Free Republic

Democrats in Connecticut’s House will weigh a bill this week that would allow citizens to sue gun manufacturers, marketers, and dealers over the criminal use of firearms. The CT Insider noted that the legislation is being pushed as a way to create state-level options for filing lawsuits that are barred federally by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). State Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D) believes PLCAA has given too much legal immunity to people in the firearms industry: “What it has done is provide untoward protections to gun manufacturers and has deprived victims of their rights to seek...

Comedian Bill Maher recently bashed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, calling him the “worst thing to hit the Pentagon” since the September 11 terrorist attack. Maher delivered his hit against Hegseth during his “New Rule” segment on Friday night’s episode of his HBO show. “New Rule: Pete Hegsteth’s parents have to take away his phone. He can have it back when he’s shown us he’s grown up enough to use it responsibly,” Maher said. “I’m not saying Pete makes a terrible defense secretary, but he’s the worst thing to hit the Pentagon since Flight 77,” he added. Bill Maher’s joke...

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Thursday announced that he signed a measure adding a “gender” field to state death certificates. “The change will be in place by Jan. 1. Supporters say the law creates a space on forms to recognize an individual’s lived experience and aligns death certificates with other state records,” CPR News reported. The legislation, called HB 25-1109, created three options for “gender” on death certificates, including male, female, and “nonbinary.” Under the bill, coroners, funeral directors, and anyone else who fills out death certificates will be required to list the “gender identity” of the deceased person,...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — A bill that would ban “black market” restaurant reservations in Illinois has passed out of the House. HB2456, or the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, would prevent third party services from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling restaurant reservations without a written agreement. “At a time when local restaurants are operating with extremely tight margins and working to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, they shouldn’t have to deal with third-party services snatching up their reservations and selling them at a premium, which leads to no-shows and confusion that only hurts their bottom lines,” said State Representative Margaret...

President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed the Senate-passed budget resolution, saying it will help advance the “one, big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes and secure the border. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday night, calling on the House — and by extension, every House Republican — to vote to pass the Senate-passed budget resolution: The Budget Plan just passed by the United States Senate has my Complete and Total Endorsement and Support. All of the elements we need to secure the Border, enact Historic Spending Cuts, and make Tax Cuts PERMANENT, and much more, are strongly covered and represented...

New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would bar law enforcement officers from conducting traffic stops for minor violations. Part of the effort behind the proposal is to further “racial equity and public safety,” Fox News reported on Monday. “The measure aims to limit ‘the frequency of traffic stops for minor violations in furtherance of racial equity and public safety,’ according to the bill, as racial minorities in the state make up the majority of arrests and traffic stops,” the outlet said, noting violations mentioned included those such as a broken taillight, expired tags, window tinting that is too...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed new controls into law last week, including one that allows credit cards to track ammunition purchases. She described the ammunition control as one that “[refines] how credit card companies track purchases at gun dealerships.” Hochul noted, “This gives law enforcement the opportunity to find out exactly who may be stockpiling ammunition. And this is an indicator that something untoward could be happening, so it’s an important data point for us to have.”

Two Bronx legislators announced Monday they’re introducing legislation to aid Bally’s bid to open a casino next to the borough’s golf course formerly run by President Trump’s firm. The bill pushed by Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblyman Mike Benedetto would reclassify the parkland for commercial use in order for the gambling and entertainment company’s casino bid to move forward. The project can’t proceed without the redesignation. Bally’s took over the lease for the golf course from The Trump Organization in 2023 — renaming “Trump Links” at Ferry Point to “Bally Links.”

Ex-“Squad” Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman claimed that Democrats had originally wanted to pass $10 trillion in spending as part of former President Joe Biden’s doomed Build Back Better (BBB) Act. “We were at 10 [trillion] and then it went down to 6 and down to 3 and down to 1.7, I believe,” Bush said on the “Bowman and Bush” podcast on March 14. The two were reflecting on the collapse of Biden’s ambitious Build Back Better Act, which called for hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in “social infrastructure” programs such as universal child care, an expansion...

Senate Republicans may not be able to pass President Donald Trump’s border security, energy, and tax agenda until July at the earliest due to internal differences, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) reportedly warned. Thune has told fellow Republicans in the Senate that he wants a budget resolution moved forward in the “next work period” before the April recess, but added that the “finished product” is still months out from completion, a source told the Hill. “Thune and others have said they don’t think it’s realistic we’ll move the finished product until the end of July,” another Republican senator said...

