Free Republic

A gun buyback program approved by the Winston-Salem City Council last spring holds its first event on Saturday at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, with payments from $100 to $200 for guns turned in. The “no questions asked” drive-thru event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fairgrounds, city officials said, billing the event as 100% anonymous. The city has held buybacks in the past, most recently in 2014, when city officials pronounced the event so successful that they ran out of money, had to issue vouchers, and later decided to set aside another $10,000 to hold a...

Amid heightened concerns about firearms in the wake of last month’s Parkland, Florida, high school shooting massacre, Santa Clara County officials are taking another look at banning gun shows from the county fairgrounds. The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds currently hosts two gun shows a year. But county Supervisor Ken Yeager said gun shows conflict with the county’s mission of “promoting the health and well-being of our residents” and have drawn complaints from residents. “More and more often, I am getting approached by people who tell me how disturbed they are when they see billboards or signs advertising gun shows at...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, reacting to a nationally famous make-shift tent city for the homeless spouting up in Sacramento, is ordering that it be shut down and its residents transferred to the state fairgrounds. The tent city, which has long existed along the banks of the America River, gained national attention last month when some of its recently homeless residents were featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. But it is only one of dozens, perhaps hundreds, which are now being erected around the country, according to The New York Times. Shanty towns and tent cities are not only popping up...

SAN MARCOS – After being banned by the Cal State San Marcos president, Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore will speak to students in North County after all. The announcement came yesterday during a rare student protest at the 15-year-old university that drew more than 250 students and faculty who accused the university administration of censorship. "This is the most people I've ever seen in one place in my entire time at this school. It's a beautiful thing," said senior Chris Irving, who said he cut his favorite class, human sexuality, to protest. Junior Jason E. Williams, who attended with fellow track...

A rodeo at the Kane County fairgrounds exploded into a brutal battle royal Saturday night, sending several people to the hospital. About 30 people bashed each other with fists, feet, belts and metal pipes, evoking screams from the nearly 2,000 people in attendance, St. Charles police said. The preliminary investigation points to a rodeo participant sparking the violence. Witnesses said the unnamed participant decided to ride his horse through an area where people were dancing. In the congestion, the horse stepped on a woman's leg, breaking her ankle. People near her responded by striking the man and pulling him off...