Free Republic

A growing number of firearm and firearm-related companies have stated they will no longer sell items to states, counties, cities and municipalities that restrict their citizens' rights to own them. According to The Police Loophole, 34 companies have joined in publicly stating that governments who seek to restrict 2nd Amendment rights will themselves be restricted from purchasing the items they seek to limit or ban. Extreme Firepower Inc., located in Inwood, WV has had a longstanding policy that states: "The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types...

Certainly the militia is the people, for what else could it possibly be? Here’s the definitive quote from one of our founding fathers: ”I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.” — George Mason, in Debates in the Virginia Convention. Consider the question: Does combining the right of free speech with the right to assemble diminish either? Of course not. And the same is true when you combine the right to assemble with the right to be armed. Meeting with rifles in hand for the purpose of training in their...

How would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?...

I have closely followed the gun control debate in the US from the outside and, as a European, I am trying to make sense of it because I know that at stake is not just the gun legislation but also the American Constitution, with what it represents as the most historically important declaration of human rights and liberties to be safeguarded against the power of the state; the thorny issues of broken families and of how to treat the mentally ill; and even the always controversial question of race and gang violence. I have never seen a gun in my...

(Image courtesy Net Gunsmith) President Barack Obama is, arguably, the best gun salesman ever. Over 65 million guns have been purchased since the President took office in 2009. FBI background check statistics indicate that, over the last twelve months, Americans purchased a new gun every 1.5 seconds, a figure which suggests there is much more to the recent panic buying than people just stocking up to go hunting or sports shooting. The following guns and ammo industry report indicates that every major gun and ammunition manufacturer in the country is running at 100% capacity, with many so far behind that...

I keep hearing people say they want to regulate guns the way we regulate cars. They don't really mean that, of course. What they mean is they want to make it acceptable to find more ways to intrude on the right to keep and bear arms. I propose instead, we regulate cars the way we regulate guns. Let's start: To buy or operate a standard car, one will have to be 18 years old. Under that age, adult supervision will be mandatory. This means the adult must be in the vehicle with the underage driver. To buy a sports car,...

Do you have a gun in your home? For some, that's a loaded question - particularly when asked by a doctor. A debate is simmering over when and whether physicians should be allowed to talk to their patients about firearms. Doctor groups say physicians are obligated to warn their patients about guns along with other health risks, such as riding in a car without wearing a seat belt. However, gun rights advocates balk at what they see as a needless invasion of privacy and blatant attempt at gun control advocacy.

We hear a lot in the media about “firearm murder rates”, but I don’t really care about how someone is murdered, but rather whether they are murdered at all. The U.S. ranks 1st in firearms per person, but 98th overall by murder rate, putting us on the better side of mid-pack. The Swiss rank 2nd in firearms per person and have an almost nonexistent murder rate. Of the 20 countries with the most firearms per person, none have exceedingly high murder rates compared to the rest of the world. Indeed, when averaged, the murder rate of these 20 countries would...

Cook County (Chicago) IL adopts new gun law Firearms owners will be required to report loss or sale of guns By John Byrne, Chicago Tribune reporter February 6, 2013 Firearms owners in suburban Cook County will face fines up to $2,000 if they don't report to police when their guns are lost, stolen or sold, under an ordinance county commissioners approved Tuesday. The plan, pushed by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, will apply to all areas of the county where a similar law is not already on the books. It will not apply within the city of Chicago, which has...

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A small helicopter that crashed Saturday in far western St. Lucie County was carrying an internationally known firearms expert who was hunting wild hogs from the air using a handgun. Live Oak resident Massad Ayoob, 64, his hunting companion Jonathan Strayer, 46, and pilot William Harward, 55, were above the tree tops, at about 100 feet, when the Hiller helicopter lost power and plunged to the ground around 9:15 a.m. Saturday, Ayoob said Monday. “A few minutes into the flight, as we were zoning in on an oinker that had run under the canopy of some...

SHARONVILLE, OH (FOX19) - Employees at Target World in Sharonville say guns sales have been like nothing they've ever seen before. "You can't take away people's rights without people fighting back," says David Drury, a Target World employee. The increase in sales started just after the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings. "The boom has been pretty incredible. People are wanting to protect their rights while they have them and people are scared. They don't want their rights to be eroded," said Drury. Because of that, even on the night of the Super Bowl, and even at kickoff time, Target World was...

