Free Republic

Nebraska's junior United States Senator, Mike Johanns, was honored in Washington, D.C. recently by the St. Gabriel Possenti Society for his commitment to the right to the means necessary to defend life. Sen. Johanns received the award from John M. Snyder, Society president. The St. Gabriel Possenti Society (www.gunsaint.com) named Sen. Johanns, a practicing Catholic, Man of the Year. The St. Gabriel Possenti Society honored Sen. Johanns as the Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska initiated canonization proceedings for the late Rev. Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town in Omaha. Snyder presented a plaque to Sen. Johanns on September 27, the...

The Catholic Church celebrates patron saints ranging from the obvious to the obscure, from doctors to undertakers. Why not add a patron saint for responsible handgun heroes? John M. Snyder, former Jesuit seminarian and gun rights activist, tells the story of that question with simplicity, detail, and persistence, beginning with the tale of the Passionist Patron Saint of Youth, who saved an 1860 Italian town from marauding rapists and thieves--by shooting a lizard. Saint Gabriel PossentiÂ’s fascinating story ends in Chapter One. Instead of following Possenti, the book details a pursuit of his legacy through SnyderÂ’s crusade to make Possenti...

Fort Hood, Texas police Sgts. Mark Todd and Kimberly Munley this week wore St. Gabriel Possenti Society honor medallions presented by Society Founder-Chairman John M. Snyder at the American Police Hall of Fame (APHF) in Titusville, Florida. A high resolution image of the photo by Ling Woo is available on request by email to gundean@gmail.com. On November 5, Todd and Munley responded to a call at Fort Hood shortly after a suspect had fatally shot 13 people and wounded 31 others. They apprehended Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and likely prevented other deaths and injuries. Munley is still recovering from...

Catholics This Week Commemorate St. Gabriel Possenti By John M. Snyder On February 27, Catholic and other religionists commemorate the Feast Day of St. Gabriel Possenti, an Italian seminarian who died 145 years ago on this date in Isola del Gran Sasso. Today, Isola is about a two or three hour automobile drive east of Rome. In 1860, Possenti rescued villagers in Isola from a terrorizing gang of renegade soldiers with a striking one-shot demonstration of handgun marksmanship. The renegades had separated from the main body of Garibaldi's army following the battle of Pesaro. The 20 or so renegades ransacked...

Possenti Society Blasts Vatican UN Gun Grabbers for 4th of July Insult to American Gun Owners; Urges Church Collection ProtestsContact: John Snyder, 703-212-9863 ARLINGTON, Va., June 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- John Snyder, Founder/Chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, issued the following statement today: As we approach next week’s 230th commemoration of the signing of our Nation’s Declaration of Independence, we face the reality of three institutional insults to our country’s Fourth of July celebration of freedom. The first insult comes from a United Nations group meeting in New York, taking place now through July 7, to undermine the traditional,...