Free Republic

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- A postal service worker has been arrested for trying to run over someone who was documenting the worker's offensive behavior toward another person, Bellevue police said. It all began just after 11 a.m. out front of Phantom Lake Elementary School. The victim was waiting in his car to pick up his child when he overheard a loud argument on the street between a postal worker and another driver over a parking issue, said Seth Tyler with Bellevue Police. "The victim overheard the postal worker allegedly yelling obscenities very loudly at the citizen and thought that was...

Alan Gottlieb, at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, asked a very scary question.  It is a question loaded with bad premises, freighted with unintended consequences.   It was terrifying when you consider where it leads us, as a society. It was: Would you sell a gun to someone you do not know? The premise that underlies the question is that selling a gun to someone that you do not know is irresponsible, and that it should be regulated by the government.  Alan followed up his question with another terrifying premise: If you sell your gun to someone who later uses...

There is SO much emphasis on I-594, but there is NO discussion on I-591. WHY? 594 is an obvious attempt to violate the 2nd amendment by infringing on our rights to obtain or even transfer firearms. The bill is totally ludicrous. But I-591 is a Trojan horse. IT does prevent the confiscation of guns without due process, but the second part opens us to onslaught by Mike Bloomberg & Co. The second part of 591 no background checks can be required of recipients “UNLESS A UNIFORM NATIONAL STANDARD IS REQUIRED.” It does not specify which entity would be the responsible...

Former Washington Redskins tight end Clint Didier, who is seeking to replace the retiring Congressman Doc Hastings in Washington State’s 4th congressional district, received a powerful endorsement on Thursday. Didier, a principled constitutional conservative with enthusiastic support from the pro-freedom Tea Party movement, was endorsed by Sarah Palin, who said “Clint sees the dangers facing our next generation,” and will “fight for farmers, for lower taxes, and less government.” Didier, who won two Super Bowl rings playing for the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl’s XVII and XXII under coach Joe Gibbs, became a farmer after retiring from his NFL career...

A Washington state hunter is recovering after surviving an attack by an angry black bear that chased him up a tree, chomped down on his leg and clawed him with one of its big paws. Retiree Jerry House knows how lucky he is to have fended off the bear. He said he got the bear off him only after he kicked the animal in the nose as he hung onto a tree branch.

Jeffrey C. Barton The man who fired a shotgun in the air to scare off car burglars, following Vice President Joe Biden's advice, has had the charge involved with the shooting dropped, according to the Columbian: A person, even in a no-shooting zone, still has the right to defend their person or their property,” Golik said. “In this case, based on the facts, there is a reasonable argument that Mr. Barton may have been defending his person and property when he fired in the air. Jeffrey C. Barton has an NRA supplied attorney, and says that a threat of...

A fourth high school student has come forward claiming 24-year-old former math teacher Meredith Powell sexually abused him during her time at Washington's Lincoln High School. Powell was arrested in February and then confessed to performing sex acts with multiple students, one as young as 15 years old, inside her locked classroom, as well as sending them sexualized pictures of herself. She previously faced two counts of child rape and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

SEATTLE, WA, April 2, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have removed a Seattle-area troop leader and banned him from the organization for going public with his homosexuality, in what is thought to be the first such case since the BSA voted to allow openly homosexual youth, but not adults, to join. Scoutmaster Geoff McGrath, 49, a former Eagle Scout and leader of Troop 98 in Rainier Beach, had his BSA membership revoked Monday after an NBC News reporter contacted the organization seeking comment for a profile the network was doing on “the first openly gay Scoutmaster...

PASCO, Wash. -- We don't yet know if a Pasco homeowner will face criminal charges for killing a man last week. Stephan Aceves was shot multiple times while trying to get into a home on Savary Drive. Now prosecutors say they have not decided whether this is considered justified. The prosecutor and a representative from Pasco PD held a news conference Tuesday but made no announcement on whether there would be charges. The shooting on Savary Drive appears to be a case of mistaken identity. In this case, it was the house that led to confusion. The family of Stephan...

A small sign of renewed American freedom has been noticed in Spokane, Washington.    Jitterz Java was robbed twice in February of this year.   On March 16th, an armed robber was run off by an armed employee.  As noted in the above image, at least one barista believes in the deterrent effect of open carry. The owner, Sara Chapel has taken steps to reduce her losses.  From spokesman.com: The recent string of violence has owner Sara Chapel fed up. “The way I’ve been scheduling the girls is that at least one girl who carries a gun is always on shift,”...

