Free Republic

Would he support ‘common sense’ gun control? Wray won’t say Testifying July 12 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Donald Trump’s FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray said he wouldn’t rule out supporting a universal background check bill, non-committedly saying he’s “review it and make an assessment based on the circumstances.” Wray, during a full day of confirmation hearing testimony, was questioned by Connecticut’s Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a longtime gun control supporter, about his views on firearms laws. “Would you support common sense measures to stop gun violence?” Blumenthal asked, implying that he has a clue what “common sense” means, especially...

The Women’s March protest today at NRA headquarters was partially sparked by false allegations that the organization hasn’t defended Philando Castile — an African American and concealed handgun permit holder shot by Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez. While the March’s co-president, Tamika Mallory, demands that the NRA defend Castile's Second Amendment rights, she ignores statements that do just that by the gun group's female and black spokespersons. Perhaps the Women’s March organizers don't really want the NRA to be seen defending gun rights for blacks or any other minority groups. Rather, they want people to think of the NRA as...

Ever since Dana Loesch’s NRA ad, “The Violence of Lies,” came to light, gun control advocates on the left have used one major talking point: that the NRA is made up of white conservatives want to oppress black Americans. The left was so upset with Loesch’s condemning of violence that Black Lives Matters created an ad refuting the NRA. In the ad, BLM calls for black people to stand up and “fight this violence with a raised clenched fist of black resistance.” NRATV’s Colion Noir explains the hypocrisy behind the Black Lives Matters organization getting upset over Loesch’s ad:

s there a women’s view on guns? The organizers of the massive Women's March — which took place the day after President Trump's inauguration — are holding a protest against the National Rifle Association on Friday. After a 2.6 million strong turnout in January, they have high expectations to live up to. But Donald Trump received a respectable 42 percent of the women’s vote, so it’s hard to say that there is “a women’s view” on guns. According to an Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP poll from early last year, 49% of married women say that they or someone in their home...

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- – Rural Australia from Wh'od a Thought it Lookout in Quirindi.Shortly after I started traveling into rural Australia, I found people willing to talk to me about firearms. When they learned I write about firearms, they were happy to have a conversation. In the morning of July first, the day after I arrived in Australia, I packed up and pulled my wheeled luggage to the Central railway station in Sydney.  The staff at the station were very helpful. They printed out a ticket I had purchased over the Internet.  I boarded the train a half hour before...

A House measure that would allow those with a concealed carry license to ignore “no gun” signs is headed to the Ohio Senate. Termed the Decriminalization Effort for Ending Notorious Deaths Act by its sponsor, HB 233 states that members of the military or those with a carry permit would not be guilty of violating most areas deemed gun-free. The measure passed in a Republican-heavy 65-31 vote on Thursday.“The bill decriminalizes so-called ‘gun free’ zones for concealed handgun license holders,” said bill sponsor, Rep. John Becker, R-Clermont. The proposal’s language protects CHL holders and military members found carrying a weapon...

Would you rely almost exclusively on trends in Hawaii to predict violent crime rates in Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Utah? Would you look at Illinois to predict changes in Louisiana and South Carolina? Illinois has a drastically difference crime landscape, with half of its violent crime occurring in Chicago. Though it wouldn’t pass the laugh test for most people, an unpublished report making just these sorts of comparisons has been all the rage in the media. Lead author John Donohue, a professor at Stanford Law School, makes a claim which goes against existing national research: that right-to-carry laws increase...

A new, unpublished study by John Donohue, Abhay Aneja, and Kyle Weber has received a lot of attention for supposedly finding some evidence that right-to-carry laws increase overall violent crime rates. It has been covered in Newsweek, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Vice, Snopes, and many newspapers such as Newsday and the Salt Lake City Tribune. As is typical of Donohue’s work, there is no attempt to mention or respond to prior criticisms, and he just repeats the same, seriously biased methods and errors. Publications such as Time and Newsweek would always interview critics when they ran stories on Lott’s original research....

In 2013, LA Weekly obtained a list of the 341 concealed carry permit holders in Los Angeles County, California. That is only about 0.0045% of the 7.7 million adults living in the county in 2013. LA Weekly pointed out that the people given permits were judges, reserve deputy sheriffs, and a small group who gave campaign contributions or gifts to then-Sheriff Lee Baca. Something that LA Weekly didn’t do was look at the list to determine the race of those lucky few getting permits. In Los Angeles County in 2013, about 48.1% of the people living there were Hispanic, and...

Man who sold gun used to shoot 2 cops released on $4,500 bond: sources Chicago 07/06/2017 Sam Charles @samjcharles | email A man who sources say sold an assault rifle to gang members — which was then used to shoot two Chicago Police officers last May — was released from federal custody on a $4,500 bond on Wednesday. Charles Williams was arrested and charged in federal court last week with possession of a firearm by a felon. On Wednesday, Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim ordered him released on $4,500, court records show. A law enforcement source told the Chicago Sun-Times...

