Free Republic

Because it doesn’t sell movie tickets or sell soap, the news media isn’t interested in how our neighbors stopped mass-murderers about once a month for the last eight years. Ordinary people like us would do it even more often if politicians got out of our way. We saved lives.

Heavily armed civilians have been filmed protecting businesses in Kenosha after arsonists set buildings alight, torching much of the black business district Monday. In footage taken by a local reporter, a small group of men can be seen carrying rifles and wearing combat gear as they protect local shops. They deny they are part of a militia.

Residents armed with AR-15s and wearing bullet proof vests are taking matters into their own hands across America, coming out in force to defend businesses and stop widespread vandalism by looters. Heavily armed vigilantes wielding everything from bats to rifles have started appearing at protests in places including Philadelphia, Idaho, California and Chicago, threatening to take action if things turn violent in the absence of law enforcement. In Minneapolis, neighborhood watch groups are springing up - in support of protests over George Floyd's death but in defense of businesses and homes being destroyed by looters as night falls. In many...

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - A community gathered Wednesday night to remember three teens killed by a homeowner in what police believe was an attempted robbery. Isaiah Reed, Jamie Hernandez Jr. and Branden Gresham were killed after police say they approached a home in Conyers with masks on and one of the teens fired at the residents of the home. The alleged robbery victims returned fire, killing all three teens. The boys were 15 and 16 years old. So far, no one has been charged in the teens' deaths.

In the years 1926 through 1929, Mexico fought a war over the freedom of Roman Catholics to worship. As a result of the Mexican Revolution, the constitution of 1917 stripped great power from the church, along with half of its enormous land holdings. But it was not until the regime of President Plutarco Elias Calles, who began to strictly enforce the constitution, that an uprising ensued. Supporters of the Catholic Church, who called themselves Cristeros, began a campaign against federal troops and had surprising success after they hired Gen. Enrique Gorostieta Velarde to lead their forces.

It’s a testimonial as to why “gun control” should mean hitting your target. While a study shows that 98 percent of mass shootings occur in “gun free” zones, a more recent study indicates how these events can be thwarted: by armed citizens. In fact, it finds that when such Americans are present, they have a 94-percent success rate at stopping or impeding active shooters.As the National Sentinel reports, referencing the FBI:A report by Jacob Paulsen at ConcealedCarry.com found that in 94 percent of cases, armed citizens successfully intervene during what the bureau calls “active shooter events,” which is defined by the FBI...

On the same day that the Squirrel Hill synagogue shooter killed 11 people, a law abiding gun owner prevented a massacre at a McDonald’s in Birmingham, Alabama On the same day that a scumbag shot and killed 11 innocent people at a synagogue in Squirrel Hill, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a different scumbag tried to carry out a mass shooting at a McDonald’s in Birmingham, Alabama. But he was stopped by a good guy with a gun. The only person who died was the bad guy.Here’s another similar comparison:In January 2015 in France, in response to cartoons that made fun of the...

image from theguardian.com A populist German politician is saying that German citizens should have the right to weapons to protect themselves. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a political party that has achieved some recent electoral successes.  It rejects subservience of Germany to the European Union, and rejects the recent mass immigration.   From reuters.com: "Many people are increasingly feeling unsafe. Every law-abiding citizen should be in a position to defend themselves, their family and their friends," Frauke Petry told the Funke Media Group in an interview published on Saturday. "We all know how long it takes until the...

This list was originally published by Ohioans for Concealed Carry PAC and then by the Kentucky Concealed Carry Coalition.  It has ceased to exist on those pages.  I found it on learnaboutguns.com, where it was republished. It is a compilation worth keeping.  The list was originally published before February 8th, 2009.  It has not been updated since then. I know that it is only a partial listing.  For example it does not list the case of Rory Vertigan, who shot, then captured one of three drug dealers who ambushed and killed Officer Marc Atkinson of the Phoenix Police Department...

When a police officer in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania came under attack by a group of young people, the intervention of a citizen armed with a handgun prevented further tragedy. The incident took place on Friday, February 5th. A police officer on routine patrol near Upper Darby High School broke up a fight between several students. In response, a group of nearly 40 young people began to harass and threaten him. Two young men stepped forward and began to physically assault the uniformed officer. A neighbor in a nearby home took action. Armed with a handgun, he left his house and...

