Free Republic

He was bullied for his outspoken opinions and didn't care much for Republicans. Karl Pierson, 18, who stormed his Colorado high school brandishing a shotgun and bearing hatred for his debate coach, critically injured a 15-year-old fellow student before shooting himself to death Friday afternoon as he was cornered by heavily armed police. "He had very strong beliefs about gun laws and stuff," said junior Abbey Skoda, who shared a class with Pierson during her freshmen year, The Denver Post reported. "I also heard he was bullied a lot." After undergoing surgery Friday, the injured girl was listed in critical,...

The victim of an attempted robbery in St. Paul took action when one of the robbers pointed a gun at him, firing his own gun and wounding one of the robbers. One of the robbers simultaneously fired in the direction of the victim, who was not hurt, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The Ramsey County attorney's office charged one of the robbery suspects, Marcel Lee Galloway, with aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery and first-degree attempted aggravated robbery, along with second-degree assault. Galloway, 21, of St. Paul, was shot in the leg during the incident. The county attorney's...

Family members of the two masked men shot to death after allegedly robbing a store in Reading spoke out Tuesday. "It's not fair," said Virginia Medina, mother of 24-year-old William Medina, who police said robbed Krick's Korner store alongside 18-year-old Robert De Carr on Monday. The two men were shot and killed by a private citizen while leaving the store, and family members want to see charges pressed. "[William] had no right to lose his life over something that man could have called the police for," said Medina. "He took the law into his own hands and walked away scot-free."...

The Old Media in the form of the AP planted a doozie of misinformation regarding Bernie Goetz's recent arrest for attempting to sell marijuana to a police officer. The article described Goetz as a "vigilante" and racist, the thugs he shot as "panhandlers," and his gun as "illegal." All of the characterizations are completely wrong and deceptive. Frist, Goetz was not a vigilante, he was only defending himself. In 1984, Goetz was confronted by four youths demanding money. The thug uses a language of tone and body so that while his words may be asking for money, the real message...

In December, the final primary lead smelter in the United States will close. The lead smelter, located in Herculaneum, Missouri, and owned and operated by the Doe Run Company, has existed in the same location since 1892. The Herculaneum smelter is currently the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore that is mined nearby in Missouri's extensive lead deposits, giving the smelter its "primary" designation. The lead bullion produced in Herculaneum is then sold to lead product producers, including ammunition manufactures for use in conventional ammunition components such as projectiles, projectile cores,...

Though 49ers pass rusher Aldon Smith is hardly having an easy time of things these days -- he's still away indefinitely from football -- a report claims that the Santa Clara police provided the defensive lineman with favorable treatment when he was arrested. NBC Bay Area uncovered records that show Smith, after being booked on suspicion of driving under the influence at 9:40 a.m. PT, was released at 11:20 a.m. PT, a mere 1.5 hours later. Smith enjoyed an expedited trip through the Santa Clara County Jail, according to court records and information uncovered by the NBC Bay Area Investigative...

Minnesota is one of a few states that track crimes committed by Concealed Carry permit holders.  When the Minnesota law was passed, an annual report of crimes committed by permit holders was required.  The Minnesota permit is simply a permit to carry, the law does not discriminate between carrying concealed and carrying openly.  Reports for the law are available for 2003, and 2005-2012 in pdf files.   The number of people with Minnesota permits that commit murder or manslaughter is remarkably low.  Only three instances are recorded in the Minnesota Carry Permit annual reports for the nine years reported....

DAVIDSON Davidson College will host a free panel discussion on “Gun Rights, Responsibilities, and Regulations” at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Lilly Family Gallery of the Chambers Building on campus. The panel will include Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe; Davidson Police Chief Jeanne Miller; Capt. Carolyn McMackin, interim acting chief of Davidson College Public Safety; Lance Stell, philosophy professor and director of medical humanities; and Andrew O’Geen, assistant professor of political science. The event is sponsored by the college’s Vann Center for Ethics. The panel will address such questions as, “What are the trends in the use of guns...

GUN-FREE ZONES' MEAN MORE BODY BAGS Here we go again. Another mass shooting in a gun-free zone where company policy mandates the employees must be unarmed and defenseless. In this case the employer is the Department of Defense (DOD), the very institution whose charter it is protect and defend America and Americans from all enemies, foreign and domestic. The slaughter at the Navy facility is the second slaughter carried out on a military installation in recent memory. Back in November 2009, Maj. Allahu Akbar Voodoo Hasan murdered 13 U.S. military heroes and wounded 30 more during his great Muhammad-inspired terrorist...

