Free Republic

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – The Department of Justice is proposing to amend the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to extend the term of import permits for firearms, ammunition, and defense articles from 1 year to 2 years. The additional time will allow importers sufficient time to complete the importation of the authorized commodity. In addition, it will eliminate the need for the importer to submit a new import application, ATF Form 6, where the importation was not completed within the 1-year period. Extending the term of import permits will result...

MASSENA - A retired U.S. Border Patrol agent is working to stir up interest in a firearms training program that would give former law enforcement officers a chance to continue to carry concealed weapons. Jean-Pierre Plante has proposed bringing a certified gun instructor to the north country, giving former officers a one-day crash course on everything weapon-related. The class would be the first of its kind in the area and would help retirees take advantage of a federal law that allows them to carry a concealed handgun. "A lot of them (law enforcement officers) are retiring, and sometimes they are...

Madison - The state has fallen at least four days behind its legal timelines for handling background checks for Wisconsin's new concealed carry law but could be caught up as soon as this week, a state official said. The state fell behind Dec. 30 on its obligations under the new law, which requires new applications to be handled within 21 days. So far, nearly 71,000 people have applied for permits and swamped state officials at the Department of Justice, who have printed more than 51,000 so far. That comes as handgun sales and the state background checks for those sales...

'Occupy Congress' seeks permit for Jan. 17 protestBy: Aubrey Whelan | 01/04/12 12:18 PM Occupy Congress, a national group partnering with Occupy DC for a major protest this month, is slowly moving forward in its efforts to aquire a permit for the protest. The group has scheduled a meeting Thursday with the National Parks Service to discuss getting a permit that would allow up to 10,000 people to protest outside the Capitol on Jan. 17. Participant Mario Lozada said protesters are trying to avoid the mass arrests that Occupy DC endured in early December during a week of similar protests...

Georgia pistol-packing permits aren’t published on paper any more. In recent weeks, local probate court offices have been processing Georgia weapons carry licenses on a new system, which will produce cards that look something like a driver’s license with a photo, holographic seals and other security features. The old paper licenses are much more basic. Jerry Henry, executive director of GeorgiaCarry.Org, said the new licenses at least look better. “The remark I hear most often is the existing ones could be made by a fourth-grader and a crayon,” said Henry, who lives outside Fairburn. He said he objects to the...

CLAYTON - A local gun shop owner is suing to force Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell to grant him a machine gun permit. Ronnie Mitchell, Bizzell's attorney, said he will ask the court to dismiss the case. Dennis Nielsen, owner of Freedom Arms, a newly opened gun store on U.S. 70 Business in Clayton, requested a machine gun permit in May. Bizzell refused, saying he needed more information, including the type of automatic weapon Nielsen needed a permit for, where and how it would be stored and why Nielsen needed the weapon. State law requires permits from the county sheriff...

The Richmond Tea Party is demanding a refund from the city for $10,000 it spent on for permits, portable toilets, police presence and emergency personnel for three rallies held at same plaza where the Occupy Richmond squatters set up their camp. The Republic reported: The Richmond tea party is demanding a refund of about $10,000 from the city, claiming it unfairly charged them for rallies while allowing the Occupy protesters to use the same space for several weeks for free. The political organization is sending the city an invoice for the charges incurred for three rallies held in Kanawha Plaza...

RICHMOND -- The Richmond Tea Party wants its money back from the city of Richmond for the cost of permits and other fees to use the same area in which Occupy Richmond has settled for nearly the past two weeks for free. The local branch of the Tea Party says it should be reimbursed for all the fees accrued and paid over the past three years for use of Kanawha Plaza, a city-owned square across from the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank and a few blocks from Virginia state capitol buildings. Occupy Richmond, an affiliate with the Occupy Wall Street movement,...

