Free Republic

Sorry, Mandatory Gun Registration Is Constitutional Posted by Declan McCullagh Mandatory gun regulation has long been the bête noire of Second Amendment advocates, who worry that it's the final step before firearm confiscation. The surprise is that, even after last year's landmark Supreme Court ruling on gun rights, mandatory registration could be constitutional. It may not be the wisest public policy. It may not be practical. But after the D.C. v. Heller decision, it also may not violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That question is at the heart of a second lawsuit underway against the city of...

If John Travolta, an avid user of his private jet and a reported Republican, were to be stopped by law from purchasing an armed fighter plane, would the film actor suddenly be surrounded by the same people who sanctimoniously claim that the Constitution protects the private citizen's right to buy and own an assault rifle? That seems an absurd question, but we often find ourselves in absurd circumstances when we get to the gun issue. A hard fact leers before us: on the subject of guns, constitutional meaning and misinterpretation have been mixed together for so long that far too...

Democrat Mike Dickinson recently promised to wage “war” on the NRA, Tea Party and Fox News. On Thursday, he was confronted by Greta Van Susteren in a tense exchange that ended with an embarrassing admission. “Why do you hate me?” Van Susteren asked, immediately getting to business. Dickinson, who apparently is not actually running for Congress, said he has a problem with her network as a whole. “Well, but no, what about me? I’m Fox News, I’m ‘trash,’ apparently, so what’s wrong with me?” the TV host responded. Dickinson conceded that he didn’t have a problem with Van Susteren personally,...

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell now has an endorsement to go with his gun. The National Rifle Association's political action committee announced Friday it has endorsed McConnell in the May 20 Republican primary. McConnell made headlines last month when he appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference waving a rifle over his head. The rifle was a lifetime achievement award McConnell presented to U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. In a news release, NRA Political Victory Fund chairman Chris Cox called McConnell a true champion of the Second Amendment. Likely Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes mocked McConnell, saying he was holding...

Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska will be in Southwest Florida on Thursday for a fundraising event with Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, who is running in the Republican primary to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., in Congress. “Excited to announce that Sarah Palin is coming to Southwest Florida this week to join me on the campaign trail,” Benacquisto announced on Monday. But tea party leaders in the district backing Curt Clawson in the primary are urging Palin to reconsider her endorsement. Jack Tymann of the Naples Tea Party, Kathy Jones of the Lee County...

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators gave final approval Saturday to a bill that would nullify city and county gun restrictions and ensure that it's legal across the state to openly carry firearms, a measure the National Rifle Association sees as a model for stripping local officials of their gun-regulating power. The House approved the legislation, 102-19, a day after the Senate passed it, 37-2. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. He hasn't said whether he'll sign it, but he's a strong supporter of gun rights and has signed other measures backed by the NRA and the...

HARTFORD -- Commemorating Connecticut's first anniversary of tougher gun laws, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy didn't mince words on Thursday, loudly challenging the National Rifle Association to support the federal Affordable Care Act and help expand opportunities for mental-health treatment.

L SPRINGFIELD — After a state conservation officer ticketed the National Rifle Association’s Illinois lobbyist last December for breaking a hunting law, the gun-rights advocate dutifully paid his $120 fine. But Todd Vandermyde, one of Springfield’s most powerful and effective lobbyists, didn’t stop there. A month later, he worked with one legislator to rewrite the law he broke. And not long after that, he enlisted help from House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, to carry legislation that, at least initially, would have greatly restrained the authority of Department of Natural Resources police officers to venture onto private property. “I...

NY Daily News: In my “Albany Insider” column today, I wrote how Tom King, the head of the state Rifle & Pistol Association, was critical of the increasingly angry and inflammatory rhetoric at pro-gun rallies. King said he fears that the ugliness that has popped up at the rallies is actually hurting the pro-gun cause. He also said it’s time to stop the rallies, arguing that they won’t result in a repeal of the SAFE Act. He wants to instead focus on trying to get the law struck down in the court … I won’t post his silly letter, but...

