Free Republic

Chicago already has among the nation's strictest gun-control laws in response to the perpetual violence in the city's West Side and South Side minority neighborhoods. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot contends the way to handle the recent increase in shootings and deaths is even more gun control. On Wednesday she was reacting to President Trump's warning that the federal government may intervene in Democratic-run cities where the violence is only getting worse amid the unrest in response to the death of George Floyd, the Chicago Tribune reported. "If the president was really committed to helping us deal with our violence, he...

On Friday, I watched Tucker Carlson talk about how many politicians are drunk on power in responding to this COVID-19 pandemic, a concern Tucker has repeatedly addressed. The first words of the First Amendment read: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech …" What is unclear about the words, "shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise thereof" of one's religion? And then there's the Second Amendment. Its 27 words are clear and concise, needing no further commentary or regulation: "A well-regulated militia being...

There's really nothing worse than neighbors ratting out neighbors. But that's what Democrats are urging citizens to do across the country. And more often than not innocent Americans are getting caught in the cross-hairs. Sheila Perez Smith tells "The Todd Starnes Show" that she was stunned when the police showed up at her home near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Smith's 7-year-old son had just completed a Zoom class from the den of their home when she received an urgent email from her son's first-grade teacher. It just so happened that the little boy had recently been gifted a toy gun, and...

Governors across the nation have issued stay-at-home orders. Many have extended them once or twice. Some have even gone so far as to threaten to slap residents with fines. But what these governors are counting on is local police departments and sheriffs to enforce their orders. Sheriffs from around the country are standing up and refusing to enforce the orders because they believe them to be unconstitutional. Two Arizona Sheriffs – Doug Schuster of Mohave County and Mark Lamb of Pinal County – said they will not enforce Gov. Doug Ducey's (R) stay-at-home order. Both Schuster and Lamb agreed to...

Two U.S. Supreme Court justices this week challenged "erroneous precents" the court has used in some of its rulings, including the Roe v. Wade decision that created a right to abortion. Even the author of the majority opinion in Roe, Harry Blackmun, admitted the ruling was on shaky ground. He warned that if the "personhood" of the unborn were to be established, their right to life would then be guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Since the 1973 ruling, abortion rights have been upheld several times by stare decisis, the legal doctrine that obligates courts to follow historical cases. But the...

The coronavirus cannot kill the spirit of American defiance in the face of government orders Americans believe to be unjust, as shown by Scott Nichols, the sheriff of Franklin County, Maine. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Friday issued an executive order that requires all out-of-state travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days to lessen the chance of transmitting coronavirus, according to the Portland Press-Herald. The order also tells would-be visitors not to come to Maine if they have symptoms of the virus. Violators could face up to six months in jail and $1,000 fine. "We will not be setting up a...

A parody in the voice of Sen. Chuck Schumer: Gun owners, do you struggle with an addictive urge to buy firearms on the fly while goose-stepping through gun shows and pawn shops? If so, my fellow Democrats will happily relieve you of all your guilt … and your guns. Forget wasting time plugging silhouettes of bad guys with bullets – blast your addiction publicly on social media by plugging these two pending Track 'n Grab gun bills: The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Data Integrity Act would amend my original Brady Bill. Sponsored by my partner in crime,...

The most important man in President Trump’s life right now is William Barr, the Attorney General of the United States. Yet, Mr. Trump may not understand that. However, the hate-Trump media brigades certainly do. If Mr. Barr were to turn against the President, his re-election chances would be damaged. Significantly. That’s because William Barr is a tough, honest prosecutor who is trying to uphold the crucial constitutional mandate of “equal justice for all.” That means a corrupt media is not the dispenser of justice, nor is a sitting President who may have a personal agenda. The latest controversy over Roger...

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) pushed her gun control agenda in an interview Wednesday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer during the Philadelphia police shooting. Harris, speaking of the El Paso shooting, said President Trump may not have pulled the trigger but he did supply the ammunition with "racist rhetoric." Harris said law enforcement should be allowed to seize guns from those "suspected to be involved" in domestic terrorism. "I'm prepared to say that law enforcement should be allowed to seize the guns of those who are suspected to be involved in domestic terrorism," Harris said. "I agree with Harry...

There are two competing theories being debated today about American individuals’ “right” to gun ownership. The original theory is that Americans enjoy a fundamental right to self-defense, in order to preserve one’s person and property against any neighbors or government agents who might act against one’s individual liberty. This is a natural right that predates our government’s formation, and was therefore enshrined in the Constitution by some very forward-thinking liberals of their time. In the words of the Second Amendment: A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and...

