Free Republic

t they do best: Go on strike. By 1988, the company had lost a number of high-dollar contracts, and the end of their beginning was clearly at hand. In the decade to follow, their competitors warmly embraced America’s newfound fascination with the civilian market, concealed carry, and home defense. Colt, on the other hand, decided to take a more pragmatic approach. And, by “pragmatic”, I mean “liberal” approach: A wealthy industrialist, from the heart of a non-gun-owning Manhattan family, decided he could steer the company to better times. With a man who knew nothing about guns at the helm, Colt...

The first and second amendments of the Bill of Rights are essential for supporting each other.   The first amendment is essential to support the second, while the second amendment provides the means to protect the first.   It is clear that the open carry of firearms is itself a strong political message.   Openly carrying a gun is protected political speech. In Texas, open carry activists have been pushing hard to have the right to open carry modern handguns restored.   It was lost during reconstruction when the carpet bagger government rewrote the state constitution.   Open carry activists have participated in hundreds,...

A Philadelphia mother of two is facing three years in prison after she mistakenly entered New Jersey, where she was stopped for a traffic violation and found in possession of a handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets. Shaneen Allen, 27, was pulled over in New Jersey’s Atlantic County after making an unsafe lane change in the early morning hours of Oct. 1. Allen then told the officer that she had the .380 Bersa Thunder handgun, as well as a concealed carry permit for Pennsylvania, unaware that her permit was not transferable to The Garden State. “The gun charge was not proper...

From reducing student loan debt to expanding voter rights to dealing with the scourge of violent crime, liberals have laid out an ambitious agenda for the waning years of the Obama presidency. At a day-long summit Wednesday organized by Generation Progress, the youth division of the influential Washington-based think tank Center for American Progress, speakers such as Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi articulated their goals to a Washington audience of more than 1,000. Here are five issues that came up again and again at the Make Progress National Summit, and the...

What may have started out as an ordinary evening in February 2012, ended with a dead teen-ager and a national controversy that is still unresolved. The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and the subsequent not-guilty verdict of the shooter, George Zimmerman, on July 13, 2013, prompted citizens across the nation to question the "stand-your-ground" laws. Such laws, often criticized as being "shoot first" laws, make it hard to prosecute cases against people who shoot others and then claim self-defense. Kentucky, as well as the other states with such laws, should revise them so that the one who initiates a...

Suspects who called the Police Florida recently passed a law making it harder to prosecute people who are defending themselves with firearms.   The law builds on a trend started with an Arizona law that codified the defensive display of a firearm as legal. The Arizona law had been prompted by criminals use of the criminal justice system to punish people who had foiled their crimes by displaying a firearm in self defense. This Oregon case, though it did not receive official sanction, shows how criminals attempt to use, or use, the criminal justice system to their advantage. In the...

Obama and his comrades created the border crisis to force amnesty down our throats, but it’s not working as intended. So why do they soldier on with their insanity? It should be obvious to everyone that the current border crisis was preplanned and created by the regime. They implied that our borders are open, set up logistical support to infiltrate them everywhere on the taxpayer dime and in came the flood. Insane as it sounds, this seems to be their grand plan to force 30 million new Democratic voters on the nation and insure themselves a perpetual voting base. But...

Over the July 4 weekend, in Chicago alone, 16 people were shot to death and another 66 were wounded. At a press briefing on July 11, the White House weighed in, stating that Obama would "continue to make the case" that lawmakers should adopt new gun control laws. Two days later, on Sunday, Gov. Pat Quinn also called for more gun control, in particular a state ban on assault weapons, as the solution. But Chicago's problems lie with the city’s politicians. Nationally, police solve almost two out of every three murders – 63 percent of them. That figure is much...

Attacker who beheaded British Policeman This incident in Missouri shows the use of discretion by  Missouri County Prosecutor Matt Howard.     In this case, the homeowner, Mark Routh, discovered a man, Hanna, attempting to break into his home.  The homeowner armed himself with a shotgun and approached the intruder.  A struggle ensued, during which Hanna stabbed Routh in the upper leg.  As reported in connectmidmissouri.com: After a struggle, Hanna began to move away with his back turned and was shot by Routh at a distance of 66 feet, near the outer effective limit for a 12-gauge. The shot peppered Hanna in...

UN Document Or Not, the Plot to Disarm America Is Commencing The evidence is mounting that Obama and his colleagues at the United Nations are preparing for complete gun confiscation of civilian-owned American guns. There is a new document, previously held secret, which has surfaced and clearly signals the intention of the United Nations to engage in gun confiscation in the relatively near future. The document is damning, however, the existence of the document is not even needed to prove the point that there is a major confrontation, brewing between the American people and an international peace-keeping UN force, right...

