Free Republic

While Brian Aitken’s The Blue Tent Sky: How The Left’s War On Guns Cost Me My Son And My Freedom is written is an unassuming and accessible way, it is by no means an ‘easy read.’ In fact, it will likely be the most difficult book you’ll ever read.Brian Aitken is a man who was forced into a tragedy thought inconceivable in the United States — being stripped of his family and his freedom all for owning a gun in New Jersey. When Brian was pulled over in 2009 he had not committed any crimes, the guns he would...

I know this won’t be shocking, but we have some additional proof that the gaggle of anti-gun groups spread throughout the nation don’t generally have a firm grip on the civilian nature of our democratic republic. The pro-gun sheriff of Wicomico County in Maryland (yeah… there’s a pro-gun sheriff in Maryland) is under fire from anti-gunners after a comment he made about protecting the Second Amendment rights of Wicomico citizens. According to Delmarvanow.com, Sheriff Mike Lewis is on record explaining that Federal curbs to the Second Amendment will not be tolerated in his county:"As long as I'm the sheriff in this county,...

Gun ranges are frequently targeted by left-wing activists in the government, and sadly, one is finally about to be wrongly shut down. This is alarming, because it marks the beginning of a slippery slope leading to forcing other gun ranges out of business. This will ultimately lead to a lack of reputable places for people to learn how to defend themselves with firearms, and a major step backwards for the Second Amendment after years of withstanding progressive attacks.The Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club in Washington state has been targeted for nearly 20 years now by left-wing activists in government. I...

Via 90 Miles, Venezuela Launches Disarmament Program. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is launching a nationwide initiative to encourage civilians to surrender their weapons, in an urgent attempt to stem the tide of violence in his country, which has the second-highest murder rate in the world. What they really meant to say: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is launching a nationwide initiative to encourage civilians to surrender their weapons because his communist policies have failed and the people are starting to notice. He must double-down with the tyranny and, to do so, must first disarm his victims. History is full of examples:...

The Islamic State has issued a global call to lone wolves. One could be standing behind you on the bus, walking next you at the mall or sitting in the next cubicle. In the age of the Islamic State and solo terrorism, gun-free zones are simply an invitation for a terrorist attack. In Moore, Okla., the life-saving value of the Second Amendment was proved once again. It may be our secret weapon in the ongoing war against terrorism.

If you're going to Bergeron's Restaurant in Louisiana bring your appetite - and your gun. Customers at the Port Allen outlet who carry a weapon are given a 10% discount on their meal. According to US news reports, restaurant owner Kevin Cox said he came up with the idea as a way to thank law enforcement officers who go to the restaurant.

MOORE, Okla. – Officials with the Moore Police Department say the FBI is now involved in the investigation related to a brutal attack of workers at a food distribution plant. Sgt. Jeremy Lewis says the alleged suspect, 30-year-old Alton Nolen had just been fired when he drove to the front of the business, hit a vehicle and walked inside. He walked into the front office area where he met 54-year-old Colleen Hufford and began attacking her with a knife. Sgt. Lewis confirms the type of knife used in the attack is the same kind used at the plant. Lewis confirms...

Washington DC has been ordered to allow concealed handguns… But, c’mon, let’s not get carried away. I mean, why on Earth would we rush to allow such American freedoms in America’s capitol, right? Following in the footsteps of liberal enclaves like Boston, New York, and the People’s Republic of California, Washington DC is paying lip service to the Second Amendment by crafting a “May Issue” concealed carry rule.Essentially, the rule amounts to an arbitrary case-by-case determination of concealed carry applications, where applicants will be asked to provide a “legitimate” reason for carrying a gun. According to WJLA:The District is seeking to...

Chicago Liberals have decided to do what they do best: kill businesses and ban firearms simultaneously. The new gun laws proposed by the city of Chicago are being described (by admitted leftists) as the “smartest in the Nation.” Needless to say: They’re pretty dumb. A Federal Judge demanded earlier this year that the city develop an actionable plan to allow gun sales within city limits. Of course, not all (or any) of the city council members seem on board. Ald. Water Burnett Jr said of the gun stores, “I don’t think we want these kinds of things in our communities...

Bloomberg seems to be throwing in the towel. Apparently the financially savvy former Mayor of the Big Apple is saying “no mas” to continued attacks on the Second Amendment. With fully armed security, the East Coast Nannycrat is retreating to his private business at Bloomberg LP. Most gun rights activists are lifting a glass in celebration. A man of Bloomberg’s fame (and fortune) certainly deserves a personalized send-off into anonymity… And so, I offer this humble eulogy to his avid disrespect for my personal safety:Dear Ernst Stavro Blofeld Michael Bloomberg;It’s been fun, Mikey. Thanks for the laughs, the entertainment, and the...

