's essay ends with a dire warning. "Human existence is at risk," he says. "We face an Armageddon that is both real and imminent." Yet he implicitly grasps for hope - choosing at any rate not to specify (as the new film 2012 does) the precise day, month and year of the catastrophe. More so than most people who...

Artist and blogger Todd Wilkinson is unhappy about the upcoming rules change which will permit law abiding citizens to carry defensive firearms in National Parks beginning in February. He asks... Always, the first question responsible legislators should ask when writing a law is this: What significant problem is being solved by putting another code on the books? I happen to agree with that particular statement. In this case, the significant problem being solved is that visitors to National Parks, unlike State and local parks, are having their Second Amendment rights taken away from them and are rendered defenseless. Wilkinson doesn't...

Canandaigua, N.Y. - Matt Glowacki, a national speaker on disabilities, will give a talk on “Diversity According to Family Guy and South Park,” on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Finger Lakes Community College. Glowacki will explore how TV shows operating on the fringes of societal acceptance, such as “The Family Guy” and “South Park,” often have a more developed, logical and inclusive view of society. His lecture begins at 1 p.m. in Stage 13 on the second floor of the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive. Entry is free and open to the public. Visitors should arrive early to leave time...