Free Republic

One of the nine bystanders hit by gunfire when police shot and killed Jeffrey Johnson near the Empire State Building last week says an inch probably made the difference between life and death for him. In his first television interview Tuesday, Alberto Ramos of the Bronx told NBC 4 New York he was shot through his left foot, and that a bullet also came close to hitting his head.

Two venerable American gun manufacturers — Remington and Colt — could head for the West their weapons helped win if New York and Connecticut force them to implement microstamping technology. Microstamping, or ballistic imprinting, is a patented process that uses laser technology to engrave a tiny marking of the make, model and serial number on the tip of a gun’s firing pin to allow an imprint of that information on spent cartridge cases. Supporters of the technology say it will be a “game changer,” allowing authorities to quickly identify the registered guns used in crimes. Opponents claim the process is...

In their zeal to exploit Friday’s shooting near the Empire State Building in New York City, anti-gunners are deliberately overlooking some facts and adding their own agenda items instead. Kudos to the Seattle Times for not picking up on the rhetoric in its selection of stories about the incident to publish. Then, again, one might wonder if the Times is just playing down the event because the “mass shooting” that had initially been reported now has been revealed to have been caused by police gunfire, not dead gunman Jeffrey T. Johnson. His pistol was an old Star .45-caliber semi-auto, a...

NY Senator Says She Expects to be ArrestedState Sen. Shirley Huntley from Queens is facing New York City Councilman James Sanders Jr. in a tough Sept. 13 Democratic primary. By Michael Gormley | Saturday, Aug 25, 2012 | Updated 6:46 PM EDT A veteran New York state senator said Saturday that she expects to be arrested Monday in the state's continuing investigation into the use of pork-barrel grants by legislators. Sen. Shirley Huntley, a Queens Democrat, didn't indicate what the charge against her might be. Huntley founded a nonprofit social service and education group that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is...

The security cam video of Jeffrey Johnson’s final moments have hit the ‘net. At the same time ABC is reporting that “[Jeffrey Johnson] was cut down in a hail of 16 bullets that left Johnson riddled with 10 bullet holes.” Sixteen (shots fired) minus 10 (bullet holes in the perp) leaves six (rounds). How did police fire wound nine bystanders? “Some of the 10 bullet holes were exit wounds, authorities said.” Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne added that it was “very likely” all nine bystanders were “hit by police gunfire or ricochets or fragments from the planters that were hit...

A man who owns gun stores in Garden City Park and Seaford was awarded $5 in a federal jury verdict last Wednesday that found his business suffered monetary damages from a wrongful arrest by the Nassau County Police for reckless endangerment in 2008. Belmore resident Martin Tretola was awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages last week by a federal jury in Central Islip, according to court records. He was arrested on June 1, 2008 for allegedly maintaining an illegal firing range near a natural gas line at T&T Gunnery on 3778 Merrick Road in...

Republicans and Conservatives looking for a truly pro-family candidate on Primary Day, Thursday, Sept. 13, will vote for Roy McDonald. Sen. McDonald is not only the proven friend of families in our community, he is the No. 1 leader whose dedication and vision have helped our families to a better life. snip As senator, Roy has continued his dedication to the well-being of families, especially by sponsoring and seeing approved major legislation to assist individuals with disabilities. Sen. Roy McDonald has been doing right by our community, our families, for a long time. Let’s keep him on the job.

State Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera (D-Bronx, NY) Rivera filed state papers listing her boy-toy Tommy Torres as her full-time "community-relations director" collecting a weekly $1,100 govt paycheck. BUT DOE records list Torres as a “full-time” Brooklyn public school gym teacher.....

As it currently stands, anyone caught with an illegal gun in New York is looking at a maximum of two years in prison. Two years, apparently, is chump change -- according to Democratic state Senator Malcolm Smith, anyway, who now wants to up the ante for those busted with less-than-legal firearms. "We believe the message that that sends to those who have illegal guns is 'I can go away for a year, maybe two years. I'll come back on good behavior in a year and I have a badge of honor," Smith said at a press conference this afternoon. If...

Every gun controller’s favorite Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is awfully proud of his city’s crimefighting record. He never misses a chance to tell someone holding a mic that New York is the safest big city in the country. And he usually trots this claim out following a gang-related shooting or when a cop takes a bullet in the line of duty. Right after first decrying the prevalence of guns in America, that is . . . In fact, Hizzoner practically busted his buttons during last weekend’s National Night Out, blowing the New York safety horn yet again. nypost.com has the quote:...

