Free Republic

perspective If you can own a gun, why can't you carry it? Gun control: Should we attach some strings? By State Sen. Doug Lamborn Sunday, February 16, 2003 - When I was sworn into the state Senate earlier this year, I vowed to defend both the Colorado and U.S. constitutions. My concealed-carry bill does just that. The Colorado Constitution does not grant an unrestricted right to carry concealed weapons. However, the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." The Second Amendment is a personal right of...

perspective Put common sense in concealed-carry law Gun control: Should we attach some strings? By State Sen. Ken Chlouber Sunday, February 16, 2003 - The foundation for any proposed legislation should be plain old common sense. With that as the guiding light, my job is to show up early, roll up my sleeves and do everything possible to make a better Colorado. The question is not whether law-abiding citizens of Colorado should be allowed to carry concealed handguns. That law is on the books and doesn't even require the permit-holder to be law-abiding. The proper question is, by what process...

perspective Right to bear arms is not absolute Gun control: Should we attach some strings? By State Sen. Ken Gordon Sunday, February 16, 2003 - As an elected official, I often find myself engaging in polite conversations with people with whom I disagree. Some of these discussions inevitably involve a member of the gun lobby asking me what I think the words "shall not be infringed" - which are found in the Second Amendment - mean. The question is asked with an air of confidence, as if it is unanswerable and therefore, once and for all, concludes a difficult and...

Real-life 'Home Alone' angers By Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News February 14, 2003 GREELEY - Townspeople are outraged about a mother who left six young children home alone while she went to Italy with her boyfriend. Jennifer Farrell, 33, put her 14-year-old daughter in charge of the five younger children, gave them a list of emergency contacts, filled the refrigerator with food and left a credit card and $7 cash. "Everyone is floored. She has absolutely no conscience," said Cathy Davis, a mother of three and grandmother of four who doesn't know Farrell. "I don't think she deserves to be...

Mom goes to Italy, leaves six kids home alone Children now in foster care; police waiting for mother to return Story by Mike Peters Police want to talk to a Greeley mother who is accused of leaving her six children alone earlier this month while she took a two-week vacation to Italy with her boyfriend. No charges have been filed, so the woman's name has not been revealed. Greeley police have recommended child-neglect charges to the Weld District Attorney's Office, which will be deciding if the case warrants criminal charges. According to police spokesman Sgt. John Gates, the woman left...

'Instead of passing on violence, we must pass on kindness' By Annette Espinoza Denver Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - WHEAT RIDGE - It was a day of tears, forgiveness and sharing painful memories at Wheat Ridge High School on Tuesday as students hugged and made up with peers they once picked on.The three-day gathering of 450 students from nine high schools is helping bullies and victims reconcile so they can heal pain caused by fear and isolation. Student Michael Peterson took the microphone and asked Ben Honaman, an honor student whom Peterson admitted to harassing, to forgive...

Wells Fargo opens center for Hispanic home buyers Story by Tamera Manzanares Realizing the dream of home ownership can be a long and complicated process, especially for Hispanic home buyers facing language and cultural barriers. At the same time, the increasing Hispanic population in Weld County has presented a largely untapped market for companies involved in the home buying process. Centro Financiero, a mini-mall of complete home-buying services for Hispanics, opened an office in Greeley's for Spanish-speaking home buyers. The center, 1331 8th Ave., celebrated its grand opening Wednesday. "It's really coming together beautifully. People are hearing about it and...

Macon cab driver OK after being shot with his own gun By Sharon E. Crawford Telegraph Staff Writer A Macon cab driver was shot with his own gun, robbed and had his cab stolen Tuesday night. Macon police say Warring Doles, 64, is lucky to be alive after he was shot once in the chest, with the bullet traveling three inches from his heart. Doles is the retired director of Monroe County Emergency Services. Doles was treated and released Wednesday at The Medical Center of Central Georgia. Officials said the robber allegedly took Doles' gun and fired several shots, striking...

What if Bush were as eager to control guns as WMD? By Jonathan D. Tepperman and Avi S. Gesser NEW YORK - This week, as United Nations weapons inspectors returned to Iraq after a four-year absence, George W. Bush, bolstered by the midterm election mandate, reiterated the need to keep Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) - by going to war if necessary. Disarming Iraq has become central to Bush's controversial new national security doctrine that declares Washington has the right to take preemptive action against any nation that threatens it or its allies (unless, it seems, the...

The margin matters in Tancredo victory By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News November 6, 2002 Rep. Tom Tancredo interpreted his easy victory as vindication of his fiery anti-immigration rhetoric and as a license for all lawmakers to speak their minds. Tancredo was cruising to a third term in the 6th Congressional District despite months of controversy over his call for troops on the U.S. borders and a crackdown on illegal immigrants elsewhere. "It tells me that the issues that I tried to advance are issues that should be advanced and that nobody should be afraid of," said Tancredo, who has...