Furious Democrats are pushing “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to primary Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after he agreed to vote with Republicans to avoid a government shutdown, according to reports. Progressives see Schumer’s sudden decision to support the legislation, which would fund the government through September, as “surrendering” to Republicans and as a “huge slap in the face” to them. It is leading many to encourage AOC to run for his seat in 2028, according to reports. Democrats convening for a retreat in Virginia this week are “so mad” that they are “ready to write checks for AOC...

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have condemned the House-passed spending bill and vowed to vote against it when it comes up in the Senate, even as other Democrats say they’ll support it to avert a government shutdown. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) accused Republicans of passing “draconian” policies, and called on Senate Democrats to take a stance against the budget. “We’re facing a hostile government takeover and @SenateDems can do something about it,” Pressley, who opposed the continuing resolution, wrote on social media Friday. “The Trump-Musk spending bill will make our constituents hungrier, sicker, and poorer. Listen to your constituents....

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that most Democrats in the upper chamber will not support a House Republican-passed bill to fund the federal government through the end of September, all but ensuring a partial shutdown beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday. “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their [continuing resolution] without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR. Our caucus is...

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) this week blocked a border reform bill introduced by freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), despite his plea to Democrats to unite on something so common sense. “I know that my Democrat colleagues are in a mode where they want to fight everything that we’re doing, Mr. President, but we should at least come together on this,” Moreno said on the floor. “As I look over at my democratic colleague, there’s only two of us — two of us as entire chamber — that are naturalized U.S. citizens,” he said of himself and Hirono. “We know...

The proposal for a “DOGE dividend,” which would distribute 20% of government savings to taxpayers, has gained support from President Trump and Elon Musk — and now it could potentially be enshrined in law, The Post has learned. The 28-year-old hedge fund manager behind the idea, James Fishback, told The Post he met with Elon Musk last week and began meeting with lawmakers about his idea earlier this week. “The president supports this and Elon likes the idea of incentivizing people to report waste, fraud, and abuse,” Fishback told me. “The proposed bill will be coming in the next few...

The NFL, MLB, NCAA and NASCAR said they support a bill introduced in Congress on Thursday that would give state and local law enforcement the ability to disable drones during sporting events, which the leagues say have become an increasing threat. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) and entitled the Disabling Enemy Flight Entry and Neutralizing Suspect Equipment (DEFENSE) Act, would provide "the tools for local and state law enforcement to protect citizens," Cotton told ESPN. "Local law enforcement already protects the perimeter of these events," he said. "We already expect them to...

President Donald Trump has called for Congress to produce “One Big Beautiful Bill” and pass his legislative agenda. Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to push the House and Senate to bundle “all of our priorities” into a single piece of legislation. The bill would be passed through the reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the critical 60-vote threshold for a simple majority vote instead. The House has shown an inclination toward a single full agenda-encompassing bill, while Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham introduced a budget resolution on border security and energy. This legislation notably omits...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom made an about-face in his efforts to thwart President Donald Trump’s agenda of deporting illegal immigrants in the country. The 57-year-old revealed he is ready to immediately veto a bill that would force Golden State prison system from cooperating with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, KCRA reported. The proposed legislation – Assembly Bill 15 authored by Los Angeles-area Rep. Mike Gipson – would block the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from detaining potential prisoners for several reasons. “…on the basis of a hold request, providing an immigration authority with release date information, or responding...

In the Wyoming Legislature, House Bill 172 passed House 50-10 on January 23, 2025. The bill eliminates most gun free zones and strengthens the Wyoming preemption bill for firearms. The bill would allow limited regulation by government entities of government employees’ ability to carry in government buildings and schools.Here are some relevant sections fom the wyoleg.gov:Section 1 W.S. 6-8-105 is created to read:6-8-105. Exceptions for state issued concealed carry permits; penalty. (a)This section shall be known as and may be cited as the “Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act.” (b) Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under W.S. 6‑8-104(a)(ii)...

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to require law enforcement to cooperate with immigration authorities last week in a landslide bipartisan 351 to 6 majority. The February 6 vote also carried without debate. When she was elected last year, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte pledged to put an end to sanctuary policies and charged the legislature with moving quickly on the issue. Ayotte also said she would not “MASS up” New Hampshire after seeing how badly her neighboring state was mired in illegal migrants and illegal drug trafficking. The state Senate quickly obliged the governor by tackling the issue during...