Free Republic

James J. Baker, the longtime lobbyist for the National Rifle Association (NRA), is stepping down to join the Federalist Group, a GOP lobbying outfit, the National Journal reported May 11. Baker has served as executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action for nearly two decades. NRA insiders said that Baker's departure is a blow to the gun-rights organization. Baker had built a reputation on Capital Hill as a strong advocate. "Jim Baker is a worthy adversary," said Matt Bennett, a spokesman for Americans for Gun Safety. "He's smart, cunning, ruthless, and very effective." Chris Cox, 32, an NRA...

FORT LEE - The Borough Council has shut down the Police Department's shooting range after learning it will cost $100,000 to clean up lead-contaminated soil at the Palisade Terrace training facility. Noise pollution generated from the weekly firing of guns over the past several decades made matters worse, said Mayor Jack Alter, who lives in The Plaza - a 171-unit co-op building that is adjacent to the range. "When the range was built, it was there by itself," Alter said of the outdoor range, which opened about 50 years ago. "Now it's surrounded by three large buildings, and I happen...

A new congressional study shows that an estimated 3,000 people with domestic-violence convictions were able to buy firearms between 1998 and 2001, because the FBI was unable to complete background checks before the sales went through, the Washington Post reported June 26. According to a draft report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), federal authorities had to retrieve guns from domestic abusers and more than 8,000 other felons because they were wrongly allowed to purchase the weapons. "The weapon can be used in a homicide or to terrorize battered women and their children," said Lynn Rosenthal, executive director of the...

It's no longer just Middle America that believes in defending itself AP THINK of gun enthusiasts and you don't immediately think of the “polyamorous” and BDSM communities. (For the uninitiated, BDSM stands for “bondage, domination and sado-masochism”.) But that may be because you are the victim of outmoded prejudices—about gun ownership, that is, not about BDSM. The Pink Pistols, an organisation of homosexual gun enthusiasts, boasts some 2,000 members, with chapters across the country. The group introduces new shooters to the sport and endorses candidates who support both the Second Amendment and “the rights of consenting adults to love each...

For much of his life, Otto Nuss has struggled with mental illness. Back in the 1970s, he committed himself to a psychiatric hospital, and he has long taken medication for depression and anxiety. Two months ago, the 63-year-old school bus driver, who friends say had gone off his medication, burst into the national news when he inexplicably took off with his busload of terrified schoolchildren on a seven-hour odyssey from Pennsylvania to a Washington, D.C., suburb. When Nuss was apprehended, there was a loaded semiautomatic rifle on the bus, and authorities later found 48 weapons and thousands of rounds of...

In a response to the number of women in prison skyrocketing, Girl Scouts of the USA is expanding an innovative program that reconnects incarcerated women and their daughters. WOMENSENEWS--Two years ago, Marisa C. was in a painful downward slide: She was incarcerated on drug-possession charges in a minimum-security federal prison in Texas, her older teen-age daughter was pregnant and her 9-year-old younger daughter was barely speaking to her. Today Marisa, 35, has a steady administrative job, an apartment in Austin, Texas, an increasingly positive relationship with her children and marriage plans with her children's father. She credits her turnaround to...

<p>They make millions of dollars and live a lifestyle few can imagine, but some athletes just can't resist the risky lure -- and allure -- of guns.</p> <p>In this day and age of boast and bravado, many athletes like to roll up their sleeves and flex their "guns."</p>

COLUMBUS | State lawmakers have a new version of a controversial bill that would allow Ohioans to carry guns hidden in their purses, cars, pockets and backpacks. "It's a good bill. I think it is palatable to the citizens of Ohio," said state Rep. Jim Aslanides, R-Coshocton, the bill's chief sponsor. Aslanides said he hopes the legislation moves out of the House Civil and Commercial Law committee and onto the House floor for a vote soon. But Toby Hoover, director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, criticized the new version and said she hopes it never makes it out ...

Guns, religion, abortion, and the role of government are issues that split the nation in the 2000 election and will continue to do so in the 2002 and 2004 elections, USA Today reported Feb. 18. An eight-month examination by USA Today looked at the national "values gap" through the towns of Franklin, Tenn., and Montclair, N.J. Exit polls from the last presidential election found voters in Franklin and Montclair who go to church often and own guns tended to vote Republican, while those who don't usually chose Democrats. USA Today/Gallup polls of Franklin and Montclair in June and November ...

A new law in Texas allows police to collect and analyze DNA samples from an accused sex offender immediately after indictment, allowing police to quickly identify repeat sex offenders and to drop the investigation against suspects likely to be innocent. AUSTIN, Texas (WOMENSENEWS)--Rosemary Coffman thinks she forgot to lock the window before she went to sleep that night, the second one she spent in her new home. She awoke before dawn to a rapist holding a knife to her throat. The shock and pain of the assault were followed by frustration. "All the police had was DNA," Coffman says, referring ...

