Free Republic

We’ve all seen this meme around the interwebs, right? “Legal gun owners have over 200 million guns… and 12 trillion rounds of ammo. Seriously, people… if we were a problem, you’d know it!” I’ve also seen one that claims we have over 400 million guns and 24 trillion rounds of ammunition. The fact is, while there is no definitive way to tally all the firearms in the United States, it is commonly accepted and reported that there are roughly 300 million firearms in the hands of law-abiding Americans. But has anyone else noticed that number hasn’t moved in years, even...

If you believe the Left, Kansas is set to implode in a rage of violence and bloodshed starting July 1st when a provision put place by the legislature four years ago goes into effect. According to Leftist fear mongers, this provision will squelch free speech on campuses everywhere. Students will be afraid to speak due to the threat of violence from fellow students. Teachers will fear giving someone a bad grade because of the sheer violence that will befall them. Professors will no longer find refuge in their offices and are being forced to change their office hours or become...

Now, they’ve really done it. Florida’s gun-happy, National Rifle Association-controlled Legislature has turned an already dangerous, unpopular law into an unmitigated disaster. It’s nothing short of legislative malpractice. Florida’s infamous “stand your ground” law — with a long-running, well-documented history of flagrant misuse — has now been elevated into a virtual license to kill. Already weighted heavily in favor of trigger-happy shooters (freed of any duty to retreat), new changes to the law will not only increase shootings but discourage legitimate prosecutions. Previously, shooters charged with a crime — bear in mind, many acts of self-defense never result in criminal...

The lower house of the Czech parliament voted to put gun owners’ rights in the constitution Wednesday, arguing it protects citizens from Islamist terrorists. The European Commission passed stricter gun laws in December in response to a growing terror threat. The Czech Republic was one of three countries to oppose the changes, and it is now about to make it legal for citizens to use firearms to protect the security of the country. “This constitutional bill is in reaction to the recent increase of security threats, especially the danger of violent acts such as isolated terrorist attacks … active attackers...

Conservative pundit Dana Loesch starred in a recent NRA ad in which she laid out the liberal tactic of using intimidation and shouts of homophobia, racism and xenophobia to get their way - in addition to those violent protests. In the one-minute clip, she showed real instances of protest violence that has been authored by opponents of President Trump. Nevertheless, liberal campaigns fumed that she dare call them out. Liberal MSNBC anchor Sally Kohn was especially shocked. In particular, she took issue with Loesch's directive for her fellow conservatives to, "fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of...

Federal immigration authorities arrested a Mexican national last week for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 7,000 rounds of ammo down to Mexico. Eduvier Navidad-Vizcarra, 22, was arrested June 19 as he drove towards the port of entry into Mexico in Nogales, Arizona. Federal agents began investigating him a couple days earlier after they received a tip, according to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “On June 17, 2017, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Homeland Security Investigations…agents received information that 7,000 rounds of Aguila .38 Super ammunition had been purchased in Phoenix by an individual who was driving...

The United States Supreme Court has declined to affirm the constitutional, Second Amendment rights which are guaranteed to citizens. They did so by rejecting an appeal from a lower court. That court had ruled that the state of California can impose severe restrictions on issuing permits to carry firearms. In refusing to hear the appeal, the lower court ruling remains in effect. Only two justices, Clarence Thomas and the newly seated Neil Gorsuch, dissented. Quoting them from Fox News, “The Court’s decision… reflects a distressing trend: the treatment of the Second Amendment as a disfavored right,” they wrote.

Acting U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick and state Attorney General Christopher Porrino will announce several initiatives to combat gun violence in New Jersey, including a two-day statewide gun buyback program in three cities this summer. A formal announcement is expected at 1 p.m. in Trenton, but the gun buyback initiative being planned would include locations in Newark, Camden and Trenton, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. The joint federal and state announcement comes after a deadly start to the summer. The amount of money made available for buybacks was not disclosed ahead of the annoucement.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower,” believed the late Steven Paul “Steve” Jobs, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple, Inc. It’s obvious that Nosler, Inc., subscribes to this philosophy as well; since 2014, the year that the 26 Nosler made its debut, the Bend, Ore., company has introduced a total of five new cartridges. Outside of the early 2000s, when Winchester and Remington were embroiled in a frenzied ballistics battle, such a flurry of activity is somewhat unusual—makers of proprietary and wildcat cartridges notwithstanding, of course. Of the new Nosler namesakes, the .22 caliber is arguably the most...

