Free Republic

The Bohemian Club, the secretive, men-only society known for its annual bacchanal on a sprawling forest enclave in Sonoma County, has won state approval for a logging plan allowing the group to harvest as much as 1.7 million board feet of timber a year. The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's endorsement of the club's controversial permit essentially eliminates government oversight of its timber-harvesting practices over the next century. While the 130-year-old club, whose members are believed to have included every Republican president since Herbert Hoover, argues the logging plan will help reduce fire risk and restore its 2,700-acre...

PHOENIX — Are you 18? Not convicted of a crime? Legislation set for debate today would let you carry a concealed weapon without having to bother with the background check, training and proficiency test now required. Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, said she believes all Arizonans should have the right to defend themselves. Allen, who does have a state-issued permit to carry a concealed gun, said she does not believe that makes gun owners any safer. More to the point, she said the law makes Arizonans less safe. Allen’s proposal, SB 1270, does not do away with the concealed weapon permits....

Erin King squeezed into a packed classroom at Bob's Gun Shop with a new pistol and a mission. She sat through two hours of instruction and fired off several dozen rounds at the range with her Guardian .32-caliber. The 26-year-old from Suffolk bought her first gun a few weeks ago and plans to get a concealed-carry permit next month. She'll slip her pistol into a hidden holster and protect herself commuting to her part-time job cleaning offices at night. "I'm responsible for myself," King said. As the classroom shows, she's not alone.

‘What’s your topic?’ my editor wanted to know. “Guns once more, with feeling,” I replied, although I could have saved a syllable by saying simply “Guns more with feeling.” The late opera composer Tibor Polgar urged his librettists to save syllables. “To make the world a better place,” he used to say. No doubt. Saving a syllable here, a question there, a requirement or prohibition somewhere else, to say nothing of a policy or law, might make the world more livable. Saving our breath is the best solution in the end — but in the interim it’s hard not to...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gu...-carry-permits SNIP DC City Council enables residents’ easy access to mail order handgun carry permits! In my last column I highlighted the draconian nature of the DC City Council’s changes to the District’s gun control laws quietly passed in December, 2008 amidst all the Presidential inaugural hubbub. But here’s the silver lining – the Council’s repeal of the Police Chief’s discretionary authority to issue gun carry permits makes district residents eligible to obtain mail order handgun carry permits from Pennsylvania. Here’s why: . . .

See democracy in action! Here is a Live video feed of the Orange County Board Of Supervisors starting at 9:30 AM PST. What is this meeting all about and why is it so important? Due to the enormous backlash generated by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens illegal actions among law abiding Orange County citizens CCW permit holders and gun rights activists, hundreds and hundreds of people are expected to attend the upcoming meeting taking place today February 10th (live video feed starting at 9:30 AM PST). The Sheriff reaction to this simple manifestation of American democracy? Really ugly: we are talking about...

"It was legal for Meleanie Hain to openly carry a gun to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game, but that doesn't mean it was right, Lebanon County Judge Robert Eby said today."

A group planning an anti-war rally and march during this summer's Republican National Convention has secured a permit for a demonstration at the state Capitol. Leaders of the so-named Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War .. expecting between 30,000 and 50,000 people at the Sept. 1 rally. .. on the opening day of the GOP nominating convention.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah has stopped issuing concealed-gun permits to foreigners because of the rising number of applicants and the difficulty of conducting background checks. About 1,000 citizens of other countries have permits that allow them to carry a concealed gun in Utah and 30 states that have an agreement with Utah. Most are Canadians; others are from countries including Japan, Switzerland, Aruba, Mongolia, Mexico and the Republic of Congo. Since 1995, Utah has issued 92,000 permits, 30 percent to non-Utah residents. Applicants typically must show they attended a safety class. Even a blind North Dakota man has one.

Florida has given concealed weapon licenses to hundreds of people who wouldn't have a chance of getting them in most other states because of their criminal histories. Courts have found them responsible for assaults, burglaries, sexual battery, drug possession, child molestation -- even homicide.

INDIANAPOLIS A new state law has gone into effect allowing Indiana handgun owners to get lifetime licenses. Gun owners now have the option to get lifetime permits instead of the current four-year licenses to carry the weapons. About 287-thousand people in Indiana have gun permits, which cost 25 dollars for four years. Those who want lifetime licenses when their current permits expire will have to pay 100 dollars; those getting a license for the first time will be charged 125 dollars. Applicants will still have to pass criminal background checks and allow their fingerprints to remain on file with police....

