Free Republic

The Latin motto on the great seal of the State of Massachusetts, loosely translated, means: "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty."  It is rather inconsistent with Massachusetts strict firearms laws.  Those laws became a little more reasonable on April 18th, 2014. A federal judge, relying on both the McDonald and Heller decisions and current Massachusetts law, effectively removed one class of prohibited people from the law. The case MICHAEL WESSON, THOMAS WOODS, and COMMONWEALTH SECOND AMENDMENT, INC.,  involves two well established men who had out of state marijuana convictions from decades ago.    Massachusetts decriminalized...

Many people who have followed the Justina Pelletier case—largely ignored by the mainstream media, by the way—have thought that there has to be more to it, or that it’s an outrageous out-of-the-ordinary affair. This is the case where the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families forcibly took custody from her parents over a year ago of a teenager who had been treated for years for mitochondrial disease (a genetic disorder), when they brought her to Boston Children’s Hospital for consultation about a related gastrointestinal problem and resisted a quickly-made diagnosis by a medical resident and a psychologist there that she...

<p>Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman apparently spent his time at last night’s gubernatorial debate, which focused on issues affecting the state’s LGBTQ community, passing a kidney stone, according to campaign spokesman Chandra Allard. The forum was hosted by MassEquality and WGBH at the Boston Public Library Tuesday night.</p>

Video at link.

A Massachusetts judge ruled Tuesday that the Connecticut teen in the middle of a contentious custody battle between her parents and the state will remain in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. The Boston Globe reported that Suffolk County juvenile court Judge Joseph Johnson granted “permanent” custody to the state DCF, leaving it up to the agency to decide if and when 15-year-old Justina Pelletier is returned to her parents’ custody. This decision was in response to a motion filed by Linda and Lou Pelletier, Justina’s parents, and her court-lawyer attorney for a “conditional custody” plan....

"Boston Makes Final Preparations for 2014 Marathon New protocols will "preserve the traditional feel and character of the Boston Marathon" after 2013 bombings." 03/10/2014

FALL RIVER, MASS. (WPRI) – A Fall River man has been charged with violating the Massachusetts wiretapping statute for recording a police officer talking on his cell phone and cursing while working a street detail. George Thompson, 51, of Fall River, faces one count each of unlawful wiretap and resisting arrest stemming from the Jan. 6 incident.

BOSTON,—The family of Justina Pelletier was emotionally distraught after a judge sentenced their sick daughter to the foster care system without access to her previous medical care. Justina is at the center of a legal battle between the Pelletier family and Boston Children’s Hospital over custody and proper medical treatment. Attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel filed a motion for pro hac vice to represent the Pelletiers, but the judge took the rare move of allowing the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) to respond to the motion, effectively denying the specialist attorney from arguing in the hearing. To...

It's no secret that the Central American immigrant community walk the length of Herman Melville Boulevard as they travel to and from the fish houses where they work. They walk because they find it difficult to obtain driver's licenses as they are undocumented. Adrian Ventura said the Registry of Motor Vehicles could help if it would loosen requirements to obtain a driver's license. It is difficult for many to obtain a license because they do not have legal status, he said. The largest immigrant advocacy group in the country, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) has proposed legislation...

The two biggest US cable companies are joining forces in a $45bn (£27bn) deal, creating an entertainment giant with some 32 million TV subscribers. Comcast's merger with Time Warner Cable was confirmed at the start of trading on Thursday. Its offer, which is subject to regulatory approval, is about 17% higher than the company's closing share price on Wednesday. The takeover bid trumps an earlier $38bn (£23bn) offer from Charter Communications, which appeared to concede defeat by announcing: "We've always maintained our greatest opportunity to create value for shareholders is by executing our current business plan. "We'll continue to be...

On January 15th, Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence supporter and Massachusetts state representative Carlos Henriquez (D-5th Suffolk Dist.) was sentenced to six months in jail for punching a woman who refused to have sex with him.

ANDY INKSTER, a transgender man, had always wanted biological children. So when he embarked on the transition from female to male at age 18 — changing his name, taking testosterone and eventually undergoing surgery to remove his breasts — he left his female reproductive organs intact. In his mid-20s, he decided it was time. He stopped taking testosterone and started trying to get pregnant. Eventually, in 2009, after beginning graduate school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he sought fertility treatment at Baystate Reproductive Medicine. Baystate was one of the few clinics in the country with an anti-discrimination policy...

