Free Republic

See democracy in action! Here is a Live video feed of the Orange County Board Of Supervisors starting at 9:30 AM PST. What is this meeting all about and why is it so important? Due to the enormous backlash generated by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens illegal actions among law abiding Orange County citizens CCW permit holders and gun rights activists, hundreds and hundreds of people are expected to attend the upcoming meeting taking place today February 10th (live video feed starting at 9:30 AM PST). The Sheriff reaction to this simple manifestation of American democracy? Really ugly: we are talking about...

"It was legal for Meleanie Hain to openly carry a gun to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game, but that doesn't mean it was right, Lebanon County Judge Robert Eby said today."

A group planning an anti-war rally and march during this summer's Republican National Convention has secured a permit for a demonstration at the state Capitol. Leaders of the so-named Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War .. expecting between 30,000 and 50,000 people at the Sept. 1 rally. .. on the opening day of the GOP nominating convention.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah has stopped issuing concealed-gun permits to foreigners because of the rising number of applicants and the difficulty of conducting background checks. About 1,000 citizens of other countries have permits that allow them to carry a concealed gun in Utah and 30 states that have an agreement with Utah. Most are Canadians; others are from countries including Japan, Switzerland, Aruba, Mongolia, Mexico and the Republic of Congo. Since 1995, Utah has issued 92,000 permits, 30 percent to non-Utah residents. Applicants typically must show they attended a safety class. Even a blind North Dakota man has one.

Florida has given concealed weapon licenses to hundreds of people who wouldn't have a chance of getting them in most other states because of their criminal histories. Courts have found them responsible for assaults, burglaries, sexual battery, drug possession, child molestation -- even homicide.

INDIANAPOLIS A new state law has gone into effect allowing Indiana handgun owners to get lifetime licenses. Gun owners now have the option to get lifetime permits instead of the current four-year licenses to carry the weapons. About 287-thousand people in Indiana have gun permits, which cost 25 dollars for four years. Those who want lifetime licenses when their current permits expire will have to pay 100 dollars; those getting a license for the first time will be charged 125 dollars. Applicants will still have to pass criminal background checks and allow their fingerprints to remain on file with police....

A Cass County Circuit Court judge told Aquila Inc. on Friday that it must immediately stop operating its Cass County power plant. Judge Joseph Dandurand set a May 31 deadline for the company to either get regulatory approval to resume operating the plant or start tearing it down. He also ordered Kansas City-based Aquila (NYSE: ILA) to immediately post a $20 million bond regarding the plant. "I have nothing but frustration with the position taken by Aquila," Dandurand said. He referred to Aquila's decision to build the plant in the face of his January 2005 injunction as a show of...

A blind North Dakota man, licensed to carry a concealed firearm, says it's too easy to get the permit in his state.

JUNEAU, Alaska — Starting Wednesday, a new anti-gun-control law in Alaska will allow handgun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit in the seven Alaska cities where permits are now required. Gun owners will be allowed to keep their firearms in their vehicle, even if the car is parked on private property where the owner has a no-gun policy. And, some police chiefs say, local ordinances that ban guns from public buildings such as city halls will no longer be enforceable. Alaska’s new law forbids municipalities from passing gun laws that are more restrictive than state law. The National...

DOYLESTOWN, PA (AP) A computer failure may mean that some Bucks County gun owners won’t get their renewal notices before their permits expire. Sheriff Edward Donnelly says he thinks no more than a few dozen renewal notices have gone out late. But Andrew Barniskis, the legislative chairman for the Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, says he thinks the problem is more widespread. Barniskis says he brought the problem of late renewal notices to Donnelly’s attention more than a year ago and was assured the problem would be fixed. Gun permits must be renewed every five years, and the sheriff’s...

