Free Republic

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After a one-week detour, a bill that would allow Ohioans to carry a concealed gun without a permit has advanced in the Ohio House. A House committee on Wednesday voted mostly along party lines to refer for passage House Bill 178, which would allow anyone 21 and older to carry any concealed deadly weapon as long as they’re not legally barred from owning a gun. The bill is now expected to head to a different committee for further review, something that’s unlikely to happen before the legislature breaks for its summer recess.

A disgraced ex-NYPD lieutenant facing sentencing for bribery conspiracy has spilled the beans on the depth of alleged corruption in the department’s License Division, detailing accusations of special treatment for President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Michael Cohen and an unidentified ally of Mayor de Blasio. Former Lt. Paul Dean says in papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court Wednesday that a culture of corruption within the unit responsible for processing city gun permits was enabled by former Commissioner Bill Bratton, among others.

A gun rights group has allied with a man in a legal challenge to the state’s permitting practices after he was turned down for a carry permit because officials said he failed to show a “justifiable need.” The federal lawsuit, filed Monday by Thomas Rogers and the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, seeks to take a host of Garden State functionaries to task for their practice of rarely issuing permits to carry a firearm in public for self-defense. “The core Second Amendment right of armed self-defense is just as important to an ordinary New Jersey citizen when...

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has called into question the state’s authority to grant permission to Tesla founder Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Co., to build several miles of tunnels for his high-speed Hyperloop transportation system below the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The State Highway Administration granted a conditional utility permit on Oct. 16 to allow The Boring Co. to begin building the tunnels, if the company supplies additional information about the project and it meets all necessary requirements. But the Hyperloop system “is not a utility under federal standards or SHA’s federally-approved utility accommodation policies,” Assistant Attorney General David Stamper...

Rutherford Institute founder responds to rally violence By Courteney Stuart Posted: Tue 7:01 PM, Aug 15, 2017 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (NEWSPLEX) -- In the days since the violence of the Aug. 12 Unite the Right rally, anger has mounted, some of it directed at the civil rights organizations that represented rally organizer Jason Kessler in his legal fight to keep the rally in Emancipation Park. The Rutherford Institute founder John Whitehead said he doesn't regret taking the case and notes that it's about defending the First Amendment, not supporting the mission of the rally. "If you're going to believe in the...

The driver who attacked police on the Champs-Élysées on Monday had a permit to carry arms, sources close to the case have admitted, despite the fact he was on France’s terror watchlist for having been radicalized. The French PM says it’s “not satisfactory”. Sources close to the probe said the man, named as Adam Djaziri in the French press had been on France’s security watchlist since 2015 over ties to “the radical Islamist movement”. But the suspect’s father told AFP that his son “had a registered weapon; he practiced shooting”. A source close to the case said the 31-year-old had...

LEE COUNTY, Fla. - If you're a concealed weapon permit holder, your information could be in danger after a statewide hack. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the data breach affects more than 16,000 people and some social security numbers may be at risk. "It's a little nerve-racking to know that it happened here in Florida," said Evelyn Greenway. Officials say people with concealed weapons licenses who renewed online may have had their names accessed. An additional 469 others have been notified their social security numbers may have been hacked. "Somebody knows this house has weapons in...

Second Amendment supporters won another victory, this time in Connecticut. On Thursday, 6 April, 2017, HB6200 was defeated. The bill would have required individuals who open carry handguns to present permits to law enforcement on demand. This was the second year that such a bill was stopped. It never made it out of committee. In Connecticut, a resident is not allowed to carry a handgun outside of his home without a permit. Permits are not exactly "shall issue" but are granted to most people who apply. Here is the summation of  the bill, from ct.gov: AN ACT CONCERNING THE PRESENTATION...

Reportedly Mob-connected Democrat Marty Moylan wants a $100 FOID card February 28, 2017 Back when Rod Blagojevich busied himself introducing all manner of radical gun control schemes, Democrat Marty Moylan worked as an Electrical Union enforcer. His job, among other things, involved getting Electrical Union workers "out of jams". He's also got ties to the Chicago mob, per the "Chicago Clout" blog. Marty Moylan later became mayor of Des Plaines. Now, the guy "that will tell you anything to get elected" has wormed his way into the Illinois House. Democrat Marty Moylan stands as one of those Progressive Caucus Democrats...

HARTFORD >> Gun owners will see huge increases in permit fees that would raise millions of dollars to help the state combat its two-year, $3.6 billion deficit. As part of his budget, Malloy is proposing to increase the state portion of the pistol permit fee from $70 to $300. He also is proposing the cost of the initial 5-year pistol permit fee from $140 to $370.

