Free Republic

Phote Credit: Oleg VolkThe North Carolina Senate has passed a reform bill that moves the state closer toward constitutional carry. The reform bill eliminates the permit required to purchase a handgun that was implemeted in the Jim Crow era as a means to keep black people disarmed. It eliminates a number of "gun-free" zones that have been found to be attractive to mass killers. Concealed carry permit holders would be able to store firearms in a locked car on school property. The bill strengthens state preemption of local gun laws. Private property rights are respected, as owners are allowed to...

Video link. Georgia Senator Johnny Isackson "not sure which way he will vote on immigration reform." His office also barred activist D.A. King from a meeting because "previous meetings with him were 'unproductive'."

Among the right-leaning policy wonks and intellectuals in Washington, there’s a lot of attention being given to the something called “reform conservatism.”Underlying this school of thought is the notion that the Reagan-era message no longer works since Republicans have lost the popular vote in five out of the last six elections.A few people have asked my opinion about this movement, and since Ross Douthat of the New York Times just put together a good description of this school of thought, it makes it easy for me to offer my thoughts.But before digging into his column, I think that some of...

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)-  Two important pro-gun reforms, House Bill 533 and Senate Bill 75, were officially delivered to Governor Jay Nixon (D) today.  He now has 45 days to act on these measures. HB 533, sponsored by state Representative Jeanie Riddle (R-49) and state Senator Brian Munzlinger (R-18), would protect the right of a state employee to store a firearm in his or her private vehicle on state property as long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm is not visible.  This bill also seeks to prohibit any government entity from using tax dollars to participate in a gun...

The health care reform debate is littered with false statements. Truth is hard to come by. However, several recent news stories counter a whole series of mistruths and half-truths. Here are just three falsehoods -- there are many more, including one countered in our news release below -- and the new facts and findings that counter the false claims: FALSE: "Patient satisfaction" scores improve patient care. The scores have little to do with the efforts of doctors and nurses. A new study on "patient experience" found that only 3% of the executives at 1,072 hospitals said physicians or other clinicians...

AUSTIN, Texas - (AP) - The Texas Legislature has changed the law for concealed handgun license holders to allow them to carry any category of weapon.

Illegal immigrants seeking a reprieve under an election-year program implemented by the Obama administration are being approved at a rate of over 99 percent -- a situation that has the immigration officer union raising concerns about fraud and security risks. The program in question is called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allows some illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to seek tentative legal status. It was the administration's answer to the "Dream Act," a bill Congress drafted but did not approve. The union representing thousands of employees in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes these...

A dramatic rupture in Mexico’s main opposition political party has aired the group’s dirty laundry and also could trip up President Enrique Peña Nieto’s ambitious agenda of reform. The political fireworks riveted Mexicans on Monday, dominating airwaves and social media as leaders of the National Action Party, or PAN, bickered openly. On one level, citizens were viewing another chapter in the agony of a party that ruled for the last 12 years but has been corroded by infighting and a bitter power struggle. Also at stake, potentially, was the ease with which Peña Nieto has been getting legislation through a...

If Republican leaders were to fully embrace a conservative reform agenda, it would address pressing national needs. It would position the GOP as forward looking, contemporary, and have appeal to swing voters. It would demonstrate a commitment to a brand of conservatism that is practical rather than narrowly ideological. And it contrasts well with today’s reactionary liberalism, by which I mean liberalism that opposes virtually every effort to reform institutions and programs that are sclerotic, outdated, and ineffective. .... There are five obvious areas for Republicans to focus on, beginning with entitlement reform ... A second area Republicans should focus...

The evangelical "Pray for Reform: 92 Days of Prayer and Action to Pass Immigration Reform" campaign called on Congress in a press call on Wednesday to pass meaningful legislation in the next 92 days, throwing further support behind the current momentum in Congress to finally pass a immigration reform bill. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, explained in the press call that the number 92 is significant for evangelicals because the Hebrew word for immigration is mentioned 92 times in the Old Testament. "This number represents the biblical call to welcome the stranger. I'm...

In her recent Washington Post article (“Why should Republicans favor immigration reform?” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/04/28/why-should-republicans-favor-immigration-reform/), Jennifer Rubin claims that the majority of Republicans embrace several core beliefs about immigration. I have not met the majority of Republicans, so I cannot definitively address the truth of that particular claim. But I can address the validity of her ideas in and of themselves. Her piece is a reflective of a mindset widely but irrationally embraced by establishment Republicans. According to their way of thinking, the Republican Party should secure its electoral future by bending far enough to the left on immigration to secure a...

