Free Republic

Over the course of the last half-century, the media has botched its coverage of numerous high profile crimes. Sometimes, the reporting is intentionally inaccurate because the reporter is interested in advancing a certain worldview, rather than simply reporting the news. Among the worst examples of this is the now 51-year-old story of the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese. You’ve probably heard the story before. Genovese was returning from her job as a bartender in the middle of a March night in Queens, New York, in 1964. A man named Winston Moseley who had raped and killed other women attacked...

On Monday, a federal judge struck down DC’s concealed carry law, calling the requirement for applicants to show “a good reason to fear injury to his or her person, which shall at a minimum require a showing of a special need for self protection distinguishable from the general community” as unconstitutional. Applicants had to document threats to their personal safety as well. Judge Frederick Scullin, who also struck down DC’s ban on carrying firearms outside of one’s home last summer, issued a preliminary injunction after two Florida residents sued over the DC’s onerous statute.

In two opinions issued today, 18 May, 2015, Judge Scullin essentially ended the Palmer v. D.C. case by refusing to issue a contempt citation against the D.C. government.  But, in another ruling on the new D.C. law, Judge Scullin issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of particular sections of the D.C. permit to carry law.   Those sections of the law are the ones that allow the police chief to turn down permits if they do not have "good reason" for them.  Here are the last paragraphs of the opinion: ORDERS that Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees,...

Governor Deal signed the gun law reform bill, HB 492(pdf), into law on Tuesday the 12th of May, 2015.  The law is one of a multitude of gun law reforms sweeping the nation since President Obama took office.    Some laws, such as the  constitutional carry law passed in Kansas this year, offer sweeping restoration of second amendment rights that have been slowly infringed on over the last century.  Others offer more incremental change. HB 492 is one of the latter.  It cleans up some language from previous bills, and makes some small improvements.  From georgiacarry.org: 1) Clarifies that government...

A 27-year-old man was fatally wounded in the parking lot of an Orem grocery store Saturday morning when he was shot by a man with concealed weapons permit who was attempting to stop the man from carjacking a woman's SUV.

Last year, Michael Bloomberg’s gun control organization launched a “six-figure ad campaign” pressuring Kroger to ban guns on its property. The extensive campaign had “print and digital ads in USA Today, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and Houston Chronicle. Print-only ads will run in the Tennessean.” On April 22nd, fortunately a concealed handgun permit holder who was leaving a Kroger had his handgun with him. From Fox News 16 in Little Rock, Arkansas:

The self-proclaimed champions of women’s rights, the political left, is once again insisting that a woman’s right to protect herself from sexual attackers should be regulated, restricted, and in some cases banned. After all, only American Liberals would believe that a woman being raped is morally superior to a rapist being shot. Arguing that concealed carry on college campuses would actually “reinforce rape culture” on campus, an editorial in the University of North Carolina’s student’s newspaper argued against arming young (law abiding) women.Concealed weapons would not significantly reduce sexual assault and would create inadvertent risks within other forms of interpersonal violence…...

Many have speculated on the reason for the hand inside the coat pose of officers during Civil War photographs.   Perhaps it was to render access to a concealed weapon.  These, after all, were military officers. Is that the bulge of a Smith & Wesson #1 under his left arm?  It is about the right size.   The number one was one of the first easily concealable cartridge pistols.  It was first produced in 1857 and was in great demand by officers in the Civil War. As a .22 short, we might not think of it as having much stopping power. ...

People walking the streets with guns pose a danger to others, right? With 12 million Americans across all 50 states now having concealed handgun permits, one would think that this question would have been settled one way or another. In fact, contrary to the rhetoric by gun-control organizations, permit holders almost never use their guns to commit violent crimes. Last Wednesday, The New York Times claimed “there should be no disputing” a new report, which claims there were 722 gun deaths nationwide from May 2007 to February 2015 that were not self-defense. The Times asserts: “The full death toll attributable...

In a time where sexual assault is on the rise at American universities, it's important to curb this trend by effective means.How can universities best address and eradicate the threat of sexual assault on campus? Allow concealed carry on campus. Seven states–Wyoming, Montana, Florida, Texas, Indiana, North Dakota, and now South Dakota–are considering legislation to permit concealed carry at universities. As more Americans channel support for gun rights over gun control, legislation to repeal gun-free zones and permit concealed carry should be deliberated in more states. Universities are gun-free zones, which make them prime targets for criminals. Evidence shows that...

