Free Republic

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has found an unusual way to keep this week’s NATO summit in Ankara in the headlines—by presenting fellow alliance leaders with personalized revolvers, leaving several governments to figure out how to legally transport, store, or dispose of the unusual diplomatic gifts. The presentation, intended to showcase Turkey’s growing defense manufacturing sector, quickly evolved into a logistical puzzle as visiting delegations confronted strict firearms regulations in their home countries. Each guest reportedly received a Turkish-made .357 Magnum revolver, engraved with the recipient’s name and displayed in a wooden presentation case alongside a cleaning kit, certificate, and...

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to a deadly Independence Day parade shooting. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are "consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation's tradition of firearm regulation." "Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse," the appeals...

A black bear consumed the body of a person whose remains were found by officers in Mesa County, according to the sheriff's office. Investigators with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of potential human remains found near the Wild Rose Picnic Area off of Lands End Road on the Grand Mesa, according to a sheriff's office news release July 9. When investigators arrived, they found the remains scattered and scavenged and determined the deceased had been consumed by a "bear and likely other wildlife." Investigators confirmed the remains were human, prompting a death investigation ... Witnesses who...

In summary According to state law, campus police can own military weapons to uphold safety as long as they report it to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public colleges and universities in California. ================================================================================== For many public colleges and universities in California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry — AR-15s, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness and sonic weapons that resonate so loudly they are known in the armed forces as the voice of God. According to state law, campus police...

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For many public colleges and universities in California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry: AR-15s, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness and sonic weapons that resonate so loudly they are known in the armed forces as the voice of God. According to California state law, campus police can only own military equipment if the college believes there is no other way to uphold civilian safety. That law, which passed in 2021, also requires police to make all their equipment dealings exceedingly clear to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to...

A Virginia judge informed state officials in a Tuesday letter that a newly passed ban on modern semiautomatic firearms was blocked across the state, citing the potential for a “treacherous patchwork” within Virginia. Shortly after Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” SB 749, into law on May 14, pro-Second Amendment organizations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed lawsuits seeking to have the ban invalidated on Second Amendment grounds. The letter from Washington County...

Celebrate America 250 and Firearm Freedom month by building a modern-day musket and America’s Rifle, which is in common use. SNIP Brownells , the parts suppliers to shooters, professional gunsmiths, hobbyists, military/law enforcement armorers, hunters, and gun tinkerers for over 75 years, recently produced a short video entitled: Why You Should Build An AR15. They listed out a number of very good reasons why you should roll up your sleeves, and get yourself a lower receiver and parts kit, and build what Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor termed as “commonly available” and as Supreme Court Justice Kagan referred to as “the...

Authorities are now investigating whether Johnson was directed by the militant groups he "liked" on social media — including the African American Defense League, the Black Riders Liberation Party, the Huey P. Newton Gun Club and the New Black Panther Party — or merely emboldened by them. "I think it's safe to say we'll leave no stone unturned," Dallas police Deputy Chief Scott Walton said. It's unclear if Johnson was merely a follower or a more active participant of those groups. Babu Omowale, co-founder of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, a black militia that performs armed community patrols in...

Critics say the administration is weakening public safety. Proponents say regulations would be where they were before President Joseph R. Biden took office. The Trump administration is scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning a crackdown on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions. The drastic retrenchment at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws, was not entirely unexpected: President Trump campaigned as a champion of gun rights. In the view of critics and even some A.T.F....

Memphis police say National Guard troops fired their weapons in the early morning hours Sunday, killing a man who was armed with a handgun. Police say officers were responding to calls of shots fired in downtown Memphis just before 4 am local time when they saw "an armed male carrying a handgun." The man — identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson — fled on foot, pursued by Memphis police officers along with Tennessee National Guard soldiers who are assigned to the area. What happened next was not immediately clear. "For reasons under investigation, the situation...