IN a country where it is believed there are two guns for every resident – one pistol-packing American is doing his bit to bump up the averages. Mel Bernstein – known as the Dragon Man – has earned the title the ‘most armed man in the US’ and has a frightening 3,000 weapons in his collection – and that doesn’t include the tanks.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense held an event at 7:00 p.m. tonight, along with Black Lives Matter, and Every Town For Gun Safety............

Video at link

California’s draconian new gun laws will require residents of the Golden state to register their “assault weapons” with the state (which they will have to pay to do of course) by the end of the year. But thanks to capitalism and the free market, gun makers have already figured out workarounds.

During what Salt Lake City police are calling rare "take-over style" robbery at a Quiznos restaurant Tuesday night, a female employee shot and wounded a female robbery suspect, prompting her two male accomplices to flee. The female suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was in serious condition Wednesday at a hospital, said SLCPD Detective Greg Wilking, who said the suspect was hit in the neck.

People are increasingly buying more lethal guns, and arming themselves for purposes of protection rather than for hunting or recreation, new research shows. In a study of gun manufacturing and sales from 1990 to 2015, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers shows that the production of larger-caliber handguns skyrocketed in this time period. The paper found that since 1994, the manufacture of .38-caliber guns rose 12-fold, with nearly 820,000 of the pistols produced in 2015. The manufacture of 9 mm guns also increased seven-fold in this 15-year stretch, while those larger than 9 mm jumped 150 percent

The FBI has published a brief report on the shooting in Alexandria. It is devastating to the idea that the gun-control measures presently coveted by the Democratic party would have done something to prevent the attack. Over the past two decades, Democrats have focused on three major proposals for reform. They are: 1) That all private transfers should be contingent upon a federal background check; 2) That firearms that look a certain way should be classed as “assault weapons” and prohibited from sale; and 3) That civilians should be forbidden from buying magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. None...

On the gun control debate, I’ll extend an olive branch. There are times when the left sort of makes sense about guns. For example, I think we can agree that terrorists should not get their hands on firearms, or at least make it hard for them to do so. Where they go off the hinges is when they try to use that argument to expand the grossly unconstitutional no-fly list program and bar Americans, who haven’t been convicted of any crimes, from being able to exercise their Second Amendment rights. How do you get on the list? How can you...

You have to admire Democrats; they have their positions dug in and impenetrable, whether even they believe in them or not. If a right-wing Trump-supporting extremist had shot up a Democratic Party congressional baseball practice, they would have used the incident as incontrovertible proof that we need more gun control. As it happens, a left-wing Bernie Sanders fanatic shot up a Republican congressional baseball practice, so...they use the incident as incontrovertible proof that we need more gun control.

Atlantic Editor David Frum wasted no time using news that a Republican lawmaker was shot while at baseball practice to advocate for more gun control. Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot at a GOP baseball practice Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Va., and Frum took the opportunity to bash the state’s lax gun laws — despite a lack of evidence of how the shooter obtained a rifle. Virginia: No background checks No licensing No registration No permit req’d for concealed carry of long guns Open carry long guns & handguns

It did not take long for journalists on Twitter to start politicizing the Alexandria shooting that targeted a group of Republican Congressmen on Tuesday, as Atlantic Editor David Frum was quick to make a gun control argument. “There was a terrible fire in London.. Would any British person say in the aftermath ‘this is not the time to discuss fire safety?” said Frum in a tweet, just more than an hour after the news of the shooting broke. John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary Magazine, admonished Frum in a responding tweet. “Seriously, David, wait an hour before you start wagging...