Free Republic

Texas bill SB706 is on the way to Governor Abbott. He is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill simplifies the way the State of Texas recognizes handgun carry permits from other states. SB706 makes a simple statement:“A valid license to carry a handgun issued by any other state is recognized in this state.” The previous subparagraph (b) of § 411.173 was not quite as clear. Old law § 411.173(b):(b) The governor shall negotiate an agreement with any other state that provides for the issuance of a license to carry a handgun under which a license issued by...

On March 4, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis gave his State of the State address to the Florida legislature. In the address, Governor DeSantis vocalized his support for restoring Second Amendment rights. Second Amendment statements start about minute 24 into the speech:The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We have some of the more “weak” laws on the country compared to our other states who consider themselves conservative. I would ask you to protect peoples Second Amendment Rights. Look back in instances where legislation may have been passed in recent years, such...

The wounded driver plans on suing. Newly released bodycam video shows the moment when a Jacksonville police officer shot a Florida man during a routine traffic stop. The cop was charged and reportedly terminated after the accidental shooting. On Dec. 13, 2024, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office police officer S. Lowry conducted a routine traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Jason Arrington. The officer accused Arrington of driving through a red light, and Arrington disagreed. Bodycam video shows Arrington being compliant during the traffic stop and informing Officer Lowry that he was armed with a gun. "So what we're gonna do...

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced the National Constitutional Carry Act (H.R. 9534) which seeks to ensure that the right of Americans to carry firearms in public spaces is protected throughout the country. Rather than pushing for a federal law creating reciprocity between states that require a permit to carry a firearm, Massie’s bill would prohibit states from requiring their citizens to get a permit in the first place. I introduced the National Constitutional Carry Act to prohibit states from requiring a permit to carry a firearm. No one should have to beg the government to exercise a constitutionally protected...

Over the decades, “normal life” in Israel has looked very different than normal life in most every other country in the rest of the world. That’s because Israel has been surrounded by mortal enemies who want nothing less than the nation’s destruction, because Israel’s very existence is constantly being threatened, because Israel must live in a state of constant vigilance. And what happens when the nation lets down its guard and its security systems fail? October 7 happens.

Puerto Rico changed from “may issue” permits to “shall issue” permits on January 1, 2020 On January 1, 2020, Puerto Rico changed from “may issue” permits to carry firearms to “shall issue” permits.Puerto Rico recently underwent a sea change in its firearms law. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had one of the most restrictive firearm laws of any American jurisdiction. In 2016, there were only 225,000 legally owned firearms in the Commonwealth. The legislature noticed the Supreme Court decisions in Heller, MacDonald, and Caetano, and the many cases pending before the courts. They also must have noticed Puerto Rico’s homicide...

A U.S. District Judge ruled Friday that Illinois’ ban prohibiting concealed carry for self-defense on public transportation violates the Second Amendment. The judge, Ian D. Johnston, issued his opinion in Schoenthal v. Raoul. The plaintiffs in the case, Benjamin Schoenthal, Mark Wroblewski, Joseph Vesel, and Douglas Winston, all claimed the ban violated the Second Amendment. Schoenthal, Wrogblewski, Vesel, and Winston’s case was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition. Judge Johnston noted: In Illinois, openly carrying firearms is unlawful. Under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, an individual with a concealed-carry license may generally carry a concealed...

As of August 19, 2024, five amicus briefs in favor of the defendant have been filed in the seminal interstate carry case of Commonwealth v Donnel. Arguments will be heard before the Massachusetts Supreme Court on September 9, 2024.On June 19, 2024, this correspondent noted only one amicus (friend of the court) brief had been filed in favor of the defendant, Dean F. Donnell, Jr. Donnell, a New Hampshire resident, was arrested in Massachusetts for carrying a firearm without a Massachusetts license. The district court’s opinion found the law requiring a license for law-abiding people from other states who could...

The Attorney General of the State of Minnesota has filed a petition in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, asking for an en banc review of the three-judge panel’s opinion, which struck down the Minnesota statute banning the carry of firearms in public by people over the age of 18 and under the age of 21.On July 16, 2024, a unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed District Judge Katherine M. Menendez was correct when she struck down Minnesota’s law banning people over the age of 18 and...

Campus carry for self-defense will become illegal in Colorado when SB24-131 takes effect on July 1, 2024. On April 20, 2015, Breitbart News noted that campus carry had been the law of the land in Colorado since 2003. There had been no mass shootings, and, apart from one incident in which a Colorado University employee accidentally discharged a gun, there were zero crimes by permit holders during those first 12 years. A Google search conducted on June 24, 2024, found the story had not changed — there have still been no mass shootings on a Colorado college/university campus, and no...

