Free Republic

Black men may have a legitimate reason to flee Boston police during investigatory or “Terry” stops, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday. The court found that systemic racism in the Boston Police Department may be considered in conjunction with a suspect’s decision to flee from police during a stop. A Terry stop, named for the U.S. Supreme Court case which sanctioned the practice, refers to a brief detention and search of an individual due to reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. In this case, a black male named Jimmy Warren was arrested in 2011

Massachusetts’ controversial Attorney General, Maura Healy, who was elected last year, is being sued by two prominent and popular gun manufacturers, Remington and Glock.  They contend that Healy is using the power of her office to harass them. From bostonglobe.com: Both Remington and Glock have sued Healey in Suffolk Superior Court, arguing that she is abusing her authority by casting a broad net for documents, including those related to accidental discharges, past lawsuits, legal settlements, and product recalls. Glock Inc.’s lawsuit asks the court to quash Healey’s inquiry.The company, based in Smyrna, Ga., points to statements Healey has made...

The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season is heating up. Two tropical systems are taking aim at the United States. Tropical Depression Eight (Hermine) is expected to brush the Outer Banks of NC. Tropical Depression Nine (Ian) is in the Gulf of Mexico, anticipated to affect the Florida coast. Public Advisories: Ian(TD 9) Hermine (TD 8)Discussions: Ian (TD9) Hermine (TD 8)

Hillary Clinton dropped by the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend to pick up more than $1 million in campaign contributions during an elegant party at the summer home of one of her most devoted supporters. Thirty people contributed $50,000 apiece to attend the Saturday night function at the home of Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a wealthy investment manager so committed to Clinton that she couldn’t bring herself to vote for then-Sen. Barack Obama after he defeated her candidate in 2008. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were on the island at the time of the Saturday...

Attended a county seniors' picnic today as a staff member helping serve over 1,200 lunches. Toward the end of the lunch the MC asked the audience whether they would vote for Clinton or Trump. Clinton voters were in the clear majority. Disappointing from people who should know better.

Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, will have her dikat baning numerous semi-automatic rifles challenged in court. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has stated it will file a lawsuit against the AG on the measure. The NSSF is the gun industry trade association.  From bostonherald.com: The firearm industry group, based in Newtown, Conn., said it retained former U.S. attorney Michael Sullivan for the lawsuit, which will attack Healey’s interpretation of the 
statute that could be used to ban the sale of all semiautomatic guns. Keane declined to detail the plans for the lawsuit and to name other parties joining the...

After a three-day stint in Lynn, the family moved on to the emergency room of Boston Children’s Hospital, where they tried to blend in among the waiting patients and hospital staff. “We went to go sleep at Boston Children’s Hospital,” Nicole said. “It was so embarrassing.” “We sat down in the emergency room and didn’t say anything. I told my mom I felt embarrassed,” Jose said. “My mom went to the receptionist and talked to a social worker. They gave us a fake checkup and gave us two rooms to sleep in for only one night.” The next day, Children’s...

On 16 July, a homeowner in Chicopee, Massachusetts was confronted with three men who were attempting to break into his house. It was an hour past noon, in broad daylight. He called the police to report the attempted break in. He tried to get them to leave,  but one persisted in pounding on the door.  When the would be intruder broke glass, he shot one shot through the door. That intruder died.  It turned out that the intruder was 15 years old and had been illegally drinking with his two friends. Afterwards, the surviving young men claimed they were...

Massachusetts has a very weak "castle doctrine" law.  It provides for a defense that can be hard to prove.  It may provide little protection for the homeowner in this case. Three young males, at least two of which had been drinking, approach a dwelling and pound on the door.  The door is locked. The resident "tried to communicate".  At least one continues to pound on the door.  The resident calls 911 to report an attempted break in. Someone (presumably the person pounding on the door)  breaks out some glass.  The resident, fearing a home invasion, fires through the door,...

NATICK — Massachusetts gun dealers sold more than 2,000 military-style rifles Wednesday — nearly one-quarter of the total sold last year — after Attorney General Maura Healey moved to bar semiautomatic rifles that have been altered slightly to evade the state’s assault weapons ban. The 2,251 assault rifles snapped up in a gun-buying frenzy represented a remarkable uptick from the 132 sold Tuesday and the 51 sold Monday, before Healey announced her ban. The numbers were first reported by Commonwealth Magazine.

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...