While the present Administration ignores both Washington's wise counsel & his clear understanding of male psychology, President Obama's Secretary of Defense, denies both the role of Congress, the Chivalric Code & all human experience in a bizarre January order for all branches of the Armed Forces to place women in combat units by 2016. Will further eroding a sense of male responsibility serve any constructive purpose, in dealing with any contemporary problem? Will trashing what have always been constructive male roles--the responsibility of young men to defend their society--contribute anything positive toward dealing with the rash of atrocities committed by...

Two Houston police officers are facing life in prison without the possibility of parole after allegations they accepted $2,000 in bribes to protect a stash of cocaine being smuggled through the city

In a letter sent Friday to the CEOs of TD Bank and Bank of America, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel urged the banks to stop serving gun manufacturers unless they support gun control measures, CBS Chicago reported. According to CBS, Emmanuel wants the banks to "stop lines of credit, financing for acquisitions and expansions and financial advising" unless the manufacturers agree with him on issues like background checks and what he called “commonsense reforms." “In the past, the gun industry has stood in opposition to these safety measures. They opposed a ban on assault weapons on America’s streets, opposed a ban...

Rifles Your needs: Hunting, varmint control, “just in case” Why: While some people may use or need a rifle for home defense, all the rifle owners I know use their rifles for either target shooting or hunting and varmint control. They use a different kind of gun for personal or home defense. However, for the sake of argument let’s say that the proverbial excrement has hit the rotating airfoil and that you, despite the fact that you get your meat from the grocery store and don’t run into coyotes at the bus stop, could be called upon to defend all...

List of Firearms Prohibited by Name: Rifles:All AK types, including the following:AK, AK47, AK47S, AK–74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, NHM90, NHM91, Rock River Arms LAR–47, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK–47, VEPR, WASR–10, and WUM, IZHMASH Saiga AK, MAADI AK47 and ARM, Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S, and 86S, Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS; All AR types, including the following: AR–10, AR–15, Armalite M15 22LR Carbine, Armalite M15–T, Barrett REC7, Beretta AR–70, Bushmaster ACR, Bushmaster Carbon 15, Bushmaster MOE series, Bushmaster XM15, Colt Match Target Rifles, DoubleStar AR rifles, DPMS Tactical Rifles, Heckler & Koch MR556, Olympic Arms, Remington R–15 rifles,...

I first saw the USFA ZiP .22 on USFA’s website and it immediately caught my attention. Why? Well, for starters it is unique—very unique. It captures the imagination, finding something truly new in firearms development is a bit of a rarity. John Browning and Paul Mauser can still say that most firearms are mere modifications of designs they pioneered 100 years ago. So on that merit alone, I wanted to check out this pistol. Secondly, being mainly polymer and uber-lightweight, this gun fills a niche for the survival crowd. It would fit easily in a backpack, truck or tackle box,...

Newtown massacre pushes some police chiefs beyond enforcing the law, to advocating new ones Lawmakers and mayors aren’t the only ones ratcheting up the debate on gun control. Some big city police chiefs are also stepping into the political arena, lobbying for tighter controls that they and their officers would then enforce. Take for instance San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne, who in an interview last week called for tougher gun laws and clearly chafed at the influence the National Rifle Association has held for years over the national debate. Lansdowne suggested the Newtown, Conn., massacre may have undercut the...

Sixty percent of high school and college students say they plan on owning guns at a later stage in life, an academic study from American University revealed on Monday. According to a brand new study, sixty percent of young Americans plan on purchasing firearms in the future. According to the study, about 40 percent of the American students surveyed said they definitely planned to own firearms once they had established their own households. Another 20 percent said they were “contemplating” owning guns. Those findings were part of a broader study conducted by American University professor Jennifer L. Lawless and Loyola...

In the wake of the Newtown massacre and other tragic shootings over the years, which have led to calls for stricter gun control, the National Rifle Association has remained steadfastly opposed to any increased regulation of firearms. In fact, Wayne LaPierre, its CEO and executive vice president, claims the problem isn’t too many guns but too few. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun,” he said, “is a good guy with a gun,” and proposed placing armed guards in every school. Putting aside LaPierre’s Looney Tunes argument, I can envision a day in the not-so-far future...