On August 8, 2023, Associate Justice John F. Coffee, in the Lowell District Court of Massachusetts, wrote an opinion that found the charge of carrying a firearm without a license is unconstitutional on its face when applied to non-residents. The opinion was based on the Supreme Court decision of Bruen. The case involves a New Hampshire resident, Dean Donnell, who was charged with carrying a firearm without a license in Massachusetts. Donnell could legally carry a firearm in his home state. The court held the right to carry outside the home was at issue, and the conduct in this case...

SNIP A new study published in the American Journal of Men’s Health has debunked the long-held assumption that men dissatisfied with their penis size are more likely to own guns. Contrary to popular belief, the research found that men who are more satisfied with their penis size are actually more likely to own guns. The relationship between penis size dissatisfaction and gun ownership has been a topic of widespread speculation in popular culture for years. Many believe that men who feel insecure about their penis size may compensate by owning guns, which are often seen as symbols of power and...

Democrats in Colorado’s Senate passed legislation barring licensed concealed carry permit holders from being armed for self-defense in five new places on Wednesday. The bill, SB 24-131, uses the moniker “sensitive places” to describe the new areas in which licensed concealed carriers will not be allowed to have guns to defend their lives. KDVR quoted state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D), a SB 24-131 cosponsor, saying, “We aligned the bill with the Supreme Court rulings of Bruen and Heller. So now the five sensitive spaces are legislative assemblies, polling centers, schools, government buildings and courthouses.”

The South Carolina legislature has approved the Constitutional Carry bill, H*3594, as recommended by the Conference Committee. The House approved the Conference report on March 5, 2024, with a vote of 86 to 33. The Senate approved the Conference report on March 6, 2024. The bill is expected to be sent to Governor McMasters in a few days. The bill is close to what was passed by the Senate, according to the Greenville News:Ultimately, the Senate version of the bill emerged mostly intact including the addition of enhanced penalties for repeat weapons offense violators. The committee also settled on places...

Louisiana will likely become the twenty-eighth state to restore Constitutional Carry (permitless carry). South Carolina is in the process of rectifying versions of a (permitless) Constitutional Carry bill in a conference committee. There is a good chance South Carolina will pass a bill acceptable to both the South Carolina House and Senate. Louisiana already passed a Constitutional Carry bill in 2021. The bill passed with veto-proof majorities, but Governor Bel Edwards (D) was able to sustain a veto with a combination of arm-twisting and promises.In 2023, Louisiana voters elected Governor Jeff Landry (R). Governor Landry has promised to sign a...

On February 13, 2024, the South Carolina House rejected changes to the Constitutional Carry bill, which was passed in the South Carolina Senate in January. The House re-passed the bill as it was previously overwhelmingly passed by the House in 2022. The vote for H 3594 was 85 to 26, with 8 house members not voting and four house members on excused absences. The House Majority leader, Davey Hiott explained the action. From X: “While I respect the intentions and efforts of the Senate, the House Republican Caucus remains united in our decision to non-concur with the senate’s changes. We...

After nearly six full days of debate, South Carolina’s Senate approved a Constitutional Carry bill on Thursday by a vote of 28-15, removing the last major hurdle for the state to become the 28th in the nation to recognize the right to bear arms without the need for a government-issued permission slip. The bill, which was already approved by the House last year, still needs to return to the lower chamber for a final concurrence vote since the Senate did amend the legislation before giving it their stamp of approval. The amendment would allow people 18 and older to carry...

Afederal judge has declared that a law banning Americans from possessing guns in postal offices is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida ruled Friday that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2022 made the postal office gun ban illegal. As part of the decision, she dismissed part of an indictment charging postal worker Emmanuel Ayala with illegally possessing a gun in a federal building. She said the criminal charge violated Ayala’s 2nd Amendment rights. [link to judge's opinion included in article]

On December 20, 2023, United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney issued an order granting the plaintiffs motions for Preliminary injunction in the case of Reno v Bonta. The case involves the multitudinous restrictions placed on where people are allowed to bear arms in California. Judge Carney ruled the challenged provisions of the law deprive people who have already been vetted by the state of their right to bear arms and are therefore prevented from taking effect. Following are excerpts from the order with commentary.From the beginning, Judge Carney notes we live in dangerous times, and the right to self-defense...

Canada has some quirky laws about what firearms are easily available and what are not. They are frequently more restrictive than the laws restricting firearms in the United States. However, Canadian gun laws are less restrictive in one area than in the USA. Manually operated shotguns, designed to be fired from the shoulder, are not limited in barrel length. Shotguns that have barrel lengths as short as 9.8 inches are available in Canada for sale as unrestricted firearms. In particular, there is the Tactical Imports SS-211, which has barrels of 9.8 or 12.2 inches in length, with an overall length...