Free Republic

The Obama administration’s claim that criminal background checks discriminate against minority job applicants suffered a lashing from a federal court that found the allegations “laughable,” “distorted,” “cherry-picked,” “worthless” and “an egregious example of scientific dishonesty.” That kind of whipping from a federal judge has got to hurt though it’s unlikely to deter the administration from spending more taxpayer dollars to file frivolous lawsuits against employers who use the checks to screen job applicants. Judicial Watch wrote about this a few weeks ago when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination laws, sued...

Attorneys general across the country are fighting back against new Obama administration guidelines on businesses using criminal background checks for job applicants and two federal lawsuits that followed, calling both "a quintessential example of gross federal overreach." The nine attorneys general sent the letter Wednesday to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which in April 2012 voted in favor of the new guidelines that warn such checks can discriminate against African-Americans because they being are arrested at a disproportionate rate compared to the rest of the U.S. population.

The existing background check law has a tremendous chilling effect on the exercise of Second Amendment rights. Most of the people denied the right to buy a gun are false positives. That is, they are falsely denied. It is a travesty of justice that tens of thousands of people are denied their rights by this system every year. MyFoxTampa reports:  The law requires licensed gun dealers to check with law enforcement before making a sale, which in this state is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The goal is to prevent felons -- and people who don't qualify -- from...

Aren't you glad we have a federal government that is watching every move we make over us? What would we do without them? I found this latest story at What Would The Founders Think. They wrote about it first in February of this year and now the story is coming to fruition. If you are a business owner, ie. someone who employs one or more people, this should give you reason for concern. Once again, the government is sticking its nose where it doesn't belong. Fox News - The Obama administration is suing Dollar General and a BMW facility in...

In 1963, the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King said it was his hope that black Americans would no longer be judged on their color of their skin, but on the content of their character. Fifty years later, the Obama administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says King got it wrong. The EEOC launched two lawsuits against private companies this week over their use of criminal background checks, claiming that in rejecting applicants with proven criminal records, they somehow discriminated against minorities under a disparate impact clause in their guidelines. Aside from the inherent and insulting racism in that presumption...

Anyone know if President Obama intends to perform background checks on the Syrian rebels before providing them weapons?— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 18, 2013 Oh, senator! That was beautiful. No wonder it has been retweeted nearly 3,000 times and counting.Twitter users agreed and gasped for breath over Sen. Ted Cruz’s zinger. Heh heh. RT @SenTedCruz: Anyone know if Pres Obama intends to perform background checks on the Syrian rebels before providing them weapons?— Roger von Oech (@RogervonOech) June 18, 2013 Hah! RT @SenTedCruz: Anyone know if President Obama intends to perform background checks on the Syrian rebels before...

The EEOC ignored that judicial thrashing and pressed on. Last April, the agency unveiled its "Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions," declaring that "criminal record exclusions have a disparate impact based on race and national origin."

Employers in the U.S. may soon have to hire more workers with criminal backgrounds under new equality guidelines issued by the federal government. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidelines warn companies against rejecting minority applicants who have committed a felony or other offense, recommending that those companies eliminate policies which ‘exclude people from employment based on a criminal record.’ According to the EEOC, civil rights laws already prohibit employers from selectively hiring job applicants who are of different ethnic backgrounds but have matching criminal histories. The latest update from the EEOC was issued out of concern that employers might disproportionally...

In a Politico article, Chuck Schumer explains how an anti-freedom ad should be structured to obtain support of normally pro-freedom people. He advises this approach: “Now I’m an NRA member. I’m proud of that,” Schumer narrated, taking on the persona of a Nevada gun shop owner. “My daddy was, his daddy before him, and my kids are going to be NRA members. But on this one? Background checks? They’re wrong. That background check ain’t gonna affect me. I’m a law-abiding citizen. It’ll just affect felons, spousal abusers, people [who are] mentally ill. So on this one, I don’t agree with...

Federal regulators Tuesday accused two large employers of improperly using criminal-background checks in hiring, the latest salvo in a contentious debate over whether such screening amounts to discrimination against black applicants. In complaints filed in federal courts in Illinois and South Carolina, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said two companies discount retailer Dollar General Corp. and a U.S. unit of German auto maker BMW AG generally barred potential employees based on the criminal checks, when they should have reviewed each applicant. The commission said the policies had the effect of discriminating against black applicants. The suits underscore increasing government scrutiny...