Murder charge filed after Seattle woman, 29, fatally shot riding home from a wedding All Jennifer Morrison Espitia wanted was to Uber home safely. Instead, King County prosecutors say, she was shot dead by her husband during a drunken, nonsensical argument. Charged Thursday with second-degree murder, Cameron Espitia, 31, is alleged to have shot Jennifer in the back of the head on Sunday while both were riding in an Uber. Prosecutors say Espitia was drunk and irate after attending a wedding with Jennifer. “Despite the fact that he was armed with a loaded firearm, he consumed numerous alcoholic drinks and...

In the seemingly endless parade of measures that infringe upon our rights under the Second Amendment, a recent one in California stands out as especially brazen. Following the passage of Proposition 63 last November, gun owners in the state who own magazines holding more than ten rounds were required to surrender them to state authorities by July 1. Fortunately, on June 29, Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California threw a monkey wrench into the plans of the gun (and magazine) grabbers. A bit of history. Back in 2000, California made it illegal to sell magazine capable of...

The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It is the much-maligned Second Amendment which secures and makes possible all of the other rights guaranteed in the Constitution. This undoubtedly explains why the Amendment is under constant attack by those who lust after power and control. It is also the only part of the Bill of Rights that defines a specific purpose in its introductory clause. David Deming writes in the April 2016 issue of American Thinker...

By Kevin Baker | July 3, 2017 4:54 PM EDT Howard Dean appeared on Monday’s MSNBC Live with Katy Tur and went on an unhinged rant against the state of American politics. He began by first stating that, “the right has been out of step with America for a long time.” This naturally prompted the question by Tur as to why Republicans then control the presidency and Congress. Dean answered by labeling far-right Trump voters as people “with guns that want to shoot up the place” and the NRA as a “white supremacist organization.” Tur only offered a tepid condemnation...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An FBI agent had his car stolen early Monday on the West Side, a source told ABC7. The theft happened at a gas station near Morgan Street and Jackson Boulevard at about 1 a.m., Chicago police said. Police said a 32-year-old man left his car running at the gas station when a male suspect entered the car and took off. Police have not confirmed that the stolen white Chevy Equinox belonged to an FBI agent. The vehicle was last seen heading east on Van Buren Street. There were several guns in the FBI agent's vehicle when it...

If you can't dazzle people with brilliance, then baffle them with bull…  merde.    Pennsylvania Democrat Senator Bob Casey does just this with his re-introduction of the "Disarm Hate Act".   His bill, should it pass, would strip gun rights from those committed of a misdemeanor hate crime.  In other words:  Refuse to bake a cake, lose your gun rights. Tiara Parker of Philadelphia joined microphone-chasing Casey to promote his latest proposal.   Shamefully, Casey used this woman simply because the Philly resident had visited the Pulse nightclub on the fateful night a radical Islamic terrorist attacked the venue.  As if getting...

In the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, Tiara Parker of Philadelphia was out on the town – but this wasn’t just any night out. She was inside the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a place that would become the scene of a mass shooting terrorist attack by 29-year-old Omar Mateen. On that night, 49 people were murdered and another 58 were wounded in what has been called the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. Parker was with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in Ardmore Monday morning, speaking on what has...

When Republican lawmakers came under fire during a June 14 baseball practice in Virginia, they were trapped by a tall fence with one exit. Thanks to armed officers guarding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, only five people were wounded. But although members of the congressional leadership are provided security details, the rest of us have to count on luck. “When congressmen and senators are off the Capitol Hill campus, we are still high-profile targets, but we have zero protection,” Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama told John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center. Mr. Lott, who worked with me on...

The FBI has published a brief report on the shooting in Alexandria. It is devastating to the idea that the gun-control measures presently coveted by the Democratic party would have done something to prevent the attack. Over the past two decades, Democrats have focused on three major proposals for reform. They are: 1) That all private transfers should be contingent upon a federal background check; 2) That firearms that look a certain way should be classed as “assault weapons” and prohibited from sale; and 3) That civilians should be forbidden from buying magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. None...

Longtime Union County Democratic operative James Devine has shown his true colors in response to the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise. Devine, unapologetic with his words, is calling for a "hunt" of Republicans under the hashtag #HuntRepublicanCongressmen. He also claims he was not advocating for violence, which might be believable to people who think law-abiding citizens protecting their Second Amendment rights are responsible for violence in America. In fact, he claims he was mirroring GOP Senator Rand Paul's comment that the Second Amendment is for "shooting at the government when it becomes tyrannical." His idea of a tyrannical...