A Cass County Circuit Court judge told Aquila Inc. on Friday that it must immediately stop operating its Cass County power plant. Judge Joseph Dandurand set a May 31 deadline for the company to either get regulatory approval to resume operating the plant or start tearing it down. He also ordered Kansas City-based Aquila (NYSE: ILA) to immediately post a $20 million bond regarding the plant. "I have nothing but frustration with the position taken by Aquila," Dandurand said. He referred to Aquila's decision to build the plant in the face of his January 2005 injunction as a show of...

A blind North Dakota man, licensed to carry a concealed firearm, says it's too easy to get the permit in his state.

JUNEAU, Alaska — Starting Wednesday, a new anti-gun-control law in Alaska will allow handgun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit in the seven Alaska cities where permits are now required. Gun owners will be allowed to keep their firearms in their vehicle, even if the car is parked on private property where the owner has a no-gun policy. And, some police chiefs say, local ordinances that ban guns from public buildings such as city halls will no longer be enforceable. Alaska’s new law forbids municipalities from passing gun laws that are more restrictive than state law. The National...

DOYLESTOWN, PA (AP) A computer failure may mean that some Bucks County gun owners won’t get their renewal notices before their permits expire. Sheriff Edward Donnelly says he thinks no more than a few dozen renewal notices have gone out late. But Andrew Barniskis, the legislative chairman for the Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, says he thinks the problem is more widespread. Barniskis says he brought the problem of late renewal notices to Donnelly’s attention more than a year ago and was assured the problem would be fixed. Gun permits must be renewed every five years, and the sheriff’s...

LISBON - County Sheriff David L. Smith may form a board to review applications of persons he denied permits to carry concealed weapons. The idea was suggested Wednesday by the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court magistrate presiding over the lawsuit filed by a man whose application for a permit to carry a concealed weapon was denied by Smith. "I'm the final word but there is a provision in the law that says I can set up a review board to look at denials," he said. The Mahoning County man, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, filed a lawsuit against...

TYLER, Texas (AP) -- A man angry about being sued for unpaid child support opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle outside a courthouse, killing his ex-wife and a man trying to help the couple's adult son. The gunman, 43-year-old David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., was killed Thursday afternoon in a gun battle with officers a few miles away after wounding his son and three law enforcement officers, one critically. The son had been acting as a mediator between his parents, police said. Police estimated that Arroyo, who had a history of spousal abuse and weapons violations, shot 50 rounds in...

There was one factual error in my column last week about Matthew Dirks, the Iraq veteran who was denied a concealed carry permit. He needs a state armed guard license, which has requirements above and beyond the simple carry permit. In my defense, everyone I spoke to confirmed that Dirks needed a "carry permit." I apologize for the error, but it in no way diminishes my point, which was: If an Army combat veteran, trained to use a variety of weapons, can't have a carry permit, who can? St. Paul Police spokesman Paul Schnell called to answer that question. He...

Does anyone have any recent experience in applying for a CCW permit in Indiana? I've already completed my application, been approved, and am waiting for the permit to arrive in the mail. My question is: how long should I expect to wait? I've heard anything from 10 days to 3 months(!).

NEW YORK - The city's decision to deny a permit to protesters for a rally on Central Park's Great Lawn on the weekend before the Republican National Convention is about preserving the lawn, not suppressing speech, lawyers for the city said in federal court Friday. The lawn would be ruined if 75,000 people gathered there for a rally on Aug. 28 and then 250,000 people used the lawn for another rally the next day, said Gail Donoghue, representing the city. "I think two is too many back to back. The lawn would have no time to recover," Donoghue told U.S....

NEW YORK (AFP) - An Arab-American organization and a group opposed to war and racism filed suit charging they were unconstitutionally denied a permit to hold a protest in Central Park during the upcoming Republican National Convention. Attorneys for the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) and ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), filed suit in US District Court in Manhattan accusing Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York Police Department and others of violating their right to a permit for the park's Great Lawn. The groups want to hold a civil rights rally on Central Park's Great...

Minnesota's law enforcement agencies will lose a funding source if the state's handgun permit law doesn't remain in effect during the court fight over its constitutionality, the state attorney general's office told a Ramsey County judge Monday.

State refuses to issue permit for convention concert Thursday, July 8, 2004 4:12 PM (Boston - AP) — Senator John Kerry's plans to host a Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade during the Democratic convention have been nixed. State public safety officials are refusing to issue a permit, citing logistical and security concerns. Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Katherine Abbott decided against granting the permit after the state's public safety secretary advised against it. Kerry had planned the event to show appreciation to his hometown for hosting the convention. It's expected the senator will receive the Democratic presidential nomination...

