Free Republic

John Mellencamp has issued a blunt, powerful statement calling for gun control in America. Posting on his social media channels, the 72-year-old singer/songwriter writes, "Excuse me for stating the obvious truth. I do so out of love for this country and the pain of learning, once again, that children have been killed by gun violence. "If we as a country want to find the collective will within ourselves to change our gun laws, let’s stop playing silly political games. Show the carnage on the news. Show the American people the dead children and others who have been struck down. Show...

The Second Amendment doesn’t grant a person the right to bear arms—the Second Amendment recognizes an individual’s God-given right to self-defense, and prohibits the American government from infringing upon that right. Well in other news that isn’t news, Commiefornia is ignoring all that law and precedent; on Friday, Democrat Assemblyman Mike Gipson put forth a bill that would require insurance companies to ask a litany of very specific questions regarding personal firearms an applicant may or may not have. Then, these insurers would need to hand this information over to state agencies and lawmakers. From AWR Hawkins at Breitbart:The bill,...

(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) Democrats constantly crow about their faith in “the right to choose.” But this applies to little beyond abortion. Any woman who chooses to buy a gun or send her child to a charter school should expect “pro-choice” Democrats to stand in her way. Democrats crave control and uniformity, even when it comes to medical care for America’s veterans. Democrats want vets in the Department of Veterans Affairs, not getting cured in the private sector. Obama–Biden’s VA waitlist scandal found veterans dying before they could see their doctors. Donald J. Trump promised to fix this lethal mess....

Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, introduces everyone to SB 1160, a bill, in California, that would actually force California residents to register each and every firearm they own...annually. Yes, this is a bill, that claims to not violate 18 U.S.C. 926, but just exactly that and does it by design. Just when you thought that California could not get any more evil or detached from Constitutional reality, they out-do themselves once again. Learn about all of this insanity and arm yourself with education today.

For years, California Democrats have been hostile to gun owners. California Democrats frequently attempt to erode Second Amendment rights in the state. A bill in the Democrat-controlled California State Assembly that was introduced on February 16th, would force homeowners and renters to disclose information about firearms they own. Assembly member Mike Gipson, and State Senator Catherine Blakespear are the two leading California Democrat lawmakers pushing this legislation.

There wasn’t much to report regarding the latest updates on the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting other than it was a “dispute” among several people that led to gunfire. Three people were arrested—all juveniles. One has since been released after it was determined this individual was not part of the shooting, but two have been booked on firearm-related charges. One person was killed, with at least 20 injured—11 of them were children. Nine kids had gunshot wounds, but all survived. That’s the good news. We’re still waiting on the suspects' names and the real motive. What we do know...

The January 2024 National Instant Background Check System (NICS) shows the number of guns sold for the month is very close to the average for the last ten years. From 2015 through 2024, the number of guns sold in January varied from .98 million in 2018 to 2.02 million in 2021. The average was 1.21 million. The 2024 number is 1.15 million. This is a 5.8% decrease from gun sales in January of 2023. Background check numbers varied more than gun sales, from 1.77 million in 2015 to 4.32 million in 2021.The number of background checks does not correlate well...

Gun control activists are thrilled that a federal appeals court has allowed the government of Mexico's lawsuit against several major U.S. gun makers to proceed, at least for the time being, because they're hoping that the litigation will lead to the obliteration of the firearms industry. A new op-ed in Newsweek from Jonathan Lowy, head of Global Action Against Violence, makes that clear. Lowy, who was formerly the general counsel and vice president of Brady's legal team, is the architect of Mexico's lawsuit, though you have scroll all the way to the bottom of his op-ed to discover his role...

Donald J. Trump spoke at the NRA’s Great American Outdoor show Friday night, saying, “Your Second Amendment will always be safe with me as President.”He said it was great to be back with the “hard working, God fearing, patriots of the NRA.”Trump mentioned primaries and caucuses he has won to date, and made clear his conviction that he will win the upcoming South Carolina primary.He then talked of how he warned the American people that Joe Biden would bring America into a perilous situation, should he be elected.Trump then added, “The only thing I didn’t know: I didn’t know how...

A suspect is under arrest after nine gunshots rang out on the UC Berkeley campus Friday night at about 8:40 p.m. No injuries were reported. ABC 7 noted the shots were fired outside Sproul Plaza, and the incident appeared to have occurred following some type of “altercation.”

