Free Republic

Feral pigs are becoming a wild problem in the United States. The wild hogs can now be found in three-fourths of U.S. states — and their populations are growing in many areas — and are estimated to cause $1.5 billion in damages each year, the Associated Press reports. There are currently more than 5 million wild hogs in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By all accounts, the animals are quite intelligent. They also sport razor-sharp tusks and can be aggressive toward people and pets.

BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation has won a preliminary injunction against a part of the State of New Mexico’s concealed carry statute on the grounds that it violates the right of equal protection under the law. The ruling, handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, was signed by M. Christina Armijo, the chief district judge. SAF filed the legal action on behalf of John Jackson, a permanent legal resident alien who could not obtain a concealed carry permit under existing New Mexico statute because he is not a U.S. citizen. SAF has...

Santa Fee held its third gun turn in this year on the 9th of March. 232 guns were turned in. At previous turn in events, private individuals bought some of the guns. This approach offered advantages to everyone. It took the guns off the streets, placing them in responsible hands, rewarding their former owners with more money than the formal event offered, and stretched the turn in dollars so that more low-value guns could be traded for the event premiums. At this third event, the police moved to prevent the private buyers from buying private firearms. It is hard to...

Stung by reversals in his office’s prosecution of the Reese family and mindful that scrutiny for his role in that case could derail his elevation to the federal bench, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Kenneth J. Gonzales filed three documents yesterday with the intent of denying a defense motion to dismiss outstanding counts and compel prosecutors to testify at an evidentiary hearing, and also to go over the head of U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Brack. “Notice is hereby given that the United States of America, plaintiff in this case, appeals to the United States Court...

In the wake of investigations involving horsemeat-tainted beef abroad, federal regulators may clear the way for a horse-slaughtering house in New Mexico. It would make equine meat available in the United States for the first time since 2007, according to the New York Times. Congress passed a rider to an appropriations bill that barred the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from financing the inspection of horse products for human consumption. That addition was continually inserted into spending bills up until 2011 — when it disappeared from the language. Though the change stems from a lawsuit by Valley Meat Company, which...

The Senate Judiciary Committee “held over” the nomination of United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico district yesterday. Nominated by President Barack Obama last November, Gonzales’s suitability for the post may be under scrutiny due to the way his office has handled the prosecution of the Reese family on gun and money laundering charges. These former Deming gun dealers have undergone a nightmare ordeal for the past year-and-a-half on charges they were ultimately acquitted of or had dismissed, except for a handful of remaining counts, where they were held...

Lawyers for embattled former Deming gun dealers Rick, Terri and Ryin Reese filed a motion last Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico “to dismiss with prejudice the four remaining counts of the indictment.” The filing, co-signed by defense attorneys Robert J. Gorence, Jason Bowles, Brad D. Hall, and Peter V. Domenici Jr. moved for dismissal on counts “the Indictment pending against [the defendants] on the grounds that the Government has willfully or was recklessly negligent in not disclosing Giglio [“material tending to impeach the character or testimony of the prosecution witness in a...

Gun owners got another opportunity to turn over their firearms to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday. In exchange owners got a gift card worth up to $200. Private gun buyers were also on hand at the buy-back and so was a local woman who opposed what they’re legally allowed to do on the sidelines. People returned 326 guns, including two assault weapons, and BCSO handed out $41,000 in gift cards in exchange. Before BCSO collects and destroys a room full of various firearms, owners are presented with another option outside. Deputies kept a group of private buyers across...

SANTA FE (KRQE) - A unique solution to a shortage of gift cards and a big mistake led to the personal information of dozens who participated in Santa Fe's gun buyback program open to the public. "It shouldn't have happened, but it did," said Santa Fe Police Department Chief Raymond Rael. "I apologize on behalf of the city, I don't think that information should've been out there."

The city is paying $100 for long guns (rifles, shotguns and the like), $150 for handguns, and $200 for any armament considered an assault weapon. On Jan. 12, the program netted 194 guns. On Saturday, it had garnered about 115 hand guns and at least 95 long guns by 2 p.m., with still an hour to go before closing. -------------------------------cut----------------------- Outside the police station, a group of four or five men gathered to offer cash to people who were bringing guns in. One man in the group said they did not wish to be identified, but said that they were...