In the aftermath of two horrific shootings over the weekend, Vox is quite comfortable calling for what the anti-gun left has wanted in this country since the late 1960’s — full-on gun confiscation. But let’s be clear about precisely what kind of decision is letting events like this recur, most recently in Dayton and El Paso. Congress’s decision not to pass background checks is not what’s keeping the US from European gun violence levels. The expiration of the assault weapons ban is not behind the gap. What’s behind the gap, plenty of research indicates, is that Americans have more guns....

As expected, Democrats immediately began politicizing the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Quite a few of them even blamed Trump. Like clockwork, calls for more gun control have commenced. Democrats are even trying to pressure Mitch McConnell to cancel the Senate recess so they can vote on gun control. A common myth you can expect to hear a lot in the coming days and weeks is that the United States “leads the world in mass shootings” and therefore we must pass some law that will do nothing to stop future mass shootings, but will infringe on the...

Founding Father Patrick Henry famously proclaimed "I smell a rat!" What did it smell like? What was that rat's name? What was the rat's color: brown or grey? What was the rat's purpose? The rat's purpose really is the only important question here. I asked the other questions mainly in jest. Welcome to the 6th and final posting in this series examining the claims that progressives make in regard to Marbury vs Madison. In parts 1 through 5, I mainly examined some of the inconsistencies relating to the progressives' claims. Here in part 6 I highlight where the problem actually...

In parts 1 through 4 of this series (Scroll to the bottom for more detail about the parts) I have been examining progressivism and its relation (or lack therof) to the 1803 court ruling Marbury vs Madison. Here in part 5, I just want to ask two questions. First, what is the purpose of a bill of rights? We could be talking about the Bill of Rights of the Federal Constitution, or the Bill of Rights that exists in your State constitution. It doesn't matter really, where that bill of rights happens to exist. What is it for: Is it...

When Alabama Republicans made the epic mistake of nominating a surreally-flawed crackpot for US Senate last year, a man named Doug Jones was the beneficiary of that self-inflicted wound. Jones, a Democrat, narrowly won the election to replace Jeff Sessions in one of America's reddest states. After his improbable victory, political observers began to speculate whether Jones would let his liberal flag fly and vote as if he's on borrowed time -- or whether he'd try to cultivate a record that he could conceivably defend in a 2020 re-election push. Early on, the signals have been mixed. He's sided with...

The Bill of Rights Institute provides an excellent brief background on the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Simply put and stated eloquently, "[t]he Bill of Rights is a list of limits on government power." Unfortunately, not only are there those in favor of surrendering their Second Amendment right, but these same people believe that government forces are incapable of oppression, subversion, coercion, or any number of other forms of tyranny. My advice to this particular group of naïve, nattering nabobs? Pick up any American history book and revisit why America's Founding Fathers were familiar with government oppression –...

President Trump said the Second Amendment will never be repealed, despite a call for this by liberal activists and most recently, former United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. “THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!” the president wrote on Twitter early Monday morning. Stevens penned an op-ed in The New York Times arguing that the level of civic engagement by young people...

The rallies were mass events, attended by hundreds of thousands. Children – the Hitler Youth – were prominently featured, along with stagecraft and pageantry. The purpose of the rallies was to whip the masses into an emotional fervor while Hitler denounced the Jews. It worked. And something similar is happening in the recent spate of children's anti-gun marches, typified by the "March for Our Lives" just concluded in Washington, D.C. The probability of getting struck by lightning is about the same as getting murdered by someone wielding a rifle. But you wouldn't know that by listening to the demagogic (and...

Regardless, the whole crux of their argument is that banning so-called assault weapons, expanded background checks, waiting period etc. will save lives. It won’t do that, and the anti-gun Left knows it. So, thanks to Vox for actually showing the end game of the Democratic agenda on firearms, which is that they really just want to ban guns. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have cited the Australian model on gun control. Clinton even went so far as to say the Supreme Court got the Second Amendment wrong in 2016. The level of violence in Europe, which is often cited by...

An analysis of thousands of gun control studies claims that just 63 of those studies found connections between more stringent gun control laws violent crime and suicide reductions. The non-profit RAND corporation spent two years and $1 million on the analysis, searching for evidence of benefit from gun control policies. RAND’s analysis looked to establish connections between gun policies and rates of homicide, suicide, self-defense gun use, hunting, and other categories. The vast majority of those categories went unaffected by legislation, however, according to NPR. “Most of the effects that we were looking for evidence on, we didn’t find any...