A Clark County judge today dismissed all charges against a Vancouver homeowner who shot and killed an alleged car prowler in January 2013. Superior Court Judge Dan Stahnke dismissed a second-degree murder charge against Sean H. Doucette at the request of prosecutors. “This has had a very damaging impact on his life,” Doucette’s attorney, Steven Thayer, said Wednesday. “He had to go to considerable expense to defend himself and to redeem himself, and essentially, he had to prove his innocence, which he has done.” Doucette shot and killed Iosif Dumitrash, 19, of Portland just before 4 a.m. Jan. 29, 2013,...

LAKE STEVENS — Police said two masked, armed men allegedly entered a garage of a home in the Lake Stevens area, confronted the homeowner and his friend there and allegedly attempted to rob them. But the friend was able to pull a gun out of his car and opened fire, hitting one of the suspects and prompting the other one to flee, police said. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting took place at a home in the 7000 block of 126th Drive NE. “It is believed that two men, the homeowner and a male acquaintance, were in the...

Clark County, Washington, is strongly considering joining the group of local governments that have reformed their work rules to allow employees to exercise their second amendment rights.  Many states do not restrict citizens from exercising their rights to bear arms in public buildings, so it makes little sense to restrict employees from being able to carry as well.  From the Columbian: Commissioners Tom Mielke and David Madore on Wednesday requested that Chris Horne, the county's chief civil deputy prosecutor, investigate what revisions could be made to the county's workplace violence policy to allow employees to carry concealed firearms. Commissioner...

While maybe a half-million people will line Seattle’s streets today celebrating the Seahawks Super Bowl win, a “webinar” offered by the Progressive Majority Action Fund will provide tips to gun control proponents, including those in the Pacific Northwest, on how to push their anti-gun agenda. The 90-minute webinar – an online seminar – begins at noon Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern. It is being described as “a lively and interactive discussion about how to argue for gun legislation” led by Bernie Horn, “one of the lead lobbyists for the passage of the Brady Law and the federal ban on assault weapons.”The Progressive...

There were naked photographs in the bathtub, sexual text messages and furtive kisses exchanged during a Lincoln High School assembly. Those are among the accusations leveled against Meredith Powell, a 24-year-old math teacher who pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of third-degree child rape and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes for alleged inappropriate conduct with three students.

When former Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords appears today in Olympia to testify in favor of Initiative 594, the 18-page gun control measure being sold as a “universal background check” requirement, only one question should be respectfully asked: How would adoption of this measure have prevented the kind of thing that happened in Tucson in January 2011? That's the incident in which Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman who killed six people and wounded 12 others, including the former congresswoman. She will be accompanied today by her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly.The question is a fair one. There...

It happened around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night at a home in the 6900 block of Puget Beach Rd. NE, near Olympia. Thurston County sheriff’s deputies say a couple arrived home to find a male burglar in their house. A confrontation ensued and the homeowner shot the suspect in the leg.

Tears stained Elena Calderon’s cheeks Thursday as she stepped up to speak at Eastern Washington University during a student-organized rally in support of immigrants’ right to compete for state financial aid. “I’m an undocumented student,” the emotional 23-year-old said. “It’s hard to come out and say that. I’m always afraid I’m putting myself and my family at risk.” The graduate student, grateful for the opportunity to pursue the American dream, spoke to nearly 100 Eastern Washington University students, faculty and community leaders to encourage state lawmakers to pass the DREAM Act, which despite sharing a name with federal legislation only...

The Seattle Times is running a poll about two initiatives that will be on the ballot in the next Washington State election.  Instead of two questions that the voters will face, the poll asks three, summed up thus: Do you think background checks should apply to: All gun sales, as proposed in I-594Only for sales by licensed dealers, as proposed in I-591No one. Americans have a right to bear arms. Period.  It is very interesting that it is the third option that is  currently getting more than half the votes: 610 votes, 50.88 percent. The first option, essentially for ending...

Billy Willingham, 51, reportedly called 9-1-1 and said he had just shot someone in the leg. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they located a 41-year-old man lying on the ground with a single gunshot wound to his leg. (snip) The victim refused to leave despite being told to leave, Willingham said. He reportedly told the victim "he better leave or he would shoot him." The victim reportedly again refused to leave and Willingham shot him one time.