Cape Cod is that part of Massachusetts that sticks out into the Atlantic ocean like an upraised, bent arm. (Map here.) It is separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal. Transit choices include boat, airplane and the (most popular) car. If taking the car, you'll have to cross the canal on either the Bourne Bridge or the Sagamore Bridge. Both are four-lane (two each direction) bridges with narrow lanes. Consequently, they are the choke points for traffic traveling on and off Cape, as we say. This causes traffic back-ups that often extend 5-10 miles from the bridges as...

Most disturbingly, the increase in carry guns is further evidence that efforts to slow America's rush to become an armed society have largely failed. ... Common sense suggests that the more guns on the street, the more wrongful injuries and death." --Tracy Warner (Ft. Wayne, Indiana Journal Gazette; "Up in arms: Ohio joins states allowing concealed handguns"; Sunday, March 14, 2004.) The very next day, in an article called "Licensed to carry", Indiana's competing Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel exposed Warner as someone who has a concealed weapons permit -- proving once against that many anti-gunners in positions of power are actually...

If you are a handgun owner in New York, you've already been put through the wringer just qualifying for your permit. And it's a good bet that your hackles will really be up when you hear about the new fee schedule included in Gov. Pataki's Budget Bill. The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association warns that the state, as part of the executive budget, is attempting to legislate a $100 fee (and others) and expiration date on pistol licenses. The bill would amend Section 400.00 of the Penal Law to impose a $100 state licensing fee on new and...

Gun owner: I, not cops, got bad guy January 22, 2004 Three days after Christmas, someone broke into the DeMar family home in Wilmette through a dog door, stealing a television, an SUV and the keys to the home. The next night, Hale DeMar was prepared for a return visit. With his children upstairs, DeMar, 54, shot burglar Morio Billings, 31, in the shoulder and calf, police said. Billings was caught at a nearby hospital and charged with felony residential burglary and possession of a stolen car, authorities said. And, in a move that has drawn criticism, DeMar was cited...

Very well concealed One of the longest and most contentious legislative debates in recent Ohio his tory has ended. Within the next 10 days, Ohioans can expect to be granted the right to secretly carry guns in public. This represents social progress only to those who hunger to carry a weapon whenever they step outside of their homes, or those fatigued by an inane debate that has stalled action on far more important concerns. From Our Advertiser The measure authorizing concealed carry was sent Wednesday to Gov. Bob Taft, who promptly indicated that he would sign it. The law will...

Tuesday, October 28 Neighbor twice called police over pranksters By Dani Davies, Jane Musgrave and Pamela Pérez, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Saturday wasn't the first time pranksters targeted Jay Levin. Three years ago, his suburban Boca Raton home was shot with paint balls that left holes in two front windows, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report. A year later, he reported a small hole in the bedroom window of his Woodbury Road house. Just after midnight Friday, Levin shot back. Mark Drewes, a Pope John Paul II High School student whose family...

Monday, October 27 Shooting death met with anger, prayers By Josh Mitchell, Cynthia Kopkowski and Thomas R. Collins, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Monday, October 27, 2003 With hundreds of mourners surrounding them, Luciana and Gregory Drewes broke down in sobs at a church altar Sunday when a priest beseeched worshipers to pray for their dead teenage son. "I want him back," Luciana Drewes cried as she hugged family members at St. Jude Catholic Church in suburban Boca Raton. Sixteen-year-old Mark Andrew Drewes was shot dead Saturday during a midnight prank. He had rung the doorbell of Jay Steven Levin...

Sunday, October 26 Teen pulling prank killed by neighbor By Sarah Eisenhauer and Cynthia Kopkowski, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 26, 2003 A birthday celebration capped off by an early-morning round of mischievous doorbell ringing ended in the death of a Boca Raton-area teenager early Saturday after a neighbor who believed his home was about to be burgled shot and killed the boy, deputies said. Mark Andrew Drewes, a popular Pope John Paul II High School sophomore who celebrated his 16th birthday at a party Friday night, died from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center. The...

<p>Missouri's law allowing qualified residents to carry concealed firearms, scheduled to take effect Saturday, is on hold as a result of a St. Louis judge's ruling Friday.</p> <p>At the request of some area officeholders and others, Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer blocked enforcement of the law. His order became effective after opponents of the law posted a $250,000 bond.</p>

JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- The suspect accused of killing a man Saturday night in a gas station shoot out was in critical condition Monday with a bullet wound to the head from the man he killed. Police said a teenager with a gun attacked Charles Day, 30. Day was stopping to pick up milk and a morning snack for his 7-year-old daughter at a gas station on Broadway and Edgewood around midnight. "Everywhere he went that baby was with him ... it's gonna kill her," close family friend Joyce Bledsoe told Channel 4's Jennifer Waugh. Detectives said Day was carrying a...

