Free Republic

A man was shot by police in Falcon Heights on Wednesday evening. In a video posted on Facebook, the man’s girlfriend says the “police shot him for no apparent reason, no reason at all.” The girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, started the video with the man slumped next to her, his white T-shirt soaked with blood on the left side. In the video, taken with her phone, she says they were pulled over at Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street for a broken taillight. Warning: Graphic video of the incident posted on Facebook

Three people were arrested with multiple loaded guns, rifles and ballistic vests at the Holland Tunnel Tuesday when police stopped them for driving with a cracked windshield, authorities tell NBC 4 New York. The three individuals, two men in their 50s and a woman in her 20s who may be from Pennsylvania, were stopped on the New Jersey side of the tunnel around 8 a.m., authorities said. A search of their vehicle revealed the weapons cache. The guns seized included long-range weapons as well as handguns. A camouflage helmet with what appeared to be night goggles was also recovered.

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A discount at a Minnesota gas station is creating headlines across the nation. After getting robbed twice over the last three months, the owner of a Shell gas station in Sauk Rapids wanted to get more customers during the evening, hoping it would improve safety. Last week, station owner Frank Schwagel offered a 10-cent-per-gallon discount for law enforcement or people with proof of permit to carry after 7 p.m. each day. A customer posted the discount on Facebook, and it went viral. "He had shared it with 111 people,” Schwagel said. “From there it went to 116,000 people in a...

I already know the anti-gun zealots’ talking points on the Orlando gay nightclub tragedy. If it weren’t so tragic, it would be boring. You don’t need to turn on CNN, MSNBC, or turn to HuffPost. I can tell you what they’re saying: #1 “It’s a gun related tragedy. Guns kill people. If we outlawed guns, it would not be possible to kill people. So let’s outlaw guns, already. People have nothing to do with it; it’s all the gun’s fault. What are you, a racist?” # 2 [If domestic terrorism, insert the following here]: “You see? Hate is running through...

“Pray for Orlando" we read on Facebook and Twitter. Prayer is vitally important, but is there more we can do? As United Methodist Christians, we mourn with the victims and families of those wounded and killed in the shootings on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. We may even pray and wonder if anything could have been done to avert this heinous act. But should we do more? Is there anything that can be done to keep something similar from happening in the future? While we may not agree on a solution, many of us agree there is a problem....

The Ninth Circuit Court has upheld the ruling of the lower court in the Edward Peruta v. County of San Diego case and affirmed the Second Amendment does not include a right to conceal a firearm. The Peruta case challenged the legality of denying permits to conceal and carry a firearm unless the applicant for a permit has "good reason" to do so. A three-judge panel initially ruled that the San Diego County Sheriff's Department did not have the right to deny the permit. The case was subsequently heard by the entire Ninth Circuit Court and their decision was...

Should the UA (University of Arkansas) system allow concealed-carry at it schools?

If more people were armed, Donald J. Trump says at rallies, mass shootings like those in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., would be less deadly. If you have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, he wants to make it valid in all 50 states, as simple as a driver’s license. And Mr. Trump himself has a permit to carry a concealed handgun, which he is not shy about mentioning. “Somebody attacks me, oh, they’re gonna be shocked,” he warned last year. Mr. Trump, who promises to “totally protect” the Second Amendment, is scheduled to speak on Friday at the...

The fight over Second Amendment rights in the nation’s capital has entered a new phase. A federal judge has ruled that the city’s concealed carry law is likely unconstitutional, citing the “good reason provision” in the injunction order on Tuesday (via WaPo ): For the second time in as many years, a federal judge in Washington ordered the city to halt enforcement of its new, concealed-carry law, requiring applicants to state “good reason” to carry a weapon in order to obtain a permit from police. The preliminary injunction was contained in a 46-page ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge...

On 12 April, 2016, a kidnapping of an armed victim ended with a shooting and car crash in a Henderson, NV cul-de-sac. At the time it was unclear what the motivation for the kidnapping was. Both kidnappers in the front seat were killed, and no charges were filed against the shooter.  Three weeks later, dramatic details have been revealed.At the time I speculated that the victim might have directed the kidnappers to the cul-de-sac where the shooting occurred.  That has been confirmed.  It has been revealed that the first “victim” was a confederate of the two front seat kidnappers. ...