Anchorage, Alaska (AP) -- Alaska Native and environmental groups are challenging a federal air permit granted to Royal Dutch Shell PLC for offshore drilling in Arctic waters. Shell hopes to drill exploratory wells next summer off Alaska's northern coasts. The Environmental Protection Agency issued an air permit Friday for a Shell drill ship called the Kulluk.

Police called him a "Good Samaritan," but Minneapolis detectives were still investigating Friday the case of a man who shot and killed an armed robber he chased down the night before. The man who fired the fatal shot had a permit for his handgun and told police he used the weapon after the fleeing robber turned and confronted him behind a restaurant. Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said the department was leaning toward classifying the shooting as self-defense. "However, decisions on charging are left up to the county attorney's office. And since there's a death, it might even be taken...

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police say a man who witnessed an elderly woman being robbed and pistol-whipped shot and killed her attacker. Authorities say the armed robber confronted the woman in the parking lot of a grocery store about 10 p.m. Thursday, took her purse and hit her in the head with his gun. A man who witnessed the robbery chased the suspect and shot him. When police arrived, the witness told officers he had a permit to carry a gun and that he had shot the armed robbery suspect during a confrontation outside a nearby restaurant. He told officers where...

“If you have a permit to carry a handgun, the chances are slim to none you’ll ever actually have to use it,” said Greg Larson. “Ninety-two percent of the time when there’s a gun drawn, no shot is fired because no one wants to find out who’s the faster shot. Just seeing the gun ends the standoff. Larson said the biggest complaint he’s gotten about the Permit to Carry class for handguns he teaches is that he talks too fast. “It’s an eight hour class, and I have so much to cover,” he said. “I suppose I could try talking...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home builders sharply increased construction in June, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Commerce Department. Housing starts rose 14.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000, the highest level since January, the data showed. Details underlying the June figures were also strong. There was a large increase in starts of multifamily units and a smaller gain in starts of single-family homes, the department reported. Analysts said this will be the new trend in home building as there are more renters than buyers in the market. The report was much better than expected. Economists surveyed...

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A proposal expanding the right to use deadly force in self-defense continues its advance through the Republican-controlled Legislature. The gun bill from GOP Rep. Tony Cornish goes before a House judiciary panel Wednesday after passing a public safety committee last week. The legislation would grant the right to defend oneself using deadly force in an expanded definition of home, including a garage, car, deck, tent, boat, overnight accommodation or other dwelling. The person wouldn't have to retreat from a threatening situation first.

Two important pro-gun bills need your immediate attention. As we reported last week, House File 1467 passed in the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee by a 10 to 7 vote. HB 1467, which is sponsored by state Representative Tony Cornish (R-24B), is now before the House Judiciary Committee and will be voted on during its hearing at 8:15 a.m. this Wednesday, May 4. The Senate companion bill sponsored by state Senator Gretchen Hoffman (R-10), Senate File 1357 Senate File 1357, is expected to be considered by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee as early...

Since January, when gun laws in Iowa changed, the Kossuth County Sheriff has issued 350 gun permits. That’s more than were issued in all of 2010, when 266 permits were issued. The same number also were issued in 2009. Kossuth County Sheriff Steve Kollasch believes the jump in permits is the result of the new law. “This is a topic of interest right now,” he said. “I think eventually the interest will die down. A lot of people want to get one before the law changes.” On Jan. 1 of this year, Iowa became a “shall issue state,” joining 37...

US clears more deepwater oil drilling in GulfUS allows BHP Billiton to resume deepwater drilling in Gulf of Mexico; 2nd permit in 2 weeks On Saturday March 12, 2011, 1:09 pm EST NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The U.S. government is allowing deepwater drilling to resume on another Gulf of Mexico well as the region recovers from BP's devastating oil spill. BHP Billiton PLC said Saturday that the permit will allow it to get back to work in its Shenzi field, located about 120 miles off Louisiana's coast. The well, about 4,300 feet below the surface, began production in March 2009,...

