Free Republic

The Second Amendment case of Morin v Lyver, granted certiorari, vacated, and remanded back to the First Circuit, has been decided in favor of the plaintiff, Alfred Morin.In June of 2022, the Supreme Court published a clarification of how the Second Amendment should be treated by the Courts in the Bruen decision. Bruen gave clear guidance on how Heller should be applied. This was necessary because the Circuit courts had created a complicated two-step process that was used to sidestep the Heller decision. In Bruen, the court said the two-step process was one too many. The Court laid out a...

Brandon Maddox and Silencer Central is an American success story. Brandon went from a Federal Firearms License (FFL) in his home to the largest silencer dealer in the USA. Today, Brandon’s companies dominate the silencer/suppressor market, regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA). This correspondent met Brandon Maddox at the 2024 SHOT Show. Brandon had read several AmmoLand articles, recognized this writer, and started a conversation. Brandon graciously agreed to be interviewed. This is the second in a series of articles resulting from several interviews. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.Silencers are currently regulated under the National Firearms Act...

On January 12, 2024, Judge Kathryn Kimball ruled the federal ban on possession of firearms in post offices is unconstitutional because it violates the Second Amendment. The United States indicted Emmanuel Ayala, a postal worker, for possessing a firearm in a Federal facility in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 930(a). Ayala argues that statute is unconstitutional as applied to him because the historical record does not support a law banning firearms in post offices. See N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). Relying on dicta from earlier cases, the United States responds that the Second...

On May 11, 2018, over six years ago, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the Government of New York violated the organization’s First Amendment rights by coercing third parties, particularly insurance companies and banks, to cease to do business with the NRA. The government officials explicitly stated their dislike of the advocacy of the NRA to promote gun ownership and the Second Amendment. The opinion was issued on May 30, 2024. The ruling was expected, as explained in a previous AmmoLand article. The case was relatively clear. Government officials Andrew Cuomo (Governor) and Maria...

On Monday, May 27, a cinnamon color phase of the common black bear entered the home of a long-time resident of Lake Tahoe, California. The bear has been reported to be a yearling. Yearling bears, recently separated from their mothers, have a difficult time establishing a territory of their own. Sometimes, sows, cubs, and young bears will keep close to human habitations to avoid being killed and eaten by adult male bears. A majority of young bears who do not reach adulthood are killed by mature male bears. It appears this young bear disputed the ownership of the house with...

FARRELL — A “good guy with a gun” reportedly came to the aid of a Farrell police officer during a shootout early Friday morning. “He had a valid concealed-carry permit, he had a gun,” Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker said. “He went to where the police officer was and fired on the suspect.” State police and county district attorney’s office detectives are continuing to investigate the incident, which took place about 12:30 a.m. Friday outside a convenience store along Indiana Avenue in Farrell. Acker said the suspect, identified only as a 49-year-old white man, was undergoing treatment Friday...

In the October 2023 term, the Supreme Court heard three significant cases involving the Second Amendment. Only one of these cases, Rahimi, was directly about the Second Amendment.Supreme Court terms begin with the first week in October. Court sessions usually end by the last week of June, occasionally extending into the first week of July. Cases decided by the court are published during the term before the Court recesses near the end of June. During the recess from the end of June to October, the court is busy studying cases that have been argued and working on their opinions.We should...

Over a year ago, I started tracking down a story about a bear killed in self-defense in Wisconsin in a chicken coop with a .22 Magnum revolver. With considerable effort, the source of the story was contacted.Around about 1964 or 65′, a boy accompanied his father on the Menomonee Reservation in east-central Wisconsin. A well-known logger was visited. Upon entering the log house, made of logs cut and fitted by the logger, with a fine living room paneled in knotty pine, the boy noticed a bear-skin rug with a Ruger Single Six revolver prominently displayed above the mantle of a...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist.The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important.These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples of failures....