The lesbian "rock opera" Jesus Has Two Mommies will show this Christmas season at the Somerville Theatre near Boston, MA. Jesus Has Two Mommies dares to distort the sacred mysteries of Christmas, showing Jesus born to two lesbians, Mary and Josephine. Among blasphemous mockeries of God, the virgin birth, and the Holy Family, Jesus Has Two Mommies portrays Mary and Josephine's affair at a lesbian bar, the "real Christmas story."According to press reports: "Luckily the trio is up to the challenge. The trio consisted of God... Jesus and the angel Gay-briel. ...Blessing Faith [Faith Soloway, the author] with a Psalm...

The zone of state toll systems that are part of E-ZPass now stretches far beyond the New York metropolitan area where it began. Now you can use your E-ZPass in toll-zapping booths in 14 states, a vast road-trip zone stretching from Virginia to Illinois to Maine. It’s all a compatible system, but different states set their own fees to issue the transponders and maintain your account. What not all consumers know is that you don’t have to buy your pass from the state where you live, and you can save money by ordering from across the border. Whether this is...

FBI: Terror suspect plotted fuel attackAl-Marabh planned to blow up tunnelJail informant reported `martyr' bid JOHN SOLOMONASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Nabil al-Marabh, who ran a print shop with his uncle in Toronto, plotted to steal a fuel tanker truck and blow it up in one of the heavily travelled tunnels between New Jersey and Manhattan, FBI documents allege. Al-Marabh, 36, was arrested Sept. 19, 2001, in Chicago in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. His arrest prompted an RCMP raid of his uncle's copy shop on Charles St. in Toronto. The U.S. deported him...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: Juan, fasten your seat belt. The federal government should stay within the confines of the constitution. The constitution does not authorize the federal government to have anything whatsoever to do with healthcare. So, Obamacare should be abolished along with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, but the people who are on those programs should be grandfathered in because they paid money to be in there and they've ordered their lives to stay there. The states should regulate healthcare because the states retain that power under the constitution. So, if you want if you want mandatory healthcare, go...

“Will we ever be able to have a constructive conversation on the [gun] issue?” Joanna Weiss asked Sunday in her “Gun Debate Hate” column in The Boston Globe. She was referring to reports from the week before about a Swamspcott selectman seeking authority for police to enforce Massachusetts state law requiring gun owners to keep firearms in their homes locked up. “Here’s a summary of what happened, as far as I can gather, at last week’s meeting of the Swampscott Board of Selectmen,” Weiss wrote, decrying “the Internet Instant Outrage Machine [that] rained down on Barry Greenfield, the selectman who...

Note: The following text is a quote: Three Chinese Nationals and Two Corporations Charged with Illegally Exporting Defense Articles and Commerce Controlled Electronics Components to China and Conspiring to Violate U.S. Export Laws BOSTON, MA—Three nationals of the People’s Republic of China and two corporations were charged on October 1, 2009 in federal court with conspiring over a period of 10 years to illegally export defense articles, designated on the United States Munitions List, and Commerce controlled electronics components to end-users in China, including several Chinese military entities. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks; John J. McKenna, Special Agent...

BOSTON — The state's top political leaders called on Congress Wednesday to pass stricter background checks for gun buyers.U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined fellow Sen. Edward Markey, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and the families of gun violence victims at a rally at Faneuil Hall to press for tougher national gun laws. Warren and others are hoping Congress will again take up a bill that would expand background checks to include gun shows and online sales. She said other sensible measures would include better mental health care and putting limits on high capacity magazines and assault weapons.

From Firearms Records Bureau v. Simkin (Mass. Aug. 8, 2013): Simkin is a New Hampshire resident and a federally licensed firearms dealer who is engaged in the “buying and selling [of] firearms in the region, from private parties, at gun shows, and at auctions.” Since 2002, he has held a temporary nonresident Class A unrestricted license to carry firearms in Massachusetts. In February, 2009, Simkin applied to the bureau for a renewal of his license, stating as his purpose for requesting the renewal that he traveled in and through Massachusetts for business purposes, carrying firearms, ammunition, and cash, and...