Houston, Tx --(Ammoland.com)- Today, May 6th 2013, two pro-gun bills finally passed in the Texas Legislature. SB 864 by Senator Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), the Senate companion to HB 47 by Representative Dan Flynn (R-Van), is headed toward the Governor’s desk. SB 864 will reduce the number of hours for a concealed handgun license to “not less than four or more than six” and will not include time on the shooting range or the range proficiency exam.Rep. Flynn severs on the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety. He’s a long-time friend to TSRA and to Texas gun-owners. This...

The government is expected to announce tougher rules on immigration when it outlines its programme for the next year on Wednesday. The Queen's Speech will include a parliamentary bill aimed at making it easier to deport foreign criminals and those who enter the UK illegally. Other bills will cap social care costs in England and introduce a single state pension of £144 a week. But a plan to monitor online and mobile communications is likely to be dropped. The Queen's Speech, part of the State Opening of Parliament, allows the government to set out its proposed bills for the next...

In an op-ed in the May 3 Wall Street Journal, Senator Marco Rubio explained that the Gang of Eight immigration bill will be amended as it goes through the Senate in the coming weeks, and that (perhaps unlike some others in the gang) he welcomes this process. He wrote: Since my colleagues and I introduced immigration legislation, intense public scrutiny has helped identify shortcomings and unintended consequences that need to be addressed. Many concerned citizens have gone a step further and offered specific ideas to improve it. This kind of constructive criticism is a positive force that should always...

More than two weeks after the Gang of Eight unveiled its immigration-reform bill, an important question remains unanswered: Do the American people actually support it? One could assume so, judging from the headlines on recent polling, which cite the “strong” or even “overwhelming” support for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Indeed, these polls show large majorities — as high as 83 percent — favoring a pathway to citizenship. That might be significant if the Gang of Eight’s plan were merely a vague proclamation of support for the idea of giving illegal immigrants the opportunity to apply for citizenship...

Arrests of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States have nearly tripled in recent months — in anticipation of Congressional efforts to enact comprehensive immigration legislation, border patrol agents told CBS News Wednesday. “Once the first group gets across, they call their family, they call their friends and let them know, ‘Hey the time is right, come on over,’” Border Patrol agent and union representative Chris Cabrera told CBS News. In March, 7,500 illegals were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas — which includes McAllen — Cabrera told CBS News. That’s up from 2,800 in January.

'You’re a nice guy. That's a problem.  Nice guys are only popular in prison and in the Senate- and for similar reasons.' Today's Republican Party suffers from a paucity of those who can effectively communicate the conservative message. So what a shame I might not be able to vote for one of the few who DID possess that gift... WHAT on God's green Earth are you thinking, dude? Has it yet occurred that you're a DREAM prop for the Democrats here- the hispanic Republican who's marching lockstep with them on a bill that MANY of us see little good in? That...

“Never before have I seen such contempt for law enforcement officers as what I’ve seen from the Gang of Eight” - Chris Crane, ICE Agent union president.- Last week, ICE union chief Chris Crane won a stunning initial court victory in his lawsuit against the Obama Administration. As we reported, Federal Judge Federal Judge Reed O’Connor told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that they had no power to refuse to deport illegal aliens, and that he was likely to strike down Obama's virtual "DACA" amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The ruling stunned Washington, and Crane's lawsuit could derail...

Above: ICE Union President Chris Crane, who filed the lawsuit against DHS.- In a stunning order, a federal judge Wednesday said that the Obama administration is likely violating the law by telling immigration agents and officers not to arrest illegal aliens they deem "low priority", in a lawsuit brought by ICE agents that could derail Obama’s plan to undermine immigration enforcement nationwide.Federal Judge Reed O'Connor said in a court order Tuesday that Congress, not the president, sets priority for arresting illegal immigrants, and said the law requires them to be put in deportation proceedings.“The court finds that DHS does not...

As Washington lawmakers react to the unfolding events in the Boston bombing investigation, a handful of senators involved in immigration reform debated whether the attack should impact the legislative efforts. "Given the events of this week, it's important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in an immigration hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley is the top Republican on the committee, which is starting to review the comprehensive immigration reform bill drafted by a bipartisan team of eight senators. "While we don't yet know the immigration status of the...