<p>WHITE PLAINS — A federal judge ordered Westchester County yesterday to pay a twice-convicted pedophile $2,500 for violating his rights by past refusals to allow him to perform his clown act for children at Rye Playland Amusement Park.</p> <p>But Judge John S. Martin approved the county's park regulation crafted earlier this year that bars convicted pedophiles from obtaining performance permits if their acts are designed to "entice a child to congregate around" them. The ruling allows the county to bar Richard Hobbs from performing his clown act at the county-owned park.</p>

Applications for concealed-weapons permits are piling up on sheriffs' desks throughout the metro area, overwhelming county workers and frustrating gun owners. Residents in seven metro Denver counties have filed at least 2,223 applications, most under a new statewide law that took effect May 19, the latest figures show. But sheriffs had taken action on only 450 applications - a little more than 20 percent. Jefferson County led the way with 738 applications; Broomfield County had the fewest with 35. Some of Jefferson County's applications were filed under an old law, however, though the exact number is not available. Denver County...

IN 90 DAYS: Governor signed bill, praising it as a Second Amendment victory. JUNEAU -- Alaskans will no longer need a permit to carry a concealed weapon under a bill signed into law Wednesday. In signing the bill, Gov. Frank Murkowski lauded the work of the Legislature and the National Rifle Association in protecting the Second Amendment rights of Alaskans. The bill would adopt the so-called "Vermont Carry" law that allows residents to carry a concealed weapon without a special permit. Vermont has no laws against carrying concealed weapons, the governor's office said. In Alaska, someone who applies for a...

Judge upholds Augusta protest law, promises later ruling on Burk permit By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer April 7, 2003 AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- A federal judge upheld a law that allows the sheriff to regulate protests like the one planned by Martha Burk at Augusta National Golf Club. Monday's ruling was only a partial victory for city officials, however. U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. hasn't decided if Sheriff Ronald Strength violated his discretion by denying Burk the right to protest at the front gates of the exclusive club, where the Masters begins Thursday. Burk is planning...

I am told in order to gather and to rally you are required to have a permit, I am a native Michigander actully wanting to start a rally for Troop support in Washington DC. I am rather embarrased at not knowing this, but how do I get a permit? Thank you for your help.

RENO -- A man was recovering at a Reno hospital after being shot by a woman as he is alleged to have tried to vandalize her vehicle. Police said the woman had dropped off two children at a clinic and day-care center Wednesday and was returning to her van when she saw the man vandalizing the vehicle. The center is operated by the University of Nevada, Reno. "He was vandalizing her vehicle," said UNR police Lt. Marc Conley. "He approached her. He was advancing toward her, and she shot him." The man was reported in stable condition in the intensive...

<p>A top NYPD official is being probed for helping rockers Steven Tyler and Joe Perry obtain pistol licenses in return for alleged VIP treatment at an Aerosmith concert and ritzy after-party, The Post has learned. Deputy Inspector Benjamin Petrofsky, the former head of the NYPD License Division, is the target of two probes into the circumstances that enabled Tyler and Perry to receive "carry permits," which allow the rockers to legally possess concealed handguns in the Big Apple.</p>

<p>A PICTURE on the front of The Boston Globe's City & Region section last week showed a group of women waiting to apply for firearm identification cards at the District 14 police station in Brighton. They were in a line, the accompanying news story noted, that stretched the length of two corridors. By the time a reporter arrived to interview the applicants, some of them had been standing in that line for more than two hours.</p>

Appeals court says gun seizure by Wayne police was proper JENNIFER V. HUGHES The Wayne Police Department had the right to revoke a township man's firearms ID card and seize his weapons even though he had never run afoul of the law with his guns, according to an appellate court ruling handed up Thursday.Four DWI convictions over the past 20 years proved to be a problem for Thomas Whitney, the court ruling said."I don't go drinking with a gun. I use them for sport," said Whitney, 43, who works in construction. He said he is a National Rifle Association member...

Oregon community challenges feds Residents of John Day, Oregon are a self-reliant lot. Hard winters and a depressed economy have forged hardscrabble attitudes toward outsiders and "the government." Grant County voters passed two ballot measures last month reflecting the frustration of residents who feel they no longer control their lives, livelihoods or the land. By about a 2-to-1 margin, residents approved a measure banning the United Nations in the county and another allowing people to cut trees on federal land, regardless of whether the U.S. Forest Service approves. "We intend to push the limit, push the envelope on this," said...