Yesterday the judge handed down his order in my constitutional challenge to the constitutionality of a State law which prohibits the carry of loaded firearms. The law criminalizes the carry of all loaded firearms, but there are a few defenses which include; handgun carry permit, being a cop, being a judge, hunting, fishing, or on private property. The judge said that regulating the carry of a loaded firearm was within the purvue of the State Constitution, which allows regulation with a view to prevent crime. I am ineligible to have a Tennessee handgun carry permit, I'm not a cop or...

This is the police. Step away from the cupcakes! A half-baked town-board member called the cops on a pair of pint-size entrepreneurs for selling their cookies and cupcakes in a Westchester park without a permit. "A lot of people go to eat lunch in the park," one of the bummed-out baker boys, Andrew DeMarchis (pictured), 13, of Chappaqua, told The Post yesterday. "So everybody bought dessert from us. When the cop first pulled up, I didn't know he was there for us. Then he walked up to us. I didn't know we needed a permit. I was more shocked than...

Question: With the new laws in Georgia, is it, or is it NOT legal to carry concealed (with a permit) into the public areas (ie wait in line to mail a package) of a Federal Post office? I know it is illegal to carry into 'behind the counter' areas of ANY Federal building unless you are a LEO. Please cite the law or supply a link if you can. FReegards, Blueflag

I have a lawsuit pending against the State of Tennessee regarding the carry of firearms. My handgun permit was permanently suspended and the current law prohibits the carry of loaded guns w/o a permit. Loaded is considered the carry or storage of a gun in the vicinity of ammunition. I received a brief from the AG today. In the brief he says, "The Andrews court further explained that prohibitions against wearing arms in public places are permissible." Of course the decision said no such thing, but they wish it did. Here is the link to the brief: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4xDZlk5vthcYjE2NDY5YzktZmNjOS00YzUzLThiZmItOWZiN2NhMGQyZWIy&hl=en

CLEARWATER — An 83-year-old man leaving a restaurant pulled a gun on his attacker and thwarted a robbery attempt Thursday morning, police said. About 11:20 a.m., Charles Place was leaving Costello's, 1724 N. Fort Harrison Ave., when he was grabbed from behind by a 43-year-old Bryan Treloar, city public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts said. Treloar, a transient, tried to take Place's wallet, but Place resisted, holding his attacker's arm as they struggled, Watts said. In the scuffle, Place was knocked onto the ground and pulled his .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun from his pocket. Place told Treloar to get away from him,...

One of the people murdered by Palestinian Authority terrorists Tuesday used to carry a gun for self-defense, but Israeli authorities took away his permit in late 2009 – leaving him defenseless. Attorney Yitzchak Bam of the Forum for the Land of Israel represented the deceased man in his legal attempts to win back his gun permit. “In December, he received a letter according to which the permit is suspended because of closed criminal files regarding disturbance of the public peace,” he related. “The last closed file was from the period immediately after the Disengagement,” he said. The permit was extended...

MINNEAPOLIS - The Hennepin County attorney’s office has declined to press charges against the bouncer who shot and killed a man at Grumpy’s Bar in northeast Minneapolis last month. 24-year-old Tirso Gomez Jr. was thrown out of the bar earlier in the evening, and allegedly came at the bouncer with a knife in the early morning hours of July 11. Bouncer Christopher Lamotte, who had a legal conceal-and-carry permit, shot and killed Gomez.

A Michigan House of Representatives committee will hold hearings tomorrow on legislation to further streamline the Michigan handgun registration system by eliminating the requirement for non-CPL holders to first obtain a "permit-to-purchase" before buying a handgun. The Michigan House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation, and Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings on House Bill 5972, sponsored by State Representative Kim Meltzer (R-33) and House Bill 5973, sponsored by State Representative Joel Sheltrown (D-103). The hearings will be Tuesday, June 8, at 10:30 a.m., in room 521 of the Anderson House Office Building, across from the Michigan State Capitol. The hearings are open...

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...