Free Republic

Like thousands of others who had waited hours in line for a seat at the National Rifle Assn.'s annual Leadership Forum on Friday, she was craning her neck toward the stage as the syrupy lyrics of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." blared through speakers. Then he appeared and told them exactly what they wanted to hear. “With me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will lay a finger on your firearms,” former President Trump blathered to rapturous applause. "They want to take away your guns while throwing open the jailhouse doors and releasing bloodthirsty criminals into your communities." To...

In the winter of 2008, shortly after the election of Barack Obama, my fiancee and I stopped into a local gun shop in Austin to buy ammunition for target practice, a hobby we enjoyed once or twice a month. Though we hadn't asked, the clerk behind the counter told us that all the AR- and AK-style rifles were back-ordered. We could get on the waitlist, he offered, but the delay might be a couple of months — "if it's still even legal to buy one then." Eight years later, gun rights in America appear not only to have survived the...

Knox County Commission member and car dealer Greg "Lumpy" Lambert says he grew suspicious Saturday when a customer didn't price haggle over a 2005 Ford Focus. The young man didn't ask for a mechanical inspection, either. Lambert says the man pulled a .25-caliber handgun from his pocket, apparently to rob him. Lambert pulled his own .380 caliber and the two were pointing weapons at each other for a tense moment. The commissioner says he told the man to put down his gun and the man said he didn't want any trouble. The suspect fled on foot and police later arrested...