Free Republic

A newspaper in Oregon is running this poll...

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the majority of mass public shootings take place in gun-free zones like schools. To this end, he has proposed legislation repealing the Gun-Free School Zone Act on 1990, which makes it illegal for someone to bring a gun on school grounds. Massie said the solution to school shootings is putting more than one armed guard at school or allowing teachers to be armed, adding that “98 percent of mass public shootings happen in a gun free zone.” “And we’ve labeled all of our schools as gun...

When Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel Was Accused of Corruption, He Responded: 'Lions Don't Care About the Opinions of Sheep' Israel reportedly hired his political supporters to do outreach for the police. Robby Soave|Feb. 23, 2018 2:16 pm Scott IsraelMichael Laughlin/ZUMA Press/NewscomBroward County Sheriff Scott Israel—the man whose agency failed to prevent the Parkland massacre despite having received a tip last November that Nikolas Cruz was plotting a mass shooting—has been accused of public corruption. Two years ago, the Sun Sentinel reported that Israel was rewarding top political supporters by giving them and their family members cushy jobs doing public...

Lily Eskelsen García: “Thoughts and prayers are not enough.” WASHINGTON - November 15, 2017 - NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement in reaction to yesterday’s shooting in Northern California, which targeted students and educators at Rancho Tehama Elementary School:“We pray for the victims of this latest tragedy in Tehama County, California, and the schoolchildren and adults shot by another out-of-control man who could spray bullets through a classroom and down the street with a rapid-fire weapon. We’re grateful to the educators who heroically protected their students in this rural school, the heroes in a Texas church, and...

Gunmen in masks opened fire during a rave in east London, despite the laws prohibiting citizens from possessing handguns. The incident happened on Oct. 28 at the “Money Move” rave in the district of Leyton in northeast London. The U.K. Sun reported that the venue was described as an African church, which was often hired for raves. At least three men wearing clown, ghost and ghoul masks entered the establishment with automatic weapons and began firing, according to The Sun. A 41-year-old man was shot in the leg and a woman believed to be in her 20s was shot in...

Dr. John Lott gave a talk on the Crime Prevention Research Center’s on Mass Public Shootings and Gun-free zones. Unfortunately, the first few minutes of the beginning of the talk is missing. The first reference is to a quote from former President Obama that if guns stop mass public shootings, the US shouldn’t have any mass shootings. Beyond Lott’s response to that point in the video, a list of mass public shootings that were stopped by concealed handgun permit holders. The slides in the talk are based on information in his book “The War on Guns.” . . .

A bill being considered in the Ohio legislature would reform the penalties for someone carrying a concealed handgun in current "gun free" zones. Current penalties are extreme. A person who inadvertently enters such a zone in Ohio is subject to a felony charge, a maximum of 12 months in prison, and a $2,500 fine. A felony conviction removes the right to vote, or to own a fire arm under the Second Amendment.  People who have concealed carry permits are, statistically, some of the most law abiding people in the country. They are far more law abiding than the population...

Between the shootings in Washington DC and the shooting at the UPS warehouse in San Francisco, the no gun allow cities are faring too well today. So how is that working for you Dems? Meanwhile back in Chicago......

On 18 May, 2017, the Tennessee Legislature sent bill HB0508 to Governor Haslam for action. The bill was very popular in the legislature. It passed the House 71-14, and the Senate 26 to 6. The essence of the bill is that it requires local and state government entities to use more than mere signs to ban firearms from their premises. The common sense approach is that signs merely stop law abiding people from carrying, while doing little to prevent people armed with ill intent from entering such facilities. The mechanism to enforce the bill is that of private lawsuits....

On Thursday, May 4th, Georgia became the 12th state that mandates that public universities allow people to carry guns on campus. Following Arkansas, Georgia is also the second state to pass campus carry this year. The other eleven states are: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan (can carry openly with a permit), Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee (faculty and staff), Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Unlike Arkansas, the Georgia doesn't mandate additional requirements to carry on campus than in other places: "Georgia requires people to be at least 21 — or at least 18 with proof of basic training or active service in the...

