Free Republic

The Attorney General of Massachusetts, Maura Healy, has decided that she can dictate law without recourse to the legislature or the courts.  She has decided to unilaterally change the definition of what is and is not an “assault weapon” in the law.Crimes committed with all rifles are exeedingly rare in Massachusetts.  2014, is the lastest year we have records for in the FBI Uniform Crime Report. In 2014, no murders with rifles of any kind, let alone “assault weapons” were recorded in Massachusetts. Yes, you read correctly.  Zero.  Ziltch. Nada.  If there had been a single crime committed in...

BOSTON, July 8, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – The Republican governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, has signed a law that would allow members of one biological sex to use the showers, restrooms, and other private facilities of the opposite sex. The law, which goes into effect on October 1, adds the phrase “gender identity” to state anti-discrimination laws, placing sexual identity on par with immutable characteristics such as race and sex. It would require “any public accommodation...without limitation” to open formerly sex-segregated facilities to members of the opposite biological sex. In June, lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have barred sex...

What if Columbus was Jewish? Would the politically correct Cambridge City Council still have voted unanimously to change Christopher Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day? Maybe, but maybe not. Could a purge of fellow Italian born explorer Amerigo Vespucci be next?

Brockton Massachusetts held their first gun turn in or “buy back” in 22 years on 21 May, 2016. “Buy Back” is a propaganda term; the guns were never owned by the people who are buying them. The event was advertised as accepting guns anonymously, no questions asked. This seems to violate Massachusetts law. There may be an exemption for police.  Police will be present; it is unlikely that they would enforce the law against themselves, even if there is no exemption.  From wcvb.com: In exchange for each gun turned in, a $200 gift card to Vicente’s grocery store will...

In November, Maine’s public will be asked to decide whether lawful owners of firearms should be required to go to a gun dealer, pay a “reasonable fee” and be required to fill out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473 to buy or sell a firearm. The referendum’s proponents claim that these requirements are easy, will make us safer, and that this will not be gun registration. Such claims are misleading. Who will determine the amount of this “reasonable fee”? Why should the owner of lawful property, which he or she may have owned for decades, be...

Friends, while I'm not going to discuss the particulars of my sister's divorce or what I was told about how she was cheated on, battered, and abused during her marriage. My concern is for her safety these days. This is because her soon-to-be-former-husband has made a number of threats against her life. And friends, these are not "alleged" threats simply because I've seen them and verified them to be real.  Fearing for her safety and security even more so in recent months, my sister has gone to the El Dorado County Court to request and obtain a Restraining Order...

California and New York — where almost 1 in 5 Americans live — are on their way to raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the activists who spearheaded those efforts are now setting their sights on other similarly liberal, Democratic-led states. Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are among the states with active “Fight for $15” efforts, and even economic experts who oppose the increased rate see it gaining momentum. “There is lots of pressure to do this,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director who is now president of...

In the latest Emerson poll on Massachusetts Donald Trump leads with 50% of the vote. Rubio has 16%, Kasich hast 13% and Ted Cruz is at 10%. Via Free Republic:

The next stops for Kasich are the primaries in New England. Vermont and Massachusetts, whose media markets at points overlap with New Hampshire, where Kasich practically lived for the past several months, both hold primaries on March 1. The Maine primary follows on March 5. Those around Kasich believe he can capitalize on his investment in New Hampshire with voters in those surrounding states. Kasich is scheduled to spend the day of the South Carolina primary in Massachusetts ... Still, Kasich’s biggest target other than his native Ohio remains Michigan, which will hold its primary on March 8. Kasich’s advisers...

Nearly all states have some sort of law preempting local gun laws.  Preemption means that the State preserves to itself certain areas of the law.  Firearms are a natural for this protection; most   Most are comprehensive; a few are minimal.   Massachusetts has very limited state pre-emption.  From dovekopel.com: Massachusetts preempts all gun licensing (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140 sect. 129B), and the state constitution forbids local laws inconsistent with state law; for this reason, Boston's Dec. 1989 ban on "assault weapons" was not allowed to go into effect until the state legislature later passed a bill authorizing...

The Cambridge City Council again did not vote on a resolution last Monday to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the third time this year. Despite what the resolution’s proponents claim is strong public support, the legislation is on hold while councillors negotiate how best to change the holiday name and still honor Italian Americans, many of whom see the day as a celebration of their heritage. Councillor Nadeem A. Mazen, who is leading the charge for the name change, said he anticipates the process will continue to play out over the next few months while councillors try...

A new Massachusetts gun permit essay rule has Second Amendment supporters seeing red. Gun owners in the state must now write an essay which will be “graded” for approval by the police chief before a carry permit can be issued. A hefty firearms training price tag up to $1,100 will also be levied against those attempting to exercise their right to bear arms in the city of Lowell. Lowell, Massachusetts, is located about 35 miles north of Boston and is home to some 110,000 people. The gun essay law was the brainchild of Police Chief William Taylor and approved by...

After a landlord was convicted of pushing her Muslim tenant down a flight of stairs, a judge ordered her to respect the rights of all Muslims and to take an introductory course on Islam. Now the highest court in Massachusetts is being asked to decide whether the judge violated the landlord's constitutional rights. The Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments next month in a case that poses interesting legal questions at a time when the country is grappling with anti-Muslim backlash following deadly attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, both allegedly carried out by radical Muslims. The case centers...

"Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values," [Obama] said.Six Republican governors have announced that Syrian refugees won't be allowed to resettle in their states in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued statements Sunday saying that they wanted to prioritize the safety of the residents in their states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a GOP presidential candidate; Arkansas Gov. Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence joined them on Monday. "Michigan is a welcoming state and we are...

Donald Trump will be having a rally in Worcester, MA on Wednesday November 18th at the DCU Center at 7PM Eastern time. Doors open at 5PM Eastern Must register for free tickets here: http://www.trumpworcester.eventbrite.com/

Trump fan thinks he's the bomb ANDOVER — GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump strikes again. Well, sort of. A week or so after local Trump supporter Arthur Gonsalves taped an ominous-looking black box to a handmade Trump sign in front of his house at 181 Jenkins Road, police responded. They arrived at his address Thursday shortly before 3 p.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious device. Police set up a perimeter around the house, closed Jenkins Road, and called the state bomb squad. That last call was cancelled, however, when they heard Gonsalves' story. The black device with white...

Apache Corporation, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company, says that it has fended off an unsolicited takeover bid, and will continue to defend against follow up attempts to buy out the company. Bloomberg reported the news, and thus far the bidder has not been identified. The company’s shares jumped on the news, up more than 10 percent during midday trading on November 9. Apache is worth around $18 billion, so if a takeover were to occur, it would be the largest for an independent oil and gas company this year.

Ok, it's Massachusetts... but their primary counts like any other.

Donald Trump rally in Tyngsborough, MA, October 16, 2015.

BOSTON (CBS) — If you legally own a firearm in Boston, expect to be hearing from the mayor and police commissioner soon. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans announced Wednesday that they’re taking new measures to try and reduce gun violence.