In advance of his successful reelection, President Obama took executive action to defer, for two years, deportation for illegal immigrants who entered the country as children. The result was a flood of requests to the immigration service for the temporary amnesty. As a result of this demand, according to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, the Department of Homeland Security cut back on the legally-required criminal background checks of these immigrants. The revelation raises questions of how the agency could handle a blanket amnesty of all illegal immigrants. In October 2012, Judicial Watch, acting on a

As the controversial "Universal Background Check" Senate Bill 221 awaits Nevada Governor Sandoval's veto, anti-gun forces have pulled out all stops in an attempt to persuade the governor to sign it. The latest is by deception through calls to the governor's office from out of state cronies, feigning the number to look like it originates in Nevada. (snip)Had SB 221 just contained the mental health provisions, even a dyed-in-the wool firearms enthusiast like myself could have supported it. Unfortunately this was not the case, a gun control poison pill was slipped into it.SB221 would force all private firearms transfers in...

In an email to supporters this afternoon, Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun control group formed by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, urged New Jersey governor Chris Christie to appoint an interim senator who supports background checks. "Senator [Frank] Lautenberg cannot be replaced," Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, wrote in the email under the subject line "Chris Christie's Big Decision." "However, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie must now select a successor. And he should pick one who supports expanding background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the deranged." Christie announced yesterday that he'll hold...

Gun violence has dropped dramatically nationwide over the past two decades, but nearly three-quarters of all homicides are still committed with a firearm, the Justice Department said... The report, by the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, painted an encouraging picture of long-term trends at a time of divisive political debate over guns and legislation to regulate them. Firearms-related homicides declined 39 percent between 1993 and 2011, the report said, while nonfatal firearms crimes fell 69 percent during that period. The biggest setback for the White House was the defeat of a compromise measure to expand background checks for firearms purchases....

It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the far left, far right or somewhere in the middle, there is absolutely no denying the rise of the tea party has altered America’s political landscape. And the elite media is making clear, in no uncertain terms, they despise this type of change. Last week, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) voted against the Schumer-Toomey gun bill because her constituents were opposed to the bill. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, former lawmaker Joe Scarborough and his sidekick Mika Brzezinski lit into her: MIKA: She is defending her vote saying her office was flooded with calls from constituents...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require background checks to be run on anyone buying explosive powder, a reaction to last week's Boston Marathon bombing. Reid introduced the bill, S. 792, for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who has been out sick for much of the year. But in a press statement, Lautenberg said the Boston bombing shows that background checks are needed for explosive materials. "It defies common sense that anyone, even a terrorist, can walk into a store in America and buy explosive powders without a background check or any questions asked,"...

The collapse of efforts in the U.S. Senate to expand background checks to more gun sales will inspire a renewed effort by Americans to push for reforms, predicted Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville. “I think we’re a long way from finished on this. As a matter of fact, I think the disbelief of the American public over what happened in the Senate will almost guarantee that we get some kind of action,” Yarmuth said at the beginning of his interview with Pure Politics on Thursday night. Yarmuth said he expects the ultimate legislation will be stronger than what...

Federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) are required to perform criminal history background checks on prospective firearms purchasers. However, when the sale or transfer of a firearm does not involve a licensed dealer, no background check is required. This is an enormous loophole—one in which convicted felons, minors and other prohibited purchasers can readily avoid background checks and more easily acquire guns. This bill would require that a criminal history background check be performed in connection with the sale or transfer of all firearms, with a few exceptions noted below. Background checks would be performed by licensed firearms dealers, who are...

Pit bulls might have a reputation among some as rough, gruff dogs from tough neighborhoods. But the breed’s advocates are fiercely loyal and quick to fight back against their bad rap sheet—as Rep. Rodney Moore, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, found out this week. Moore, a small-business consultant who has owned pit bulls, introduced a bill Tuesday that would require anyone taking ownership of the much-maligned dogs to submit to a criminal background check. The proposal also targets Rottweilers, mastiffs, chows, Perro de Presa Canarios and any “wolf hybrids.” … The bill, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Larry Pittman, a...

Those who support stricter gun control fear that the passage of time since the Dec. 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School will result in further watering-down of measures. They should not, however, discount the risk that attempts to shave a few weeks or months off the usual legislative process will result in bad laws, with unintended and lasting consequences. While pro-gun forces may overstate the case against expanded background checks — they are not, for example, a prelude to disarming the citizenry — President Obama and his allies have understated the difficult legal questions posed by extending the background-check...