“Just before 5:30 a.m. Monday, employees of the Starbucks in the 1800 block of W. Broad St. called police about a suspicious man outside the store. According to police, the suspect then ran into the business, and attacked the two employees,” nbc12.com reports. “Both baristas sustained facial injuries, with the suspect kicking an officer who arrived on scene. Assuming customers waiting for the store to open were observing Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz’ request to leave their legally carried guns at home (thank you, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America), knowing that the coffee company doesn’t allow its employees...

“I heard footsteps, and they kind of bum-rushed me from behind,” he said. “And I turned around, and there was a revolver in my face.” Dittrich said he gave the men his wallet with $25 inside, doing exactly what some self-defense experts suggest when confronted with a burglar: Give them what they want. As he opened the door, Dittrich said, he tried to make as much noise as possible, trying desperately to alert his fiance, Duffy, who was in the bedroom asleep. But one of the men found Duffy and, pointing the gun at her head, sexually assaulted her, she...

Petition to Remove Suppressors from NFA Take Action: Sign Petition to Remove Suppressors from NFA by G&A Online Editors | July 14th, 2014 0 petition_suppressor_NFA_sig_sauer_silencer_1Those of us who support improvements in suppressor legislation have an opportunity to take action. A new petition posted on Whitehouse.gov aims to remove suppressors from the list of items regulated by the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA). The petition requests suppressors be taken off the list of NFA regulated items, remove the costly $200 tax stamp on any purchase of a suppressor, eliminate the complex legality and travel issues between states and reduce safety concerns...

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) is supporting statewide "restrictions" on .50 caliber rifles and bans on "assault weapon" and "high capacity" magazines because of the violence in heavily gun-controlled Chicago.

Most defensive shootings do not occur in four star hotels.   But on the 6th floor of the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio last Saturday, the 12th of July, there was an exception. An occupant of the hotel, Moises Torres, 34, is said to have been creating a disturbance in the hallway, breaking light fixtures and banging on doors, saying "he was looking for someone to kill".  At least one person called security.   When the CHL (concealed handgun license) permit holder thought Torres was gone, he opened his door.   He reported that Torres charged him and the...

From small businesses on Main Street to the halls of Congress and the state legislatures, concern is mounting over Operation Choke Point, a coordinated effort among the Department of Justice (DOJ) and bank regulators to cut off banking services for a variety of legal, state-regulated businesses. This week alone, there are three congressional hearings on Operation Choke Point, hearings which will hopefully bring an end this misguided operation. Operation Choke Point is one of the most dangerous programs I have experienced in my 45 years of service as a bank regulator, bank attorney and consultant, and bank board member. Operating...

Meet the honest 27 year old single mom from PA who faces 3 years in a New Jersey prison Shaneen Allen is no dangerous criminal. She's a single mom working 2 jobs who's already been robbed twice while traveling alone at night in Philadelphia. Her family suggested that she carry a gun for protection. She took a gun safety course, applied for and was granted a concealed carry permit, and bought a gun. Then she made the mistake of driving into New Jersey. Now she's going to prison. Allen said that she didn't know her permit didn't apply to New...

Contrary to what those who defend the right to own high-powered assault rifles believe, not all guns are created equal. Due to a combination of availability, portability and criminal usage the following five types of guns are the country's most dangerous. Using firearm trace data from the ATF, as well as FBI homicide records, we determined the types of guns most often recovered from crime scenes and/or used in murders. The numbers are stark: According to the FBI's 2012 Crime in the US data, nearly 70 percent of homicides for which the FBI received weapons data involved the use of...

This homemade revolving shotgun design seems well suited for a 3D printed/hybrid metal version.    While the version pictured uses cut off chambers from cast off 12 gauge barrels, the same effect could be accomplished by using sections of the appropriately sized water/gas pipe or tubing.  The same tubing/pipe could be used for the barrel.  The concept would be that the 3D printed parts would comprise the cylinder into which the chambers would be fitted and glued, and which would have the more difficult mechanical details to revolve the cylinder.   Perhaps a modification of the zig-zag revolver design by Yoshitomo...

Via Charles Cooke, is this the worst listicle ever or the greatest? You’re expecting a list of different makes and models, I know. But look: 2. Revolvers Revolvers, named for their rotating chambered cylinder, placed second in the ATF’s ranking of guns found at crime scenes more than 46,000 recovered in 2012, the most recent year for which statistics were kept. Some grenade launchers, shotguns, and rifles also have rotating barrels, but the term “revolver” is generally used to describe handguns. Revolver types include single and double-action firing mechanisms, the latter of which does not require a cocking action separate...