Free Republic

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2014 — There are many people looking for someone to blame in the wake of the UCSB shootings last week. It is understandable that with the actual perpetrator being dead, the public is looking for someone to chastise, or to place responsibility upon. For Senator Dianne Feinstein, that someone is the NRA and the entire gun lobby. In a speech made Sunday shortly following the tragic events in California, the longtime anti-gun senator made a few interesting remarks that bear some analysis. The Senator had some questions for the public. “We must ask ourselves if an individual...

Santa Barbara shooting shows need for federal version of SAFE Act, says New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Following the shooting rampage in Santa Barbara that took the lives of seven people including the shooter, the group New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is calling for federal laws modeled on New York's own gun control measure, The SAFE Act. On Friday May 23, 22 year-old Elliot Rodger killed six students in the California city of Santa Barbara, citing a lifetime of rejection and loneliness. His victims included his two roommates and their visiting friend, two sorority girls, and a male student inside...

Straight away let’s address an issue that is very important in what follows: Eyewitness evidence is often very unreliable and hearsay evidence is often very unreliable. Numerous biological, psychological, and sociological processes can distort both perception and its verbal translation. There are individual differences among persons that affect their ability to accurately gather and report information, and circumstances, such as stress and alarm, can operate either alone or in conjunction with those differences to compromise the validity of witness statements. And yet, there is no gainsaying the fact that even broken clocks are right twice a day. Furthermore, there is...

A Republican challenging Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) apologized Monday for saying a vast majority of the perpetrators of mass shootings are Democrats. At a candidate forum on Saturday, rancher Gary Kiehne said, "If you look at all the fiascos that have occurred, 99 percent of them have been by Democrats pulling their guns out and shooting people," The Arizona Daily Star reported. "So I don't think you have a problem with the Republicans," Kiehne added, according to the paper.

Not only has the Obama administration waged war on our veterans through the VA Scandal, now there is whole new front of attack on our veterans we have to worry about. In a terrifying news report on the militarization of our police forces – watch as a veteran officer of the Indiana police remarks that police are having to prepare for returning veterans with the ability to make IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices). That’s right. One of the reasons our police forces are giving for having to become more like military forces is the soldiers returning home from the front. It’s...

A federal judge on Thursday upheld the District’s tough gun registration laws, finding that new regulations crafted by city officials in response to a Supreme Court decision “pass constitutional scrutiny.” “The people of this city, acting through their elected representatives, have sought to combat gun violence and promote public safety. The court finds that they have done so in a constitutionally permissible manner,” U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in an opinion likely to be appealed by gun-rights advocates.

The Republican-controlled Missouri House will begin impeachment proceedings against Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday. Why? There are three reasons, according to the state legislature's judiciary committee. First, Nixon allowed legally-married same-sex couples in the state to file joint tax returns in order to keep the state consistent with the IRS's post-Defense of Marriage Act policies. Second, Republicans argue Nixon took too long to call a special election to replace legislative vacancies. Third, Republicans believe that Nixon didn't punish state officials enough over a controversy involving concealed carry permits.

Minnesota Man Accused of Murdering Teens Who Entered His Home By GIO BENITEZ The trial against a 65-year-old man accused of murdering two teens who entered his home is underway in Minnesota, stirring debate about how far people can go in defending their homes. Byron Smith, a retired security engineer for the U.S. Department of State, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the slayings of cousins Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 16, on Thanksgiving Day 2012. The killings rocked the small city of Little Falls. Prosecutors say Smith was sitting in his basement when he heard a window...

<p>The spree began in one building of the sprawling complex, where Lopez, who was 34, first pulled his .45-caliber Caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and killed one, injuring 10.</p> <p>"The deceased and one of wounded had been involved in the verbal altercation with subject," Grey said.</p>

<p>Spc. Ivan Lopez vented about a range of subjects on Facebook before his shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas, including his outrage at Adam Lanza's mass school shooting in Connecticut.</p> <p>He wrote of experiencing overpowering fear after an insurgent attack in Iraq and the hatred that consumed him after getting "robbed."</p>

HK121 Universal Machine Gun. Modular. Reliable. Superior.As the successor of the MG3, The HK121 opens a new era of universal belt fed 7.62 mm x 51 machine guns. Compared to others, the gas operated HK121 offers an intelligent and contemporary build standard, with numerous technical and ergonomic innovations. The mounting interface of the HK121 is compatible with MG3 mounts and tripods already in service. The universal HK121 can be used by dismounted infantry in the ground role, as well as for air defence or as a vehicle mounted/co axial machine gun. approx. 600/700/800 rounds/min Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e29_1352371125#YrxJv3xJfutfzqvl.99

Video at link. Made me think of the Civil War Spotslyvania tree stump:

The 9-year-old girl explained that she is a 4th-grade honor roll student and competitive shooter in multiple styles with numerous local, state and national sponsors. “I have worked and trained very hard to get to the level I am at and if A2006 becomes law, I will be forced to choose between giving up on a very great and promising future in a sport that I love or asking my dad to move to another state. I will not be giving up my sport.” She said many of the firearms she hopes to use in the next level of her...

Virility is a vital aspect of being the chief. So, when it comes to selling fake Viagra-style sex pills, what brand would be better than the biggest chief of them all — President Obama. And that’s not all. The glitzy cover of this Pakistan-based rip-off puts the commander-in-chief in a James Bond-style tuxedo with a silenced pistol in hand.

Detroit's police chief is sticking to his guns after being criticized for supporting citizens to arm themselves. Police Chief James Craig responded Thursday to a Detroit resident who challenged his pro-gun stance. Mr. Craig made national news earlier this month after he said armed citizens could serve as a deterrent to criminals, The Detroit News reported. “Coming from California, where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was...

Dear Mr. Farago, Thank you for sharing your concern stemming from our participation in last summer’s Aspen Ideas Festival.

Need some help with a debate I am having with someone.

BAGHDAD (AP) — An instructor teaching his militant recruits how to make car bombs accidentally set off explosives in his demonstration Monday, killing 21 of them in a huge blast that alerted authorities to the existence of the rural training camp in an orchard north of Baghdad. Nearly two dozen people were arrested, including wounded insurgents trying to hobble away from the scene. The fatal goof by the al-Qaida breakaway group that dominates the Sunni insurgency in Iraq happened on the same day that the speaker of the Iraqi parliament, a prominent Sunni whom the militants consider a traitor, escaped...

Are automatic license plate readers in Maryland alerting police when registered gun owners drive past them? Recently we posted a story about John Filippidas, the concealed carry permit holder from Florida who was stopped on I-95 by a Maryland Transportation Authority cop. The cop detained Filippidas and his family for nearly two hours while searching the family’s vehicle for the gun Filippidas legally owns. The gun was in a safe back in Florida. No ticket was issued.

Police responded to an active shooting at Columbia Mall in Maryland shortly after 11:00 a.m. ET. Three people are confirmed dead and the mall remains on lockdown. UPDATE, 12:40p ET: People inside the mall are being told to wait until they are escorted out. The scene is believes to be secure. UPDATE, 12:34p ET: Randy Brooks, owner of Edward Arthur Jewelers at Columbia Mall, told Uma Pemmaraju that he heard a couple of pops and then saw people running. He said it appeared that the shooter had a shotgun and was killed, but police have not confirmed that. Brooks said...