Gov. Wolf wants to protect schools from mass public shootings by hiring “trained security professionals like school resource or police officers.” But a bill passed last week by the Senate Education Committee would allow school boards to let staff carry on school property as long as they have a concealed handgun permit and have gone through police-related firearms training. Wolf has already promised to veto the bill. The governor should reconsider. Letting teachers and staff carry concealed handguns is nothing new in the United States, and there has been good reason for allowing it. Police virtually always arrive after an...

Fox News Nation 'Gun Free' Zone Tennessee Business Liable For Disarming Concealed Carry Holders refers you to the story below. Tennessee law now dictates that businesses wishing to create a "gun-free zone" will be held liable for the safety of concealed carry permit holders.The new law, SB 1736, dictates that should any concealed carry permit holder's safety be threatened after disarming themselves to enter their place of business, then the business will be held liable. The business will also be held liable if the permit holder incurs injury while "retreating from the business to a vehicle–during an emergency–to retrieve...

Would you post a sign in front of your home announcing that you live in a gun-free zone? Would this make you feel safer? To criminals, gun-free zones just look like easy targets. But in a recent column for the News Sentinel, Mark Harmon argues that killers pay no attention to gun-free zones. He incorrectly claims that this is the “consensus view” of academic research.

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)-On Monday, 19 December, 2016, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed SB 199, a gun law reform bill.  SB 199 does away with gun free zones at airports outside the secure area, school “zones” away from actual school property, and some public buildings. It allows schools of higher education more leeway in setting their own policies. From toledoblade.com: Senate Bill 199 would lift the state’s current ban on carrying concealed firearms in day-care centers, airport terminals, school safety zones, and certain government buildings and would give public colleges and universities the authority to allow weapons on campus. SB 199...

Ohio State University is still reeling from the attack last week. A terrorist followed the Islamic State playbook as he drove his car into a crowd of students and slashed others with a knife — 12 people were injured. Fortunately, a campus police officer was able to shoot the attacker in a record time of less than two minutes. University President Michael Drake took this as evidence that only campus police should be armed on campus. Police are very important, but they virtually always arrive after the attack has occurred and they have an extremely difficult job stopping terrorists —...

President elect Trump has promised to do away with Gun Free Zones. Because of multitudinous, overlapping, Federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances and regulations, President Trump will not be able to eliminate all Gun Free Zones immediately. He can, unilaterally, do away with enormous swaths of them from the oval office, with a pen and a phone. The key is to understand how these zones have been constructed.  The Federal zones consist of three large pieces and a multitude of smaller chunks. The three large pieces can be eliminated by executive order and findings from the executive branch. The...

The U.S. military makes contingency plans for a great many possibilities.  It appears that the DoD has a contingency plan in place for a Trump presidency.  Donald Trump has said he will eliminate gun free zones in the military and at recruitment centers on day one of his presidency. On November 18th, the Department of Defense released DoD Directive 5201.56.  Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert O. Work, issued the directive on Arming and the Use of Force, that superficially does away with "Gun Free Zones". It allows commanders at the O-5 level and above to grant people the authority...

In response to repeated calls by the soon-to-be 45th president to allow guns in schools, a gun control group formed by famed Star Trek actor George Takei is vowing to stop him. In January, during a campaign stop in Vermont, Trump, then still in a crowded field of presidential candidates, promised, “I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and — you have to — and on military bases,” he said. “My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. There’s no more gun-free zones.” After he was the last man standing for the GOP and was...

“America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms,” one spokesman for Al Qaeda said in a 2011 recruitment video. “So what are you waiting for?” Few places on earth make it easier than the United States for a terrorist to buy assault weapons to mow down scores of people in a matter of minutes. The horrific massacre in Orlando last weekend is only the latest example. And all this is made vastly easier by a gun lobby that has blocked sensible safety measures at every turn, and by members of Congress who seem to pledge greater allegiance to the firearms...

“Pray for Orlando" we read on Facebook and Twitter. Prayer is vitally important, but is there more we can do? As United Methodist Christians, we mourn with the victims and families of those wounded and killed in the shootings on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. We may even pray and wonder if anything could have been done to avert this heinous act. But should we do more? Is there anything that can be done to keep something similar from happening in the future? While we may not agree on a solution, many of us agree there is a problem....