Action Alert Physicians for Social Responsibility 1738 Wynkoop Street Denver, CO 80202 www.psr.org Action Alert: Contact Your Elected Officials and Newspapers and Urge Them to Oppose the Shall-Issue Concealed Weapons Bill, SB 60 Colorado - SB 60 would compel law enforcement throughout the state to issue permits to carry concealed weapons to virtually everyone who wants one. Permits would be issued regardless of whether the individual demonstrated a need, regardless of the safety requirements of the local jurisdiction, and regardless of the views of local residents. In his State of the State message earlier this year, Governor Owens called for ...

People from all over Virginia will assemble in Richmond on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 21, 2002, to share their concern and sadness over the lives lost and forever changed by incidents of gun violence in Virginia. The participants' hope and goal is to personally express and graphically demonstrate to Virginia's lawmakers that every life touched by gun violence matters, and that Virginians support sensible legislation to curb the instances of gun violence in the Commonwealth. Viginians (sic)Against Handgun Violence would like to encourage you to attend this event to show your support! Here's the day's agenda: 8:30 ...

An appeals court in Alaska ruled that a judge erred by taking a concealed-carry permit away from a person with mental illness, the Associated Press reported Jan. 6. Timothy Wagner was arrested after he failed to immediately inform police that he had a concealed weapon, a requirement of the state law. The police were responding to a call from the Alaska Mining and Diving store in Anchorage, where Wagner told clerks that somebody was trying to kill him by injecting deadly chemicals into his body. He also believed there was a computer chip implanted in his head. Judge Natalie Fin ...

The women and men profiled as Heroes of the Month are true leaders of the gun violence prevention movement. Their stories, told in their own words, can inspire, motivate and encourage others to become involved. As we enter this new year and look ahead to the future with new hope and enthusiasm, we pause to honor a woman who has inspired and made invaluable contributions to the gun violence prevention movement. For the first Hero of the Month of 2002, we honor Sarah Brady, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. For nearly 20 years, Sarah Brady and ...

JERUSALEM (December 27) - An Interior Ministry commission established to reexamine policy for issuing personal firearms permits intends to liberalize the criteria, ministry spokeswoman Tova Elian said yesterday. However, Elian said, once recommendations are submitted, they have to be approved by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, and face possible review by the High Court of Justice. Elian was reacting to media reports that the commission's report, to be submitted by Deputy Interior Minister David Azulai, will recommend settlers retain their permits for arms even if they are under investigation for attacks on soldiers, policemen, and Palestinians. In addition, the reports said, ...

To assist Afghanistan in building a social infrastructure, Japan will implement a money-for-weapons aid project, Kyodo reported Jan. 3. Government sources said Japan's projects would set goals for exchanging arms. Firearms exchanged by soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan will generate credits toward building schools, bridges and hospitals. The program also would provide education and employment to former soldiers. For instance, surrendering 200 small arms in a single community would lead to one school being established. The project, which focuses on communities rather than individuals, is aimed at promoting disarmament, demobilization, and a reintegration process in Afghanistan, a key ingredient for ...

<p>Gun enthusiasts hope to persuade state lawmakers to further relax handgun restrictions during the upcoming legislative session, but will face strong opposition from restaurant owners, educators and organizations seeking tighter gun controls.</p> <p>Backers of the proposal want the mushrooming number of Tennesseans with gun permits to be able to carry a handgun into a restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages and to be able to leave their weapon locked in their car on school grounds as long as they are there for any ''legitimate purpose.''</p>

Last night, EnnisExile posted here that: My beloved 10-yr old Chow-Keeshund cross - Brunna - dropped dead in my back yard just after midnight this morning. I'd just let him out, as requested, of course, and went to bring him 10 minutes later. I couldn't believe my eyes. I found him lying by the back fence and immediately called the police. However, they (and later the Vet Hospital) found no signs of injury or other exterior trauma. The (un-autopsied) conclusion is 'natural causes,' probably massive heart attack. I have not slept and I'm running on adrenaline. Knowing that when that ...

Khaled Al Maeena spends hours every day creating "calm mail out of hate mail," he says. Since Sept. 11, the editor of Saudi Arabia's leading English-language daily has been answering e-mails from Americans venting their anger about the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. In his replies, Mr. Al Maeena stresses Saudi respect for the US, ties between the two nations, and the fact that "we don't hate you." Al Maeena gets largely gracious answers, but admits that he's deeply frustrated by the way Americans see Saudi Arabia these days. Three months after the attacks, Saudis of all ...

Everyone favors gun safety. Only recently, however, has "gun safety" started appearing broadly as a self-descriptive term used by national and state groups traditionally known as "gun control" or "gun-violence prevention" organizations. For many years, "gun safety" remained the virtual property of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other pro-gun organizations who appropriated the term to show that they wanted gun owners to be safe -- and free of governmental regulation. For years, critics have charged that such efforts as the NRA's Eddie Eagle safety program also served to indoctrinate impressionable youngsters into the culture of gun ownership, thus molding ...