Free Republic

Few may know that the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range even exists. It is inconspicuously located in the basement level of a nondescript building in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, and is popular among gun enthusiasts and Second Amendment supporters. And for one afternoon recently, it was the location of an instructional rifle shoot for women sponsored by grants from the National Rifle Association and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. Its aim was to make available to all women, indiscriminately, an opportunity to properly learn and understand how to use a firearm in a "safe, controlled and...

Friend of the Court Brief filed in United States Supreme Court Contact: Maria Heil of Second Amendment Sisters, 877-797-4857 (press only) or email: press@2asisters.org AUSTIN, TX-August 8, 2003-A friend of the Court brief has been filed by the nation’s leading pro-self-defense women’s organization, Second Amendment Sisters, Inc.(SAS) In July, a Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed in the United States Supreme Court in the case of Silveira, et al. vs. Lockyer, et al. This week, Second Amendment Sisters filed an Amicus Curiae (or Friend of the Court) brief supporting the Petitioners and citing reasons for the Supreme Court to...

Local SAS Chapter Teaching Women To Shoot; Low-Cost Program Introduces Women to Firearms 8/1/03 4:35:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: City Desk, Assignment Desk Contact: Maria Heil, 877-797-4857 or press@2asisters.org, Emily Berg, 877-724-1787 or ca_coord@2asisters.org both of the Second Amendment Sisters News Advisory: Second Amendment Sisters (SAS) is sponsoring a "Ladies' Handgun Seminar and Practice Session" Saturday, August 9, 2003 from 9 am to 3 pm. The event will be held again at the James Mangan Range, 2140 34th Avenue in Sacramento, California. The event is free for SAS members but will cost $10.00 for non-members and includes lunch. Range Safety...

Thousands of Australians lined George Street in Sydney today to cheer home troops who served in Iraq and in Afghanistan. About 1,500 servicemen and women marched from the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, up George Street to the Sydney Town Hall, where they were welcomed by Prime Minister John Howard. At some points the crowd was standing three deep to catch a glimpse of the troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Potts Point resident Peter Cullen, 58, and his four-year-old grandson were among the first waiting behind barriers on George Street just before 11am (AEST) today. "We are...

Sydney Welcomes Home Troops From Iraq .c The Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Troops returning from Iraq paraded through Sydney Wednesday, welcomed home by thousands of cheering and whistling Australians standing four and five deep. ``We are here because we are proud Aussies and we are pleased with what they did overseas,'' said Peter Cullen, 58, who brought his 4-year-old grandson. The crowds whistled as two Hercules aircraft flew over the parade. One television report estimated the crowd in the hundreds of thousands. Australia was among the countries that sent troops for the U.S.-led coalition. Prime Minister John Howard...

"Amnesty International? Try Travesty International Instead" Posted by Doc Farmer Saturday, May 31, 2003 Here's a newsflash. Amnesty International, that lib/dem/soc/commie group of pantywaists who complain about torture but do nothing to stop it, have declared that the U.S. has made the world more dangerous because of our war against terrorism. Their grasp of logic even weaker than the Venus de Milo's grasp of a basketball, ain't it? Amnesty International's latest drift into the realm of fantasy is entombed in their latest release, (http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/index-eng) which states that, shock of shocks, it's All America's Fault. Our war against terrorism, our war...

An SAS soldier who almost single-handedly fought off 20 Iraqi special forces troops in a fierce battle to capture a missile site was yesterday awarded the medal of gallantry by the Prime Minister, John Howard. Presented at a ceremony in Perth to coincide with the arrival of Australia's special forces contingent to Iraq, it was the first citation for the 2000 Australian personnel involved in the war against Iraq. Trooper X - a machine-gunner from the 1st SAS regiment, whose identity cannot be revealed - used the brute force of the latest weaponry and precision sniper fire to protect his...

LANCASTER - Even Annie Oakley, the famous gun-slinging cowgirl, had to start at the beginning. Although the 30 Antelope Valley women who attended the Ladies' Handgun and Shooting Seminar on Saturday did not aspire to be the next Oakley, many of them shot a gun for the first time down in the basement of The Gun Shop on Sierra Highway north of Avenue J. The seminar was designed to offer a gun safety and a how-to-shoot class for experienced shooters and beginners, and organizers hoped to make women like Aida Wells of Lancaster more confident with a firearm. Wells said...

Only In America! Second Amendment Sisters, California Chapter, along with CA Assemblywoman Sharon Runner and Senator Pete Knight, sponsored a Ladies' Handgun Seminar in Lancaster Saturday, May 10th. There was a great turnout -- SRO for the firearms safety lesson. We all had a chance at the indoor range, got tips and techniques, took advantage of an extended Q&A, had a great lunch, and generally had a blast. Pun intended. Pictures to be posted later. Let's do it again soon!

