Free Republic

Of course he was a convict. Elton Simpson was the first figure identified in the latest eruption from the Religion of Peace™ — an attempted massacre at an exhibition of anti-Islamist cartoons in suburban Garland, Texas, which ended in the shooting of Simpson and his coconspirator, because Texas is where terrorists go to get out-gunned at an art show. Simpson and his pal are as dead as a tuna casserole — in Texas, we shoot back. We got lucky when luck wasn’t what we needed. Simpson was, like the overwhelming majority of murderers and most of those who commit serious...

A 16-year Republican veteran of the Legislature wrote Gov. Greg Abbott saying he is appalled that the governor has given credence to a fringe group that fears the U.S. military would stage a take-over of Texas. Abbott has ordered the Texas state Guard to monitor a large-scale, eight-week military exercise this summer of special operation forces. Social media has pushed the conspiracy notion that the exercise, called Jade Helm 15, is a ruse to confiscate guns and declare martial law in hostile states. After citizens raised concerns, Abbott said the state Guard will keep tabs on the operation to ensure...

ANNISTON, Ala. —An east Alabama congressman has a plan to save taxpayers money when it comes to storing vintage firearms for the Army. The plan involves moving the weapons to the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which includes its facility in Anniston. Congressman Rogers says it's a win-win because the pistols are placed in very capable hands at the Civilian Marksmanship Program and it also saves taxpayers roughly $200,000 per year. The M1911A1 pistol was once the standard sidearm for U.S. armed forces. Rogers says a little over 8,000 of the 100,000 pistols were sold to law enforcement and transferred to foreign...

Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon turned conservative star, has confirmed that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Carson, who has never run for public office, is expected to be the only high-profile African-American to enter the GOP’s presidential primary as he tries to parlay his success as an author and speaker into a competitive campaign against established politicians. “I’m willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States of America,” he said in an interview aired Sunday night by Ohio’s WKRC television station. He is set to make...

Electronic music pioneer Moby (real name Richard Melville Hall) went on quite the Twitter tirade on Saturday, railing against “racist, xenophobic, ignorant” Republicans who “support war” and “hate immigrants.” The musician, who has campaigned for and written open letters to President Obama, began his rant in standard fashion, calling Republicans “loathsome” and linking to a Los Angeles Times article about NASA funding:

New York Times Co. shares leaped 10.7 percent in after-hours trading after Fox Business Network reported billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg had expressed renewed interest in buying the paper. The former New York City mayor was prepared to pay up to $5 billion to acquire the Gray Lady — more than double the $2.3 billion market cap of the company. Bloomberg LP completely dismissed the FBN report as untrue. “There is no truth to this rumor,” Ty Trippet, a spokesman for the data and business news service, said in an e-mail. Mike Bloomberg has in the past expressed interest in buying...

Similarities: Devoted online followings. Popularity. Both were opposed to TARP. Both want to legalize marijuana. Both have expressed views on foreign policy of less involvement. Both cautious of the country's surveillance apparatus. Both say police officers should scale back. Both okay with same-sex marriage. Differences: Basic beliefs about the role of government Sanders doesn't necessarily have a problem with the government getting involved in things — hence "socialist" — and Paul generally does — hence "libertarian." Conspiracy theories Paul has floated several conspiracy theories, including that 9/11 was an inside job and that the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was connected to Russia. Sanders isn't known for such...

The .40-caliber pistol a Strawberry Plains homeowner used to kill a burglar Wednesday had been stolen last summer in a previous break-in, recovered by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and returned to its rightful owner.

Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore is the latest in a rash of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of police. In what has become a much-too-familiar pattern, there are questions about how Gray died and whether the officers who arrested him used excessive force, causing the neck injury that severed his spinal cord and, apparently, killed him. Bystander video taken during Gray's arrest shows that he was conscious and apparently not severely injured when he was loaded into a police van on April 12. Gray, 25, later died of a neck injury. The circumstances suggest that Gray's transportation...

The thing that always irks me about their "water the tree of liberty" types is their sheer stupidity. Seriously, you think you and your buddies are going to play Red Dawn against the full might of the U.S. government? Where do you suppose all that defense budget money went, folks? And now we have Ted Cruz, egging them on. Dear sweet Jesus, this man has no conscience. Via Talking Points Memo: WASHINGTON — It's a given that every Republican presidential candidate will run for president as a strong supporter of gun rights. But Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is arguing that...