“With Kirsten Gillibrand’s vote, millions of seniors are now in danger of losing their Medicare Advantage coverage as part of the $529 billion in Medicare cuts contained in the Democrats’ bill,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh. “Clearly, President Obama, Kirsten Gillibrand, and the Democrats in Washington didn’t mean it when they promised Americans ‘if you like your current plan, you can keep it.’” “Senator Gillibrand has betrayed New York seniors, first by voting for a bill with more than $500 billion in Medicare cuts, then by rejecting the opportunity to protect New Yorkers from losing their...

We here at Capital Tonight are proud to announce that YNN and NY1 will be hosting a debate between US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Wendy Long. Both candidates have agreed to a live hour long debate at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday, October 17th that will air on both YNN and NY1 reaching almost the entire state. The debate will be co-hosted by our very own Liz Benjamin and by NY1′s Political Anchor Errol Louis. The format will be similar to the one we have used in the past, including the GOP primary debate we did...

QUEENS, NY (PIX11)— Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City may be taking a national stand against gun violence--but he apparently can't stand local, television reporters who challenge him on a city policy involving NYPD "shell casings." The Mayor got testy with yours truly--Mary Murphy--when I questioned him Monday about the June sale of 28-thousand pounds of spent, shell casings from the NYPD's firing range in the Bronx….to an ammunition dealer in Georgia. Bloomberg explained that competitive bidding allows anyone to buy scrap metal--and he suspects "some bullet manufacturer probably bought some to say, 'Gotcha'". The mayor has angered many...

By resisting almost any change aimed at improving our public schools, teachers unions have become a ripe target for reformers across the ideological spectrum. Even Hollywood, famously sympathetic to organized labor, has turned on unions with the documentary "Waiting for 'Superman'" (2010) and a feature film, "Won't Back Down," to be released later this year. But perhaps most damaging to the unions' credibility is their position on sexual misconduct involving teachers and students in New York schools, which is even causing union members to begin to lose faith. In the last five years in New York City, 97 tenured teachers...

Bloomberg’s pro-breast-feeding initiative to lock away baby formula at 27 hospitals By MARY KAY LINGE Last Updated: 5:52 AM, July 29, 2012 Posted: 11:19 PM, July 28, 2012 The nanny state is going after moms. Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed. Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation. Under the city Health Department’s voluntary Latch On NYC initiative, 27 of the city’s 40 hospitals have also...

Dubbed the 'Manhattan monster', a horrifying mystery creature with a mutilated face, snarling snout and five toes on each foot has washed up under the Brooklyn Bridge, perplexing New Yorkers. Amateur photographer Denise Ginley snapped the ghoulish pink carcass while walking along the East River on Sunday and the grisly images, first published by The Gothamist on Monday, have sparked an array of conspiracy theories as to whether it is a giant water-logged rodent, a cooked pig that a family couldn't fit in, a ballooned dog or some other, more sinister, being. 'We were horrified by it and we took...

Wendy Long, a Manhattan lawyer, activist, and former Supreme Court clerk, is projected to win the Republican nomination for Senate in New York. With over half of all precincts reporting, Long has won 55 percent of the vote, while Congressman Bob Turner has 34 percent and Nassau County comptroller George Maragos has 11 percent.

A law enforcement professional responds to Bloomie’s stupid observation that police should go on strike until gun laws are changed. Rebuttal To Mayor Bloomberg …On the Piers Morgan Tonight show, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested that police officers across America go on strike and refuse to protect people until more gun control laws are enacted. The first time I read that my brain skipped a moment, I blinked and then I went back and read it again. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested that police officers across America go on strike and refuse to protect people until more gun control laws...

The elderly woman gunned down in an an execution-style murder in Chinatown last month is trying to help police find her killer from beyond the grave, her daughter said at an emotional funeral Thursday. The daughter of Xiao Ling Li, 70, who police believe was an innocent bystander caught up in a gangland-style killing meant to take down the woman she worked for, said she believes her mother is doing everything possible to get justice. "[I] believe my mother will help from the grave," said Xu Yin, 40, who flew from China to be present at her mother's funeral at...

OLD FORGE, N.Y. (AP) — State troopers say a police officer in New York shot and killed his son, mistaking him for an intruder.Troopers say Parry Police Department Officer Michael Leach called 911 to report the shooting early Saturday. He was staying at the Clark Beach Motel and shot someone he believed to be an intruder. But the man turned out to be his 37-year-old son, Matthew Leach, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard (http://tinyurl.com/cdqn92c ).Troopers say Leach used his department-issued .45-caliber Glock handgun in the shooting. He was hospitalized after the shooting.The investigation is continuing.