On May 19, 2024, United States District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration, forbidding them from enforcing the parts of the ATF “final rule” having to do with a re-definition of “engaged in the business” as part of federal firearms law. From the order: CONCLUSION Defendants are TEMPORARILY RESTRAINED from enforcing the regulations — “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms” — published at 89 Fed. Reg. 28968 (April 19, 2024) (to be codified at 27 C.F.R. pt. 478) against Plaintiffs Texas, Jeffery Tormey, the Gun Owners of America,...

ATLANTA - One man is dead and three others are injured after police say an attempted car-break led to a gunfight in Downtown Atlanta. Police tell FOX 5 that the shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. on Monday on the 200 block of Auburn Avenue near the corner of Leonard Tate Street. Man killed in gunfight in Downtown Atlanta One man is dead and three others are injured after a gunfight over an attempted car break-in outside a Downtown Atlanta nightclub. ATLANTA - One man is dead and three others are injured after police say an attempted car-break led to a...

On Saturday, May 4th, 2024, Ethan Daubs surprised a large boar black bear in an oak brush patch near his house. Ethan is 23 years old. The boar climbed a tree as Daubs drew his Ruger Security 9 from his military-style holster. The bear was about seven yards away. Ethan yelled at the bruin, and it took off at speed across a field. Ethan considered the speed of the respectful bear as it retreated through the woods. He made a policy decision. In the future, if he heard strange noises in the brush, he would draw first, evaluating as events...

On May 16, 2024, Governor Greg Abbott pardoned Sgt. Daniel Perry. Perry was convicted of murder on April 7, 2023, in what many believe was a politically motivated case in Austin, Texas. During the prosecution, a police detective complained about the prosecution’s bias against Daniel Perry. On July 25, 2020, BLM protestors blocked Perry’s car and beat on it. Then, one of the protestors, Garrett Foster, approached Perry’s car with an AK47-style rifle and motioned for Perry to roll down his window. After rolling down the window, Perry said he saw Foster start to raise his rifle toward Perry from...

According to FBI records from the National Instant Background Check System (NICS), April 2024 was the fifth highest on record for gun sales and background checks for that month. The month follows a pattern which has developed over the last five years. A gradual drop in sales and background checks from the record-level highs of 2020 and 2021 has become consistent.Even with the drop in sales, the numbers are still at or above the “new normal” established during President Obama’s second term. President Obama was given the honorary title of “the best gun salesman ever.” In the NSSF chart for...

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Investigators are working to find out if charges will be filed against a man accused of shooting two customers over a waitress' stolen phone on Saturday. The Houston Police Department said the incident unfolded at a sports bar along Lyons Avenue and Boyles in the Denver Harbor area. Just before 2 a.m., a waitress reportedly noticed her phone had been stolen from behind the bar where two men were drinking together. Police said a manager looked at surveillance video showing one of the two customers at the bar had taken the phone. That's when the woman...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A man has been charged after he was shot while reportedly trying to break into a home Tuesday morning. The incident took place around 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 2200 block of Empress Drive. According to St. Louis County police, a man forced entry into a home when the homeowner shot him. The suspect ran off on foot but was tracked down by a police K9. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries following the shooting. First Alert 4 spoke to the homeowner who didn’t want to go on camera but did...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist. The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples...

On May 9, 2024, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit published a split decision vacating the conviction of Steven Duarte for violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) makes it a crime for any person to possess a firearm if he has been convicted of an offense “punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” Steven Duarte, who has five prior non-violent state criminal convictions—all punishable for more than a year—was charged and convicted under § 922(g)(1) after police saw him toss a handgun out of the window of...

At about 4:28 p.m., on May 3rd, 2024, in Okaloosa County, Florida, an Okaloosa Deputy Sheriff responded to a domestic violence call from an apartment complex. A few minutes later, the Deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson after Fortson opened his apartment door in response to the Deputy’s demands.The incident has gone viral. Fortson’s family has hired controversial lawyer Ben Crump. Crump has made statements the shooting was at the wrong apartment, and Fortson was shot as he walked away from the door, and deputies burst into the apartment. From news4sanantonio.com:Crump wrote that Fortson grabbed his “legally-owned” gun...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist. The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We always appreciate readers who help...