L On January 15, 2015, Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder vetoed gun reform legislation that had strong support in the legislature.   Snyder cited concerns that were drummed up in a media campaign by the bill's opponents.  The bills sponsors consistently said that the complaints were baseless.  To obtain the governor's signature, the new legislature has removed the small bit of the legislation that Governor Snyder objected to, and passed the new bill, known as SB34 with over a 3-1 vote.  From mlive.com: LANSING, MI -- Michigan's Republican-led Senate on Tuesday, in its first official vote of the 2015-16 session, approved...

Wisconsin concealed carry permits topped 240,000 in 2014, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.  From the jsonline.com: Nearly 34,000 were issued permits, raising the total number in Wisconsin to 242,488, according to an annual report from the Department of Justice. The permits have been a success by most observers standards, following the pattern in other states.  The first permits were issued late in 2011.  Only one person with a permit has been convicted of a homicide since that time.   Wisconsin has an adult population (21 or over) of about 4.3 million.   Thus, people with permits are about...

Now, here’s something you don’t see everyday; a police officer from Ohio doing a routine traffic stop thanked the person he pulled over for having a concealed carry permit. The man, who recorded the traffic stop, was driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. According to Ohio law, if you’re approached by law enforcement–and you’re carrying a concealed firearm– you must inform them. “I’m happy to see more people with their CCWs [concealed carry weapons permit], especially with the world becoming the way it is,” said the officer. VIDEO He then issued the man a warning and...

. . . . After the robber demanded money, Chitwood said the older man “immediately reached out to the gunman’s right hand” and attempted to take control of the gun. “A struggle ensues — this is a 67-year-old tangling with a much younger man — and as (the robbery victim) starts to lose his balance, he reaches into his waistband and pulls out his gun, a .38-caliber revolver,” Chitwood said. “As he’s falling backwards, he fires one shot.” The robbery suspect, described as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, was shot once in the head and...

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Gun owners in Kentucky can get permits to carry concealed weapons under a new online application process.</p> <p>The Courier-Journal reports that the process requires state police to either issue or deny a license within 15 days of receiving an electronic application. That's quicker than the 60-day processing period allowed for paper applications.</p>

In the dramatic video from inside the New Hope, Minnesota city council chambers, one of the council members reacts to the sound of gunfire outside of the doors by drawing his own weapon and preparing to defend his colleagues.  Link to video: It is clear that the council member on the left of the screen has considered this sort of scenario, and is mentally prepared.   Immediately after the shots are fired, you hear a voice saying, "Get down!, Get down!".  As the video progresses, and shows the councilman with the handgun on the left, it is clear that he...

A suspected terrorist stabbed at least nine people on the 40 bus line in Tel Aviv near the Maariv junction on Wednesday morning. Two of the victims were seriously injured and several others suffered moderate injuries, Magen David Adom said. Others at the scene were treated for shock. The injured were evacuated to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer and Ichilov Hospital at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. The attacker fled on foot but was shot and neutralized by police and is being questioned. The assailant is a 23-year-old man from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, illegally...

A Lithia man has been charged after he tackled another man Tuesday who had a handgun in a holster -- and a permit to carry -- at a Walmart. Foster had seen Daniels getting out of his vehicle in the lot with handgun, under his coat and in a holster. Foster followed him into the store and then attacked the Daniels, the sheriff's office said.

Several months ago, Elijah Woody was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.   Elijah Woody is an active member of an open carry group, Hells Saints, in Detroit, that was featured in an MSNBC video about open carry.  I wrote about Elijah's arrest and allegations of misconduct by the Detroit police officers, all of whom are black, as is Elijah.  The trial ended yesterday, Friday, the 16th of January, 2015.  I found the story riveting.  It makes you appreciate juries.   This is the sort of story that Eric Holder should be concerned with, but will never be investigated by...

Could any or all of the victims in the Paris attack have survived if they had guns to protect themselves? One Texas gun group tried to find out by organizing a simulation on a set designed to look like the offices of Charlie Hebdo, hoping to learn how things might have been different in Paris or any other mass shooting. KTVT's Andrea Lucia reports.