Free Republic

State Rep. Kerry Gauthier won't be charged in an incident involving a 17-year-old boy at a freeway rest stop in Duluth last month, the Duluth News Tribune reported Thursday. ...(snip)... Democratic House Minority Leader Paul Thissen said in a statement that Gauthier was hospitalized for "an unknown health issue." ...(snip)... Gauthier was elected in 2010 with 73 percent of the vote. Republican Travis Silvers is challenging him this year, vowing in a campaign video to make "God, family, marriage" a priority.

A Minnesota congressman is calling for important changes to federal firearm laws in the wake of the movie theater massacre in Colorado. Democrat Keith Ellison says the U.S. should not just restrict assault weapons but it should also set limits on some gun clips, ammunition and body armor. “Reasonable gun controls,” Ellison said. “It’s time.” Ellison said Tuesday that you don’t need a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle to go hunting. He’s supporting laws to restrict some of the items the Colorado shooter used in his deadly rampage. .....

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Occupy Minnesota did not occupy anywhere Sunday night. The group’s plans changed after Saturday night’s arrests and near-chaos. On Sunday, a group of occupiers returned to the site where 12 of their own were arrested. They have no plans to occupy Peavey Plaza now. “We need to find a place where we can express ourselves and not have to fear police violence,” said occupier Osha Karow..... snip...... Occupiers say police used excessive force; police say they were doing their job in keeping the streets free of obstruction.....

A citizen who pursued an armed robber and fatally shot him last week in south Minneapolis acted in self-defense and will not face criminal charges, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday. ....snip.... On Oct. 20, the man saw Evanovich pistol-whip a woman and take her purse. The witness, who had a permit to carry a handgun, drove up to Evanovich and asked for the purse back. Evanovich pointed his gun at the man and told him to mind his own business, and the man, still sitting in his car, aimed his own weapon and fired, according to a criminal...

WASHINGTON - The White House is planning a concert this month to honor Stevie Wonder, whose music provided part of President Barack Obama's campaign soundtrack.

Deluged by the kindness of strangers Tuesday, the victims of a fierce fire that destroyed a Burnsville apartment complex Monday will experience an equally blessed Christmas Eve today. A check for more than $17,500 will be given to each displaced family -- many of them poor before losing everything in the Burncliff Apartments fire -- thanks to a $1 million anonymous gift announced Tuesday night. They'll also get their December rent and security deposits refunded and split $100,000 more in donations.

Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman granted a temporary injunction to the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken, ruling that the information Franken is seeking is "public data" under the state Data Practices Act and that it should be turned over to the campaign by the end of the day.

Jon Sokol wasn't trying to be a hero when he confronted a burglary suspect who had brazenly broken through the front door of his home in St. Paul. Sokol, 49, said his adrenaline was flowing as he crept up the stairs, revolver in hand, from the basement bedroom he shares with his wife.

Tyeric Lessley, charged with shooting another man to death after a crash at Washington and Chicago Avenues, feared for his life, relatives say.

DC. .– The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest association of law enforcement executives, today called on Congress and the Administration, as well as state and local governments, to support strong and effective gun violence prevention policies, and to provide law enforcement with the resources necessary to reverse a two-year rise in violent crime. The IACP unveiled a set of nearly 40 recommendations for policymakers, police, and community and philanthropic leaders which are the result of the “Great Lakes Summit on Gun Violence.” The summit, held in Chicago earlier this year, was a groundbreaking collaboration of...

the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, drafted in 1789, reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." But what happens when the very "security of a free State" is directly infringed by "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms?" That, my friends, is known as a contradiction in terms, and in the science of logic, a statement that goes on to deny itself becomes inherently false.