It sure was a busy week for those in the running for our Jerk of the Week honors. We had President Obama and Kathleen Sebelius yet again delay ObamaCare without having the authority to do so. We had intellectual giant Joe Biden voice the insane opinion that illegal aliens in the country were already American citizens in his opinion. Those are worthy candidates, but I find that I like to find a progressive liberal that opens their mouth and say what they actually feel, which serves to expose them as an utter hypocrite. That's why our Jerk of the Week...

Piers Morgan wrapped his three-year CNN run tonight with (gasp!) a full hour of discussion about the missing plane. But in his four-minute final remarks, he couldn’t resist taking a parting shot at the NRA.

An anti-gun liberal talk-show host apparently wants to shoot NRA board members. But, before we talk about the precarious possibility of some imbalanced leftist abusing Second Amendment rights (that he fights against) we should get some background information. Georgia has recently passed some legislation (awaiting approval from the Governor) that would expand the state’s Concealed Carry law. In short, the bill would broaden the locations that lawful concealed carry is permitted. Acceptable locations would be expanded to include churches, schools (Adam Lanza would not only be unwelcome – he’d probably be shot), airports (federal restrictions would still apply), bars (no...

The Newtown shooting led gun-control advocates to try the same failed strategies again. And once again, they didn't work. After the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, many in the American media insisted that the tragedy should prompt a "conversation about gun control." These articles were written as if there had never been such a conversation. In fact, the issue had been debated for decades. Given the results, I argued, there was no reason to presume that a new conversation would end in more gun control. That conversation has now come and gone. The result? "Perverse as it may sound, the...

Angered by Georgia's pending expansion of concealed carry laws within state lines, liberal radio host Mike Malloy said he'd like to invite an NRA board member to come meet him, then shoot the board member and claim "Stand Your Ground" in defense. The Georgia bill--the Safe Carry Protection Act--has passed the state House and Senate but still awaits the governor's signature. It would expand concealed carry into schools, bars, churches, and the portions of airports that are outside the security parameter. According to Newbusters, Malloy's reaction to the bill's passage was: [The] organization founded by Gabrielle Giffords...the former Arizona Congresswoman...who...

by Gina Cassini | Top Right NewsNew York's extreme, unconstitutional actions against gun owners have emboldened gun-grabbers across the state -- even in the classroom. A high school student in upstate New York was suspended for wearing an NRA T-shirt that touted the 2nd Amendment after he refused to turn it inside out or cover the words with duct tape.Shane Kinney, a 16-year-old sophomore from Grand Island, located between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, said he served a one-day, in-school suspension Monday after he refused last Friday to turn his T-shirt inside out at the request of the vice principal at Grand...

The White House is backing off its push for quick confirmation of President Barack Obama's pick to be surgeon general in the face of opposition from the National Rifle Association and concerns among Democrats up for re-election who don't want to take another tough vote on a controversial nominee.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is backing off its push for quick confirmation of President Barack Obama's pick to be surgeon general amid opposition from the National Rifle Association. Democrats have been concerned that a vote on Dr. Vivek Murthy could hurt the party's vulnerable incumbents up for re-election in November.

A high school student in upstate New York was suspended for wearing an NRA T-shirt that touted the second amendment after he refused to turn it inside out or cover the words with duct tape. Shane Kinney, a 16-year-old sophomore from Grand Island, located between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, served a one-day, in-school suspension Monday after he refused last Friday to turn his T-shirt inside out at the request of the vice principal at Grand Island High School. The shirt was emblazoned with the NRA logo and the words, “2nd Amendment Shall not be Infringed” across the back. “Mr. Lauria...

NRA, 19 States, 34 Congressmen Sue New Jersey Over Gun Law 11 March 2014 Last month, the NRA, 19 states, and 34 U.S. Representatives asked the Supreme Court to review a New Jersey gun law....

NRA Warns of Potential Breakdown of Law in Connecticut 09 March 2014 The situation in Connecticut continues to unravel as responses to serious questions about enforcement of the state's new gun laws aren't being answered consistently. ...