Musgrave clobbers Matsunaka Fort Morgan senator wins soundly under conservative banner By Owen S. Good, Rocky Mountain News November 6, 2002 Marilyn Musgrave, the Republican state senator from Fort Morgan, captured the 4th Congressional District with a convincing victory over Democratic state Sen. Stan Matsunaka. Musgrave's campaign apparently succeeded in reminding the 4th District of its conservative tradition, which has elected Republicans leaning right since 1972. "When Wayne Allard ran in the 4th, they said he was too conservative," Musgrave said. "When Bob Schaffer ran, they said he was too conservative, and when I ran, that's what my opponent said...

Ground Zero hero K9 Capt. Morgan retires By:HOLLI DEAL BRAGG, Reporter for the Statesboro (Ga.) Herald Captain Morgan, the brave-hearted German Shepherd cadaver dog who survived a three-story fall while searching for victims at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, is retiring.       Savannah K-9 Task Force Lt. Commander John Frank was obviously emotional as he made the announcement to Statesboro Kiwanis Club members Thursday.       "Morgan is being retired medically," he said.       The dog, who is trained extensively in air and ground scenting cadaver, trailing of persons, collapsed building searches, rappelling, as well as water scenting,...

National TV, radio host in town to promote book Sean Hannity is considered one of the country's top radio and television personalities. By Jennifer Rose Marino Savannah Morning News One of the country's top conservative power mouths will be in Savannah this weekend to sign copies of his new book. Sean Hannity, co-host of "Hannity & Colmes," the No. 1 debate show on cable television, and host of the popular ABC radio program "The Sean Hannity Show," will autograph copies of "Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism" Saturday at the Savannah Marriot Riverfront hotel. The book...

Mummified dog finally has a name that will stick By Teresa Stepzinski Morris News Service WAYCROSS -- A mummified hound dog entombed in a hollow tree in rural Georgia was officially christened on Tuesday following a two-month contest that garnered entries from across the South. "Our mummified dog shall be known as 'Stuckie' from this day forward," said Holly Beasley, executive director of Southern Forest World, a tiny, out-of-the-way museum in Waycross. "We have three winners, all from northeast Florida, who submitted that same name." They all submitted the name, with slight variations in the spelling. To avoid potential trademark...

Fightin' Whites still brewing up attention  Story By Julio Ochoa The Fightin' Whites isn't just the name of a basketball team fighting against the use of American Indians as mascots. The name also belongs to a tasty beer. The Smiling Moose Brew Pub and Grill in Greeley is brewing a Belgian white ale called Fighting White Wheat. The restaurant's brewmaster, Jamie Atkinson, started brewing the beer, which is a white wheat with a hint of orange peel and coriander, almost a year ago but didn't decide on a name until last spring. "It's a beer that we've really been excited about...

Anti-gay activist to speak at UNC  Story By Julio Ochoa A group of students for social tolerance at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley will have its theories pushed to the limit when it hosts one of the country's most outspoken anti-homosexual activists at an open forum Thursday. The group, called Students for the Eradication of Ignorance and Intolerance, invited the Rev. Fred Phelps and members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., to take part in a forum at UNC. Phelps and members of his congregation condemn homosexuals and travel the country picketing and protesting homosexuals and their...

Vidalia Public Library sued for banning gay publication By Jenel Few Savannah Morning News The Vidalia Public Library has been accused of censorship. The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit alleging that library officials banned a gay newspaper from its free publications table because it conflicted with their Christian values. Ron Marcus took several copies of the Gay Guardian to the Vidalia Public library and placed them on a table used for free community publications. When he returned in February to replenish them, Marcus claims that a librarian took issue with the paper's...

Editorial: Snake-killer Zell Savannah Morning News ZELL MILLER knows how to boil things down to the basics. That's what Georgia's junior senator did Thursday when he explained why it's important that Saddam Hussein be defanged. But he's also a good storyteller. Here's the text of Mr. Miller's remarks, made on the Senate floor about the need to help President Bush deal with Iraq. We couldn't say it any better: "Mr. President, I have signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Iraq resolution, and I'd like to tell you story about why I think it is the right path to...

Survey: first amendment goes too far Posted on Friday, September 27 Kelly McAvoy Staff Writer Forty-nine percent of Americans think the First Amendment goes too far in what it guarantees, according to a national survey. The rights outlined in the First Amendment include the freedom of speech and press, the right to petition the government, the right to peacefully assemble and the freedom of religion. The Center for Survey Research and Analysis conducted in June the State of the First Amendment Survey. The survey reported a 10-percent increase from last year's results and led researchers to think more Americans view...

A Greeley man who claimed to be one of the Army Rangers in Somalia in a 1993 incident that was the subject of the movie and book, "Black Hawk Down," admitted Tuesday that he lied.Scott Meyer's story appeared in the Feb.4 Greeley Tribune.Although Meyer did not want to talk about his fabrication, he sent a letter to the Tribune stating he was never a ranger in Somalia.In interviews in February, Meyer claimed he was in the Mogadishu, Somalia, combat zone and showed a photo of himself in an Army Ranger uniform and letters from officers commending him for other service....