FReeper Rogle, former New Mexico State Representative Rory Ogle, will be removed from life support this morning. He is not expected to live.

On 9 February, 2013, the Santa Fe Police Department collected 224 guns turned in to it for Visa gift cards. The cards were worth $150 for handguns, $100 for long guns, and $200 for "high capacity or assault" weapons. The police scared off a number of people who wished to offer more money than the police would give in prepaid visa cards. What legal authority the police had to do this is unknown. Another gun turn in will be held on the ninth of March. Dean Weingarten

Government prosecutors argued against granting bond to Deming, N.M., gun dealer Rick Reese and his son Ryin, painting them as dangerous risks for release, court documents received this evening by Gun Rights Examiner reveal. United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, nominated by President Obama last November to serve on the U.S. District Court in the District of New Mexico, filed a supplement to the defendant’s motion for release in that court last Tuesday, citing an affidavit he claimed contained “statements relevant to the motion. “[T]hey highlight the Defendants release still pose a danger to the community,” Gonzales wrote in the...

This week the Reese family continues to wait for Rick and Ryin to be released from jail pursuant to Judge Brack’s Memorandum Opinion and Order last week granting a new trial. Underscoring the decision are allegations that Luna County Sheriff Deputy Alan Batts may have had incentive to lie under oath. Rick and Terri Reese and their two sons, Ryin and Remington Reese were arrested in August 2011. They were charged with 30 counts of criminal activity related to making false statements in connection with the sale of firearms, international weapons trafficking related to smuggling weapons to the Mexican cartel,...

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police say a serial burglar, who has been arrested 37 times, was shot by a homeowner in northwest Albuquerque Sunday morning. Authorities say the homeowner heard a loud bang and then his alarm go off. After arming himself with a gun the homeowner says he saw the burglar at the top of his stairs and shot at him twice, hitting him once. Police say the burglar will survive his wounds. That burglar has been identified as Richard Garcia, 43, a man with a very long history of home and vehicle burglaries. Court records show he's been prosecuted...

In addition to granting conditional release to Rick and Ryin Reese, the two remaining members of a New Mexico gun dealer family still behind bars after 18 months incarceration, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico has also granted a motion for a new trial, a Memorandum and Opinion Order filed today mandates. “This matter came before the Court on Defendants’ Motion for a New Trial … and Motion for Release on Conditions Pending Sentencing,” the order states. “On January 28, 2013, the Court held a hearing on these motions. Having...

Despite two orders from an obviously irked New Mexico U.S. District Court judge that the Reese family will be given a new trial and that father Rick and son Reese are to be released on bond, the pair remain behind bars this weekend because monitoring devices required by the order are not on hand, sources close to the case have confirmed to Gun Rights Examiner. “Yes, bail money is good for now,” the source reveled, explaining “relatives, good friends and well-wishers have donated to the defense fund. “They are waiting for the ankle monitors to get in for the release....

After 18 months behind bars, Rick and Ryin Reese have been granted bond today, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico ruled. They are the last two members of a New Mexico gun dealer family jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, but who were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy and had money laundering charges against them dismissed. They were convicted on a handful of lesser charges of making false statements on forms, basically under the presumption that they should have know federal agents...

A court order filed yesterday and obtained by Gun Rights Examiner in the case of U.S. vs. Reese has denied a motion by the prosecution to seal a hearing from the public. Defendants Rick and Terri Reese and son Ryin, New Mexico gun dealers jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, and who have since had conspiracy and money laundering charges against them dismissed, have filed a motion for a new trial after being convicted of, as Jeff Knox of the Firearms Coalition described it, “the comparatively minor charge of lying on gun sales forms -- even though...

I've made it easy for you to contact your New Mexico legislative representatives and TELL THEM TO OPPOSE a 'Sweeping Gun Control Measure In Santa Fe.' Use the following links/resources to: 1) find your New Mexico state senator and house rep and contact them via email, phone, and/or snail-mail; 2) use sample letter text; and, 3) contact every member of the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee because they're holding a public hearing Monday on the "Sweeping Gun Control Measure": 1) Find your reps' contact info Find your state house representative; and,Find your state senator 2) Use sample letter text I...