The Supreme Court’s Heller decision in 2008 established that the Second Amendment is a fundamental, unalienable—God-given--right that does indeed acknowledge, but not grant, the right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes such as self-defense. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice grind slowly, and it was not until 2022 that the Court handed down its Bruen decision, which affirmed that the right to bear arms extends to wherever Americans might be. What good is a right that can only be exercised in one’s home or on one’s property? Where is self-defense more likely, in one’s kitchen or out there in...

As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, gun owners should take a moment to remember how unlikely today’s victories once seemed. In 1976, when the nation marked its bicentennial, many Second Amendment supporters believed the right to keep and bear arms was slowly being written out of American life. The law schools were hostile. The courts were hostile. The media was hostile. Most politicians treated the Second Amendment as a historical inconvenience. The future looked grim.We chose to keep fighting. Giving up was not an option. The Constitution was clear, and we intended to fight to keep the Republic,...

Imagine a woman driving across state lines alone at night, fearful that her car might break down and leave her vulnerable. Or picture a truck driver hauling valuable cargo across the country. In states such as California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon – five of the ten states that refuse to recognize concealed handgun permits from other states – these travelers can find themselves defenseless. Nine states also either deny non-residents permits altogether or make them extremely difficult to obtain. Last week, President Trump again called for passage of national concealed carry reciprocity. The legislation would allow anyone...

Most stories one reads about the legendary sci-fi author Harlan Ellison tend to be about how cranky and/or litigious he was. Harlan Ellison hated Hollywood. The stories about his dissatisfaction with "Star Trek" are legendary, and he often took other writers and/or studios to court, claiming they had ripped off his idea. He once sued the makers of the obscure 1970s sci-fi cop show "Future Cop," and he famously (and successfully) sued James Cameron over "The Terminator." He sued the movie "In Time" for "borrowing" one of his ideas. And in interviews, Ellison remained cantankerous. A notable 1979 interview with...

Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's efforts to enact a sweeping gun-control agenda have been placed on hold by courts in June, while the state Legislature pushed back the effective date of another law. Since Thursday, judges in Lancaster County and Washington County issued preliminary injunctions preventing enforcement of a ban on modern semiautomatic firearms, while Spanberger had to request that the state Legislature delay the effective date of a ban on carrying such firearms. The National Rifle Association trumpeted their legal success in a Monday evening post on X. "The NRA's world-class legal team delivered a clear, powerful argument demonstrating...

Las Vegas cops busted a transgender gunman who allegedly planned a casino massacre using a huge cache of weapons. Allison Howlett, 36, who was born a man but lives as a woman, was arrested Saturday on charges of making terroristic threats, assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, gun theft and other offenses. The wild story unfolded shortly after 9:30 a.m. Saturday when Howlett’s former spouse, who is female, called police to report Howlett had stolen her car and the vehicle held numerous firearms, Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader said. The former spouse said Howlett intended to commit “suicide by...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Wednesday taking aim at California’s ban on Glock pistols the day it was slated to take effect.Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB1127 into law in October 2025, making California the first state to ban the popular pistol. The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California,

Tennessee’s attempt to revive two gun-control statutes moved to the Court of Appeals on June 23, 2026, as judges heard argument in Stephen L. Hughes, et al. v. Bill Lee, et al., a major right-to-carry case challenging the state’s “Going Armed” law and its ban on carrying firearms in many public recreational areas.The case stems from a ruling by a special three-judge Chancery Court panel that declared Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(a)(1), the state’s “Going Armed” statute, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1311(a), the Parks Statute, unconstitutional, void, and of no effect.At issue is whether Tennessee can continue treating ordinary...

The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will consider whether there is a Second Amendment right to possess AR-15s and similar rifles, setting up the court’s latest potential expansion of gun rights. The issue will be argued in the next term, which starts in October, with a decision expected by July 2027. The court has expanded gun rights in recent years and just backed those rights in multiple rulings this term. * * * With Tuesday’s decision to review the matter in two consolidated cases from Illinois and Connecticut, Kavanaugh’s statement is coming to fruition. It takes four justices to...