CANBERRA, Australia, May 09, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Elite Australian special forces charged with knocking out Scud missile bases entered deep into Iraq two days before the opening salvo of the war, defense officials said Friday. Releasing details on the role of Australia's 150 Special Air Services troops in Iraq for the first time, defense officials said a large contingent of Australian special forces went into Iraq the night of March 18. The commandos were mainly charged with reconnaissance and "shoot and scoot" missions tracking key military targets and destroying them, either with their own weapons or...

Thom Powers deserves a lot of credit for bringing a reasonably balanced documentary about the gun debate to PBS. It is unfortunate that Powers, who wrote, directed, and produced "Guns & Mothers" for Independent Lens, probably won't see the attention Michael Moore got for his alleged documentary, precisely because Powers offers a nuanced and generally fair picture of both sides, whereas Moore peddled a shrill pack of lies to foment bigotry against civil arms advocates. We can only hope more responsible work such as Powers' is ultimately more influential. Powers follows two mothers on opposing sides of the gun debate...

'John Walsh Show:' Victim Couldn't Say Attacker Was a Cop By Jeff Johnson CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief May 05, 2003 Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - A guest on a recent episode of the "John Walsh Show" said Friday that producers would not let her identify the man who sexually assaulted her as an off-duty police officer for fear of damaging Walsh's relationship with the law enforcement community. The program was promoted as featuring women who own firearms for personal protection but was instead, the women said, a thinly veiled attack on gun ownership. In an exclusive interview with CNSNews.com, Tiffany Hyatt...

On Thursday night I will be on this one hour show, out of Harrisburg, PA. PCN is like C-Span for Pennsylvania. This show was the first show I was ever on, and my opponent failed to show! Here is what they sent me... "The Call-In Program format involves a short introductory discussion with the program host, and then the host will take viewer questions and comments for the majority of the remainder of the show. The program will focus on Gun Control. On average, we take approximately 20 calls per program. Bryan Miller, Executive Director of Cease Fire PA, will...

Pro-Gun Women Allege Set-up by 'John Walsh Show' By Jeff Johnson CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief April 30, 2003 Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Two women who are victims of prior criminal assaults and a representative of a pro-gun women's organization claim they were set up by the John Walsh Show on Tuesday's episode, which was supposed to focus on women arming themselves for self-defense but instead became a debate on gun ownership. A representative of the program denied that claim. "I was told that it was not going to be a debate, that it was going to be four women who...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Two women who are victims of prior criminal assaults and a representative of a pro-gun women's organization claim they were set up by the John Walsh Show on Tuesday's episode, which was supposed to focus on women arming themselves for self-defense but instead became a debate on gun ownership. A representative of the program denied that claim. "I was told that it was not going to be a debate, that it was going to be four women who owned guns, and I was told that one would be an 'ex-gangbanger' who doesn't exactly agree with us,...

John Walsh Show-Women and Guns Sorry for the short notice, but... I just got the call from the show, (after having been told it would be sometime next month-May) that it would air tomorrow! This was a little ambush, folks! I'll post in the body of the thread about the possible convicted felon that was on the show as being a gun-owner, then threw water under her eyes and said she doesn't own a gun! This is one you WILL want to tape! Check local listings! They were going to have to cut 10 minutes out of the show, since...

An Australian flag now flies over al-Asad air base. Once home of the Iraqi air force, its capture last week effectively marks the end of what were probably the most intense operations in the history of this SAS regiment. And also, the Australians say, a new beginning for Iraq. The 57 Soviet-made MiGs, helicopters, anti-aircraft batteries, helicopters and 7.9 million kilograms of munitions and ordnance captured will form the basis of the "free Iraq air force" and it is a matter of considerable pride for men who never doubted the value of their mission. According to the regiment's operational commander,...

SAS troops and British army intelligence officers patrolling the streets of Baghdad are leading the effort to track down wanted members of Saddam’s regime and their secret arms stashes. In recent days, SAS soldiers have been spotted in the Iraqi capital, travelling around the city in their specially adapted Land Rovers or in joint foot patrols with US forces. Army intelligence officers, some of whom are fluent Arabic speakers, also take part in the patrols, gleaning as much information as possible from the Arab street. Behind the scenes, they are at the forefront of efforts to locate top leaders of...

<p>April 23, 2003 -- BAGHDAD - They're tough, seasoned and lethal when they need to be - and they're working secretly in Baghdad, masking their identity by wearing U.S. Army uniforms and traveling in U.S. military vehicles.</p> <p>Fortunately, they're on our side. They're members of Britain's elite, highly secretive SAS, the special operations group that inspired the Army's counter-terrorist Delta Force.</p>

Troops seize 'heroin' ship April 21, 2003 SAS troops stormed a suspected drug-running freighter off Newcastle yesterday as a four-day ocean chase ended in high drama. The MV Pong Su is now berthed at Garden Island in Sydney, where further investigations will be carried out. The elite soldiers boarded the Korean ship Pong Su from a helicopter after navy frigate HMAS Stuart forced it to stop. More troops in inflatables boarded the 4000-tonne vessel, securing the bridge without resistance and arresting 30 crew allegedly involved in an $80million heroin ring. The operation was conducted in 9m seas and 35knot winds...