Free Republic

First came the guns — the Mausers from Germany, the Carcanos from Italy — and then came the moral pretexts. These days, the American right is forever touting firearms as matters of principle or heralding them as hallmarks of a certain sort of rugged identity. But guns, before fetishists succeeded in converting them into symbols, were simply commodities, as unglamorous as washing machines. In his crisply written and incisive new book, “,” historian Andrew C. McKevitt chronicles the transformation of guns from tangible weapons to ideological ammunition. Sharp, fascinating, devastating, exhaustively researched and often wryly funny, this indispensable book —...

Editor's Note: Timothy Stanley is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of the new book "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.(CNN)—Mike Huckabee is thinking about running for the presidency a second time. He's super serious about it. You can tell because not only has he quit his TV show to spend time thinking about it, and written a book ("God, Guns, Grits and Gravy," due out on January 20), but he's also booked a tour of...

Douglas, U.S., January 23, 2003 (EFE)- The U.S. Border Patrol is reporting an increase in the number of detained undocumented immigrants carrying weapons, which could be a response to gun-toting vigilante groups operating on the north side of the frontier. In fewer than four months, Border Patrol agents in the Tucson district have reported 12 arrests of undocumented immigrants carrying knives or handguns - twice the number reported over the past two years. Agents last week reported being fired upon while on patrol in the desert as well as the confiscation of three pistols from migrants, Border Patrol spokesman Frank...