The owners of TBonz Steakhouse in Augusta, Georgia, decided to be proactive when Republican Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law one of the most comprehensive pro-gun bills in the country this April, which allowed firearms into the state’s bars and restaurants. The eatery hung up a “No Guns” sign on its front door. PHOTOS: Best concealed carry handguns Its customer backlash was so harsh and quick that the steakhouse immediately took down the sign and then posted a mea culpa on its Facebook page. “The sign that was put up regarding firearms has been removed,” TBonz said in its Facebook...

More Guns, Less Crime: Since Illinois began issuing concealed-carry permits this year, robberies, burglaries, car thefts and, yes, even murder, are down significantly. Last month, when an 86-year-old Crestwood, Ill., man decided to visit his local phone store, he arrived to find a robbery underway. After staying outside to keep others from entering the store, he saw the suspect fleeing through a back door. He pursued the suspect, legal firearm in hand, stopped him, then held him until police arrived to make the arrest. The actions of the unidentified law-abiding citizen were made possible by Illinois becoming the 50th and...

Meet Melissa A. Horn. She’s the 40-year-old Wisconsin school principal who’s currently bullying an 11-year-old boy over a tiny picture of a gun and an American flag on the computer he uses only at home.The boy, Matthew, is “attending” — through distance learning, via computer — Wisconsin Virtual Learning, a 4K-12K virtual school run as an online pubic charter school by the Northern Ozaukee School District.Horn is its principal and executive director. For more on Horn, consult her LinkedIn page and her “Executive Director’s Message” in which she speaks about how, at Wisconsin Virtual Learning, “we pride ourselves in being...

>Today, a federal judge ruled that California’s 10-day waiting period is unconstitutional. Gun owners Jeffrey Silvester and Brandon Combs, along with Calguns Foundation and the Second Amendment Fondation, challenged the law, saying that the 10-day waiting period adds additional costs and disruptions preventing them from exercising their constitutional Second Amendment rights (via Calguns Foundation): In the decision released this morning, Federal Eastern District of California Senior Judge Anthony W. Ishii, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton, found that “the 10-day waiting periods of Penal Code [sections 26815(a) and 27540(a)] violate the Second Amendment” as applied to members of certain...

For those of you who’ve been sleeping since it happened Friday, Travis County grand jurors indicted Perry on charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The first count carries a possible prison term of five to 99 years. The second, two to 10. I’m no expert on law or math, but I believe those potential sentences each exceed one year. And there’s more. As an indictee, Perry’s state-issued Concealed Handgun License, assuming he still has one — his office didn’t know as of Tuesday afternoon — will be suspended until the case against him is...

"Never in my life did I think I'd shoot a shotgun."

Second Amendment: An African-American single mom on her way to a birthday party for one of her kids faces 10 years in prison for straying into the Garden State carrying a firearm in her purse licensed in Pennsylvania. Shaneen Allen is less well-known than Michael Brown, the man shot by police in Ferguson, Mo., and it's doubtful Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton will pay her a visit anytime soon. They're busy elsewhere. A mother exercising her Second Amendment right not only to keep but to bear arms to protect her family is of little interest to them. Allen is a...

Gun Control: A federal judge rules that the AR-15 and similar weapons commonly used in self-defense "fall outside Second Amendment protection as dangerous and unusual arms," and we have no right to keep or bear them. Nobody looted the gun shop and tattoo parlor that share a storefront in a strip mall less than 10 minutes from Ferguson, Mo., where riots followed the police shooting of Michael Brown. According to the local Riverfront Times, the owners of County Guns and Tattoo Studio arrived with friends to protect their businesses. One owner carried a rifle and pistol and wore a vest,...

I don't think I can even post an excerpt of this story on FR. The gist is that a kook professor is positing on Holmes' show that if an open carry group enters a restaurant, the patrons should (among other things) exit en masse without paying.

A Texas gun rights advocacy group plans to hold a walk Saturday in Houston's historically African-American Fifth Ward. Members of Open Carry Texas told Local 2 Investigates that they plan to walk through Fifth Ward neighborhoods to educate people on their Second Amendment rights. "If they come with their weapons, I'm quite sure they'll be a lot of us with weapons also," said community activist Quannel X. After hearing Quanell X's statements, Open Carry Texas member David Amad defended the group's decision to hold the event in the Fifth Ward and said the organization's motivations are being prematurely misjudged. "We've...