In the wake of Monday’s Navy Yard shooting, Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., addressed national and civic security. Holmes, the nonvoting delegate to Congress representing the District of Columbia, praised the quick police response, but she also noted that no one is entirely insulated from criminal acts. "We understand that in an open and democratic and free society, you cannot make yourself impenetrable, especially when there are more guns than there are people in the United States today," she said in a press conference. Are there really more guns than people? We wanted to dig into the data. Let’s pin down...

Confronted by an agitated man who at one point lay down in the middle of a crowded intersection in Times Square, two police officers fired shots late Saturday evening at the man, striking two bystanders instead, the police said.

I like Texas. Nice people, good state. But one thing that continues to puzzle me is why Texas handgun carry laws are so, well, pathetic. Here is a summary of the requirements for getting a concealed handgun permit: (IANAL so don't take this as legal advice): Fee: $140 for 5 yrs. Training: In person, at least 4-6 hours, with shooting exam, by TX certified instructor. Fingerprints: required. Photo: required. Open carry: prohibited. Let's contrast that with some "liberal" states: Pennsylvania: Fee: $19 Training: Not required. Fingerprints: None required. Photo: Passport photo required in some places. Open carry: legal, except you'll...

No thread, just idiocy masquerading as poignant commentary. Warning, this is revolting considering the history of the NRA and how Charleton Heston lined up Hollywood to support the 60's civil rights movement. A gag alert is in order.

In the darkness of a hotel parking lot, the fugitive task force moved quickly to stop the black pickup with the murder suspect riding inside. Only their fugitive wasn't in the truck. Instead, Henry Kiner, 27, was dressed in camouflage and perched on the hotel's second floor, where he used a shotgun to blast away at the unsuspecting task force members below, officials said. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel called it an "ambush" that backfired when officers and deputies fired back toward the hotel, killing Kiner just outside Room 212 of the Days Inn in Oakland Park early Wednesday.

Many researchers believe that physics will not be complete until it can explain not just the behaviour of space and time, but where these entities come from.“Imagine waking up one day and realizing that you actually live inside a computer game,” says Mark Van Raamsdonk, describing what sounds like a pitch for a science-fiction film. But for Van Raamsdonk, a physicist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, this scenario is a way to think about reality. If it is true, he says, “everything around us — the whole three-dimensional physical world — is an illusion born from...

The women signed up over the past four days with the UPOEG, Xaltianguis community self-defense force commander Miguel Angel Jimenez said MEXICO CITY – More than 100 women in the southern Mexican town of Xaltianguis have taken up arms to protect their community from organized crime groups, a local self-defense force official said Monday. The women signed up over the past four days with the Union of Peoples and Organizations of Guerrero State, or UPOEG, Xaltianguis community self-defense force commander Miguel Angel Jimenez told reporters. “We have an average of nine groups” of community police, with each one made up...

WEST MELBOURNE -- Investigators say a Brevard County pizza delivery man takes action into his own hands -- shooting and killing a would-be robber. Investigators said a Domino's employee had just delivered a pizza to one of the rooms at the Days Inn off US-192 near Interstate 95. Agents said after delivering the pizza just before midnight, the driver went back to his car, sat down and starting counting his money and tip, waiting for his next call for a delivery. That’s when investigators said a man approached him with a knife, demanding money and threatening to kill him. “At...

Democrat acting like a democrat!!

Authorities say an escaped inmate suspected of shooting a southwest Iowa sheriff's deputy has been killed by a homeowner who said the armed man broke into his house. Rodney Long was shot to death after he broke into a retired farm couple's home in Bedford about 10:15 p.m. Monday, awakening them. Long, who was armed with a handgun, cut their telephone lines and used their cell phone, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Mitch Mortvedt said. After about four hours, Jerome Mauderly, 71, shot Long with a shotgun in the kitchen of the home he shares with his wife,...

But he refused to sign 5 others so everything is ok, right?Um...no: Two of the bills Christie signed were opposed by gun-rights activists: One bars gun purchases by people on the federal terrorism watch-list; the other makes it mandatory for the state to submit information on people who are banned from gun ownership to a national database. Christie has not tipped his hand as to whether he will sign or veto the other five bills, which include an outright ban on the sale of the highest caliber rifle Christie's handling of the gun bills was just another day of walking...