Hillary Clinton is no stranger to gun control. When she announced her run for the presidency two weeks ago I posted a little round-up of all the comments she has made on the record about her desire for things like mandatory registration, assault weapons bans, and that gun owners are potential terrorists. It seems that she is taking things a step further now, as her campaign has hired the Minnesota state director of the Michael Bloomberg funded gun control group “Everytown for Gun Safety” to manage her Minnesota campaign.

This past Saturday Bloomberg’s Everytown representative, Ted Alcorn, insisted that he would not appear simultaneously with John Lott (the author of More Guns, Less Crime (University of Chicago Press) and the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center) on C-SPAN. Alcorn would only appear after Lott's segment was finished. Here is John Lott's discussion of Bloomberg's gun control advocates unwillingness to ever debate http://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4535462 Here is Bloomberg’s Research Director’s explanation for why his organization won't ever debate. http://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4535518 Acorn's explanation for why Bloomberg's groups refuse to debate is pretty embarrassing. Hopefully, these clips will get a lot of attention and...

As the rioting grew fiercer in Baltimore following the funeral of Freddy Grey on Monday, the Obama administration issued statements vowing to end the violence. (snip) The readout also noted that Obama had spoken with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “The President highlighted the Administration’s commitment to provide assistance as needed and will continue to receive updates on the situation from Attorney General Lynch and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett,” the White House explained, adding that Jarrett had spoken with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan earlier in the day. Jarrett also spoke with Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland, from Baltimore,...

During a Monday appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) defended his post-Sandy Hook gun control push as something that “made sense” in 2013 and something that “makes sense now.” Host Joe Scarborough approached the subject by talking about how he and Manchin came from different backgrounds — one a Republican and the other a Democrat — yet they found common ground in “[talking] about the need for background checks” and about how they “disagreed with the NRA” post-Sandy Hook.

Sunday, we found out that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin removed himself from the running for Governor of West Virginia, but during the same announcement, he endorsed Hillary Clinton as his favorite presidential candidate. When Senator Manchin endorsed Hillary Clinton and her presidential campaign on Sunday, he described Clinton as warm, compassionate, engaging, and tough. In 2008, Manchin waited until the Democratic candidate was already decided before endorsing Barack Obama.

Military Laboratory, of Philadelphia, lists military arms and supplies available to the public in the new republic. Clayton Cramer notes that all these arms and supplies were protected by the just written Second Amendment. Military Laboratory, At No. 34, Dock Street, near the Drawbridge, PHILADELPHIA: 1789 Where Owners and Commanders of Armed Vessels may be supplied, for either the use of Small Arms or Cannon, at the shortest notice, with every species of MILITARY STORES. V I Z. Rammers, sponges, worms and ladles, with or without spring worms, ready covered, of all sizes, of superior qualityCopper gun ladles and double...

This past Friday, an Uber driver with a permitted concealed handgun stopped what likely would have been a mass public shooting. Police arrived on the scene quickly, but the Uber driver had still already taken care of the situation before they arrived. From Mitch Dudek in the Chicago Sun-Times: . . . 20 other cases are also listed.

The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., is reportedly investigating a photo of Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.) holding an AR-15 rifle in a House office building.

DENVER (Reuters) - Police in Colorado have cited a 37-year-old man for carrying his computer into an alley then shooting it eight times with a handgun after what authorities said had been a long battle with the uncooperative machine. Lucas Hinch was cited for discharging a firearm within city limits after officers responded to a "shots fired" call early on Monday evening, the Colorado Springs Police Department said in a statement. "Investigation revealed a resident was fed up with fighting his computer for the last several months," said the statement, entitled "Man Kills His Computer."

Two Republican congressmen who posed for a picture with an assault rifle are coming under scrutiny from the District of Columbia’s Attorney General Office. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) last week tweeted a picture of himself and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the leader of the House GOP’s Benghazi investigation, holding an AR-15. Buck said in the tweet that the assault rifle is his, and that the picture was taken after Gowdy “stopped by” his office. Having the AR-15 in the Cannon House Office Building could be a violation of the District’s strict gun laws, and the Washington, D.C., Attorney General’s Office...