LISBON - County Sheriff David L. Smith may form a board to review applications of persons he denied permits to carry concealed weapons. The idea was suggested Wednesday by the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court magistrate presiding over the lawsuit filed by a man whose application for a permit to carry a concealed weapon was denied by Smith. "I'm the final word but there is a provision in the law that says I can set up a review board to look at denials," he said. The Mahoning County man, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, filed a lawsuit against...

TYLER, Texas (AP) -- A man angry about being sued for unpaid child support opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle outside a courthouse, killing his ex-wife and a man trying to help the couple's adult son. The gunman, 43-year-old David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., was killed Thursday afternoon in a gun battle with officers a few miles away after wounding his son and three law enforcement officers, one critically. The son had been acting as a mediator between his parents, police said. Police estimated that Arroyo, who had a history of spousal abuse and weapons violations, shot 50 rounds in...

There was one factual error in my column last week about Matthew Dirks, the Iraq veteran who was denied a concealed carry permit. He needs a state armed guard license, which has requirements above and beyond the simple carry permit. In my defense, everyone I spoke to confirmed that Dirks needed a "carry permit." I apologize for the error, but it in no way diminishes my point, which was: If an Army combat veteran, trained to use a variety of weapons, can't have a carry permit, who can? St. Paul Police spokesman Paul Schnell called to answer that question. He...

Does anyone have any recent experience in applying for a CCW permit in Indiana? I've already completed my application, been approved, and am waiting for the permit to arrive in the mail. My question is: how long should I expect to wait? I've heard anything from 10 days to 3 months(!).

NEW YORK - The city's decision to deny a permit to protesters for a rally on Central Park's Great Lawn on the weekend before the Republican National Convention is about preserving the lawn, not suppressing speech, lawyers for the city said in federal court Friday. The lawn would be ruined if 75,000 people gathered there for a rally on Aug. 28 and then 250,000 people used the lawn for another rally the next day, said Gail Donoghue, representing the city. "I think two is too many back to back. The lawn would have no time to recover," Donoghue told U.S....

NEW YORK (AFP) - An Arab-American organization and a group opposed to war and racism filed suit charging they were unconstitutionally denied a permit to hold a protest in Central Park during the upcoming Republican National Convention. Attorneys for the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) and ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), filed suit in US District Court in Manhattan accusing Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York Police Department and others of violating their right to a permit for the park's Great Lawn. The groups want to hold a civil rights rally on Central Park's Great...

Minnesota's law enforcement agencies will lose a funding source if the state's handgun permit law doesn't remain in effect during the court fight over its constitutionality, the state attorney general's office told a Ramsey County judge Monday.

State refuses to issue permit for convention concert Thursday, July 8, 2004 4:12 PM (Boston - AP) — Senator John Kerry's plans to host a Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade during the Democratic convention have been nixed. State public safety officials are refusing to issue a permit, citing logistical and security concerns. Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Katherine Abbott decided against granting the permit after the state's public safety secretary advised against it. Kerry had planned the event to show appreciation to his hometown for hosting the convention. It's expected the senator will receive the Democratic presidential nomination...

Cape Cod is that part of Massachusetts that sticks out into the Atlantic ocean like an upraised, bent arm. (Map here.) It is separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal. Transit choices include boat, airplane and the (most popular) car. If taking the car, you'll have to cross the canal on either the Bourne Bridge or the Sagamore Bridge. Both are four-lane (two each direction) bridges with narrow lanes. Consequently, they are the choke points for traffic traveling on and off Cape, as we say. This causes traffic back-ups that often extend 5-10 miles from the bridges as...

Most disturbingly, the increase in carry guns is further evidence that efforts to slow America's rush to become an armed society have largely failed. ... Common sense suggests that the more guns on the street, the more wrongful injuries and death." --Tracy Warner (Ft. Wayne, Indiana Journal Gazette; "Up in arms: Ohio joins states allowing concealed handguns"; Sunday, March 14, 2004.) The very next day, in an article called "Licensed to carry", Indiana's competing Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel exposed Warner as someone who has a concealed weapons permit -- proving once against that many anti-gunners in positions of power are actually...