Texas has quietly reached a milestone: More than a million residents now have handgun licenses, one of the biggest citizenries in the country authorized to carry concealed and unconcealed firearms. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is one of them, as is the state’s only living former Democratic governor, Mark W. White Jr. These license holders, just 3.7 percent of the state’s 27 million residents, are a symbol of the nation’s culture wars and a subject of scrutiny, state pride, controversy and curiosity.

Kansas and Texas have removed bans on the carry of guns by permit holders in the last few years.  Kansas allows local governments to prevent permit holders from exercising Second  Amendment rights in public buildings if the public building puts metal detectors and armed guards on all the entrances.In other words, merely relying on a sign to prevent responsible and peaceful people from carrying arms, while not actively preventing criminals from carrying them, is no longer acceptable in Kansas.  Arizona is looking to follow Kansas’ lead.The theory is simple.  Mere signage will not stop people who have evil intent...

Governor Christie of New Jersey is pushing to make some incremental changes to improve the arcane and inconsistent New Jersey firearms licensing system. From capemaycountyherald:TRENTON — Acting on Governor Chris Christie’s commitment to ensure fair and consistent application of the state’s gun laws that respects individual’s Second Amendment rights and protects public safety, the Office of Attorney General announced a directive and guideline issued by Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy, and a regulatory change to align the regulations governing the issuance of a carry permit with New Jersey Supreme Court precedent interpreting the statutory standard of justifiable need. Taken...

Another example of a concealed carry citizen saving the day unfolded in Texas last week. At a Home Depot store in Amarillo, a man suspected of stealing power tools was confronted by the store’s loss prevention officer in the parking lot, reported KVII-TV. The two ended up in a struggle after the officer caught the suspect, 35 year-old Ricky Solis, when he tried to flee. Another man stepped in and tried to help Solis escape, police said, kicking the loss prevention officer in the face. The second suspect then retrieved a tire iron from his car and allegedly returned to...

Wisconsin started issuing concealed carry permits in November of 2011 In the last 53 months, they have issued 300,000 concealed carry permits.  The permit holders have been exceptionally law abiding.  Only one permit holder has been convicted of manslaughter when carrying a handgun under the provisions of the permit.  He plead self defense, but a jury ruled it manslaughter.  That is a homicide rate lower than that of Japan! The average number for 2012 was over 105,000.  The average for 2013 was 175,000, and 223,000 for 2014, and 260,000 for 2015.  In the first four full years of the...

Republican Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed a measure into law that, among other changes, drops the fees for Florida concealed weapon licenses. The 80-page appropriations bill dealing with Commerce and Tourism for the state was crammed with everything from exempting water-related amusement rides to authorizing tax collector offices and passed the state legislature without a single “nay” vote in either chamber. Relating to concealed carry permits, it reduced the license fee from $70 to $60 on the initial application and from $60 to $50 for renewals.

Like so many mass public shootings, the gunman who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Monday first tried shooting a uniformed officer. Fortunately, the lone gunman was quickly subdued and no one other than the attacker was seriously injured. But it raises questions of what would have happened with a more coordinated terrorist attack. With terror attacks occurring regularly around the world, we can’t ignore the fact that the Capitol would provide a primary target for terrorists. Indeed, an FBI informant foiled such an attack in January. Police are crucial – probably the single most important factor in reducing crime. But...

What would Jesus pack? The Mississippi Senate just passed a bill that would allow churches to train members to carry guns and act as security guards during religious services — and exempt them from legal action if they use their weapons. “This will allow a church to have a sergeant-at-arms to protect the church body, just like we have (in the Legislature),” Sean Tindell, a Republican state senator, was quoted as saying by the Clarion-Ledger. Tindell pointed to last year’s massacre at a church in Charleston, South Carolina as an example of why churches need an armed guard. Others said...

WSJ More Seniors, Fearing Crime, Flock to Shooting Ranges Gun dealers say personal safety is a priority for older people who want firearms training By James R. Hagerty AUSTINTOWN, Ohio—On a recent Monday at the Austintown Senior Center, activities included painting, bingo and shooting guns. Around 9:45 a.m., a dozen people in their 60s and 70s bundled into a van and several cars and headed to the nearby American Range shooting gallery, whose lobby features a portrait of Clint Eastwood over the legend “Go ahead make your day.” Soon, they were blasting away at paper targets dangling in a dim,...