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri became the latest state to allow residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit when lawmakers supported the change Wednesday. Tense debate during the legislature's annual veto override session encompassed themes of race and class as lawmakers clashed over whether to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 656. In the days leading up to the session the debate drew national attention, with organizations on both sides of the issues working to influence lawmakers. Another controversial part of the bill is its "stand your ground" provision, which will allow residents to use deadly force...

Despite a recent court order, Washington, D.C., is still refusing to issue concealed-carry permits to its residents, according to Devin Watkins, who attempted to obtain a permit last week. Watkins, a columnist at the federalist.com, wrote that when he went to apply for the permit, police officers at the station told him they had been ordered by D.C.'s attorney general to ignore the court order and continue to deny applications.

A Bergen County man has lost his bid to fight the confiscation of his guns and ammunition following a domestic violence arrest and charges that he had high-capacity magazines and hollow-point ammunition. An appellate decision on Tuesday upheld a Superior Court judge’s earlier ruling that Arthur Vinogradsky was no longer qualified to be a gun owner even though the charges against him were eventually dropped. It’s the latest example of New Jersey’s gun-control laws, which are among the strictest in the nation. In New Jersey, residents must apply to their local police departments to obtain permits to buy, own or...

A federal judge has ruled that a key provision of the District’s new gun law is likely unconstitutional, ordering D.C. police to stop requiring individuals to show “good reason” to obtain a permit to carry a firearm on the streets of the nation’s capital. In imposing a preliminary injunction pending further litigation, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon reignited a running battle over the Second Amendment in the District and its courts where three different judges have now weighed in with varying conclusions. “The enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table,” Leon wrote in a...

Gun sales are up in Minnesota, so much so that some counties are having trouble keeping up with permit applications. Hennepin became the latest county to expand their permit application services, opening a second full-time permit to carry office in Brooklyn Park this week. "We've seen an exponential increase," Sheriff Rich Stanek said. In fact, the Sheriff's Office released numbers Tuesday showing they've seen a 16 percent increase in permit applications since 2014. Stanek said some attribute the rise in applications to recent mass shootings, a rise in violent crime, or Obama administration policies. Regardless, Stanek said the increase does...

Tim Macy, Chairman of Gun Owners of America, wrote an open letter to Second Amendment supporters exposing Republican presidential candidate John Kasich’s real anti-gun agenda.Labeling Kasich the “wolf in sheep’s clothing� still in the presidential race, Macy points to Kasich’s close relationship with Leftist, Communist, billionaire George Soros. In fact, the Soros Fund Management is one of John Kasich’s top financial contributors.“This can hardly be a surprise,� Macy writes. His full letter can be read here. An abbreviated version is below.Kasich and Soros share two important traits: (1) their desire to mess up the Republican selection process for devious motives,...

The former president took on the NRA at a campaign rally for his wife. He said each year gun ownership has gone down slightly in America, but PolitiFact says that's only half true. They looked at poll data, and gun ownership has fluctuated, up and down. Pew Research says there's no definitive data on the subject,

Subject: Sir, you are wrong with regard to your CCP order Sir, with all due respect, you are wrong in your decision to unilaterally withdraw CCP reciprocity with other states. While you may have concerns about their meeting Virginia's standards, the correct method of resolving a dispute is to talk about it first. Instead, you've slapped 26 other states across the face with your decision. As a result, you've now placed Virginians...VIRGINIANS, SIR... at risk of retaliation from other states when they subsequently withdraw their reciprocity agreements with Virginia. In effect, you've placed law-abiding VIRGINIANS at risk of breaking laws....

If you have followed the news headlines lately, you know that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – the bureaucracy responsible for ensuring the safety of our nation’s travelers – has seen better days. An internal investigation released in June found that the TSA had a stunning 96 percent failure rate in detecting weapons and fake explosives. More recently, a report from “The Today Show� revealed that NBC producers were able to pass airport security with Swiss army knives and box cutters in tow. Comforting, huh? While knives and weapons may make it past airport security all too often, your handgun...

Gonzalez claims he was unfairly targeted because he was carrying a gun. The traffic stop began routine enough. Rosenberg officer Sgt. Anthony Schnacky asked Gonzalez for his license and insurance. "Yeah, what's the reason you stopped me?" Gonzalez asked. "I'll tell you in just a minute," the officer replied. But when Gonzalez informed Sgt. Schnacky that he was legally carrying a concealed firearm, the tone of the situation shifted dramatically. The officer called for backup and they both approached the driver's window -- one of them with his gun drawn. Schnacky ordered Gonzalez to put his hands on the steering...