Out of curiosity, I asked the following question to 3 different Artificial Intelligence Chatbots. QUESTION: “Do you know about the Byrna non-lethal pistol”?Here are the respective responses from each ChatBots: Google Gemini Chatbot ( formerly Bard ) I'm a text-based AI, and that is outside of my capabilities. My response: Why is the question outside your capability? Gemini’s response: I understand that you're asking why it's outside my capabilities to provide information about the Byrna non-lethal pistol. There are a few reasons for this: Safety concerns: As a large language model, I am not able to provide information that could...

Hawaii's highest court ruled Wednesday that Second Amendment rights as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court do not extend to Hawaii citizens, citing the "spirit of Aloha."In the ruling, which was penned by Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins, the court determined that states "retain the authority to require" individuals to hold proper permits before carrying firearms in public. The decision also concluded that the Hawaii Constitution broadly "does not afford a right to carry firearms in public places for self defense," further pointing to the "spirit of Aloha" and even quoting HBO's TV drama "The Wire.""Article I, section 17...

During his presidency, Barack Obama infamously asserted the power to assassinate American citizens. This isn’t a widely known fact because, well, the media didn’t exactly cover this story as they would have with a white president of either party. Barack Obama was “the first black president,” after all. It wasn’t enough for Obama to hold that historic distinction; he had to have a legacy of success, unmarred by scandal or controversy. It was, at times, difficult to avoid covering various controversies and scandals, but the media did its best to create the false impression that Obama was scandal-free—a fiction many...

Georgia United Credit Union recently updated their User Agreement — you know, that wall of text that your financial institution flashes at you from time to time and which few people bother to read. The catch: If you rely on Georgia United Credit Union for your purchasing tool, like, say, a debit card, you may no longer use that to purchase firearms, ammunition, firearms parts, or accessories, along with a host of other items.

In Florida, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has ruled that the federal law prohibiting people from possessing firearms inside post offices is unconstitutional. The ruling is based on the 2022 Supreme Court ruling New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen recognized a person’s right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.The case concerned Emmanuel Ayala, a U.S. Postal Service truck driver, who had a concealed weapons permit and held a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun in a fanny pack for self-defense. When police tried to stop him, he ran and struggled with officers. While dismissing the...

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Contrary to concerns from some local leaders, a new study shows a decrease in gun crimes across six of Ohio’s eight largest cities following the implementation of the state’s “constitutional carry” law. The research, conducted by the Center for Justice Research (CJR) in partnership with Bowling Green State University, analyzed data from June 2021 to June 2023, covering a year before and after the law went into effect in June 2022. It focused on crimes involving firearms, verified gunshot-detection alerts, and the number of officers struck by gunfire. The findings revealed: Overall Decline: Across all eight cities,...

An Ohio prosecutor has indicted a smoke shop manager for allegedly shooting to death a 16-year-old boy during a robbery attempt — but warned that people “should expect to be shot” if they target stores. Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers filed the charges against the manager, Tony Thacker, 29, for allegedly shooting at would-be robbers as they fled VIP Smoke Shop in Delhi Township on Oct. 20.. “There is simply no justification for shooting at someone as they are running away,” Powers said .. “However, I want to make perfectly clear — these retail thefts will not be tolerated. If...

A three-judge panel in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has vacated the New York law banning the carry of firearms in church, citing the First Amendment.After the June 22, 2022, publishing of the Bruen decision on the Second Amendment, several states took active measures to defy the Supreme Court. The foremost of these was New York. Governor Kathy Hochul took the extreme measure of convening an extraordinary session dedicated to circumventing the Bruen decision, which she called “reckless and reprehensible.” From ny.gov:“The Supreme Court’s reckless and reprehensible decision to strike down New York’s century-old concealed carry law...

To Whom It May Concern; The California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed “emergency regulations” regarding the issuance of concealed carry weapons (CCW) licenses smack of complete political hypocrisy and demagoguery, as well as political retaliation against Californians who may disagree with the current policies and leadership within the California State government. The California DOJ’s “emergency regulations” conspicuously leave out a large number of certified firearms instructors, who are affiliated with such gun groups as the National Rifle Association (NRA), the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), among others. Most, if not all, of these firearms instructors have excellent records in...