Cars are double- and even triple-parked outside a gun shop in Israel's coastal city of Tel Aviv. Inside, customers jostle each other as they wait to be served. Israelis fearful of a rising number of knife and other attacks by Palestinians are increasingly turning to firepower for personal protection. Seven Israelis and around 30 Palestinians have been killed in an upsurge of unrest since October 1, with many of the attackers wielding blades.

On July 17, armed Georgia citizens with concealed carry permits lined up outside a Hiram, Georgia, military recruiting center to keep it safe.

Mass Killings Stopped by Armed Citizens has been my most popular article.  It was published on 16 December, 2012.  I had been collecting these incidents for a few years, ever since I noticed that the old media gave them virtually no coverage.  They received a little local coverage, but were ignored/spiked by the national media. In the original publication, there were eight incidents.  Readers quickly brought more to my attention, swelling the list to fifteen.  Over the last two years, seven more incidents have been added.  One of those, the SC Boiling Springs event, does not appear to be...

OKLAHOMA CITY - New information is coming out regarding the rookie Oklahoma City police officer who was beaten by a suspect with his own baton following a burglary on the northwest side of the metro. An armed witness may have been the only thing that kept that officer from a more serious beating, or worse. It happened just after 2 p.m. Tuesday in the 2800 block of W. Park Pl. Rookie Officer Adam Eller and field training officer Sgt. Michael Lambert were responding to the burglary call. ... During the chase the two officers became separated. Eller found himself alone...

For the first time in years, the issue of terrorism is again near forefront of the minds of voters most likely to head to the polls in November. The rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East and the statements of American officials who warn that the nation is less safe today than at any time since 9/11 have made for an anxious electorate. The party in power, however, will not benefit from this increased apprehension – polls indicate that Republicans are most trusted to handle matters relating to foreign affairs and national security. This is perhaps why...

As a result of continued drug violence in their communities, Mexican citizens have been arming themselves to fight back against ruthless cartels and breaking the law to do so. In Mexico, regular citizens are not allowed to own firearms. When citizen, vigilante groups first started arming themselves against the will of the government, police and officials expressed concern and asked the groups to disarm. But now, after armed communities have proven to be an effective force to keep drug cartel activity at bay, the government is changing its tune in some areas of the country. More from CNN:

<p>There is a hot new game being played in cities all over America, and it is very simple. You pick out a defenseless person on the street and you try to knock them out.</p> <p>In most areas, it is known as “the knockout game”. In some communities it is called by other names such as “point-em-out, knock-em-out” and “polar bear hunting”. In many instances, the perpetrators don’t even try to steal anything from the people that they knock out. The goal is just to “have fun” by brutally attacking an innocent victim.</p>

Businessman Abdul Haji and a small group of plain-clothes policemen helped to rescue dozens of people from the Westgate mall. He had gone in search of his brother, armed only with a pistol that his father - a former Kenyan defence minister - had taught him to hunt with as a child. He tells the BBC of his experiences: I was on the other side of town when I received an SMS from my brother. The message was vague: "I'm stuck at the Westgate. Seems like a terrorist attack. Pray for me." (snip) We had left some armed people on...

A Houston group which supports arming private citizens for free protests at the heights office of U.S. representative Sheila Jackson Lee. Armed Citizens Project founder Kyle Coplen says this was in response to yesterday when the congresswoman spoke with Mothers Demand Action, a gun law organization. Coplen says the neighborhood training is going well and that he envisions this spreading to other neighborhoods. Sheila Jackson Lee’s office told Coplen they would like to arrange a meeting between the two of them in July.

The prescription that many well meaning people have to tamp down on gun violence is to restrict the private ownership of fire arms. However the Associated Press reports that a private group in Houston is pursuing a different approach. The Armed Citizen Project is giving away free shot guns to single women and residents in high crime area, starting with the northwest Houston Oak Forest neighborhood. The non-profit organization intends to expand its program, which includes a training program, to Dallas, San Antonio, and Tucson, Ariz. Plans are to have the program in place in 13 cities, including New York...