Free Republic

REDDING — One morning four years ago, a recent graduate student who lived in San Diego and had an unusual knack for shooting a bow awoke to a flood of hate messages on her Facebook page. Jen Benedet had launched a program to teach kids how to hunt, and animal rights activists weren’t happy. They accused her of turning children into murderers. On top of trolling her internet accounts, as well as stalking her at home, they started an online petition to “stop Jen the Archer,” thrusting her to the center of an international debate over hunting. “All these things...

SANTA FE – A bill that would expand New Mexico background check requirements to cover nearly all gun sales inched toward Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk Saturday, despite opposition from the National Rifle Association and most county sheriffs statewide. Two other measures dealing with access to firearms also advanced; New Mexico has one of the nation’s highest gun ownership rates. A spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham, a Democrat said the governor supports all three bills and is hopeful the background check legislation will arrive at her desk soon so she can sign it into law. “The governor is entirely confident that...

Despite having one of the highest percentages of registered Democrats for counties in New Mexico, Rio Arriba [County] has joined more than 20 counties and municipalities throughout the state in recent weeks in passing resolutions opposing proposed gun legislation and declaring themselves a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.” This year a bill to require background checks on nearly all gun sales, even those done privately, has passed the New Mexico Senate and is moving forward in the House, where a similar bill has already passed. It was sponsored by Sen. Richard Martinez, a Democrat who represents Rio Arriba County. Lawmakers have also...

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico claims that background checks are Constitutional. In the Heller decision, Justice Scalia wrote that regulation of commercial sales was deemed Constitutional. The regulation of private sales has not been reviewed by the Supreme Court, to my knowledge. The Supreme Court has ruled the federal government cannot force the states to conduct background checks, at least, not without paying for them. It seems unlikely a state could require the federal government to conduct background checks for that were not required under federal law. Governor Grisham seems to have a problem with numbers: New...

President Trump, in an expletive-laden speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday, accused FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team of trying to take him out with “bulls---” and accused a top Clinton aide of not having recovered “from getting his a-- kicked.” Trump accused his opponents of moving away from a narrative of Russian collusion as Mueller prepares to file his report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He said that the report was being produced “by people who weren’t elected.” “Unfortunately you put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people...

The president’s El Paso rally should have been a tricky affair, with the wall, the shutdown, a counter-rally by local Democrat star Beto O’Rourke. But it was a night of wild surprises At the end of Trump rallies, order breaks down and people are tired. To those seeking to shock, injure, annoy or make a point, it’s go time. In El Paso, on the US’s southern border, at Trump’s first campaign-style rally of 2019, two people unfurled the flag of the Soviet Union. This happened inside the El Paso County Coliseum. I was outside in the parking lot, with about...

The Democratic Party seems to be getting more and more divided by the day. House Democrats were celebrating the passage of a new gun control bill, however Republicans attached an amendment to the bill and gained 26 Democrat votes in the House which gave them a 220-206 win on the bill. The House voted Wednesday on H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. The bill would expand background checks to include all gun sales, rather than just sales by licensed gun dealers as under current law. Republicans in the minority countered with an amendment to require that federal...

Dear San Franciscan, This week, the House of Representatives voted on two long-overdue bills to end the daily horror of gun violence in America. Earlier this week, we proudly passed H.R. 8, which expands background checks to all gun sales to make them universal, and H.R. 1112, which addresses the Charleston Loophole that previously allowed gun dealers to sell a firearm to dangerous individuals if the FBI background check had not been completed within three business days. These bipartisan, commonsense bills respect the will of the American people – 97 percent of whom support universal background checks, including 97 percent...

Full headline: Why gun control will FAIL: People will simply refuse to obey unconstitutional firearms laws because Democrats have set the precedentFor years Democrat-run states have gotten away with implementing so-called “sanctuary city” policies that contravene federal immigration laws either because Uncle Sam refused to enforce them or, in the age of POTUS Donald Trump, because too many federal judges are better judicial activists than interpreters of the Constitution. The same is true for marijuana laws. Democrat-run states decided a few years ago they would flout federal drug laws prohibiting the recreational use of marijuana by passing state ballot initiatives...

Earlier this week, House Republicans scored a second surprise victory on a 'motion to recommit,' one of the lower chamber minority's few procedural tactics. During a legislative battle over gun control legislation, more than two dozen Democrats backed a GOP proposal to require that ICE be notified whenever an illegal immigrant is flagged attempting to purchase a firearm. Republicans succeeded in another MTR gambit several weeks ago, adding language condemning anti-semitism to a foreign policy vote, a move clearly designed to isolate and shame Rep. Ilhan Omar . Following these losses, Democratic leadership is reeling, leading to a fiery...

The spectacle in North Carolina's 9th District makes 2018 feel like the election that will never end. And, the looming presidential primaries are rapidly overshadowing congressional politics. But the 2020 fight for the House is already underway, with both the DCCC and NRCC working behind the scenes to identify the most ideal recruits and releasing ambitious lists of targeted districts to declare they are "on offense." Republicans will need to gain 18 seats to win back the majority (or 19 depending on the outcome of a new election in NC-09), and have no shortage of good-looking targets, at least on...

To those who backed any candidate besides Trump, why are those candidates not fighting as hard as Trump for the policies conservatives support? They have microphones, cable news access, and twitter. They do not fight. Would you still support them?

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis says he and his deputies “will not comply” if Maryland lawmakers follow through with a long gun licensing and confiscation law. Lewis told Delmarva Now that he believes lawmakers are punishing residents throughout the state for the out-of-control crime in Baltimore. He said, “Law-abiding citizens are repeatedly being penalized because of Baltimore City’s inability to control their crime. And I’m sorry — I’m not someone’s puppet. I’m going to stand up for what I think is unjust and unconstitutional to the American people, including those living in the state in Maryland.” He added, “We’re gonna...

House Republicans are driving Democrats crazy, and driving a major wedge through the majority party. GOPers are using a garden-variety procedural tool to goad Democrats into taking challenging votes on the floor – and risking the defeat or alteration of legislation which is on the verge of passing. The parliamentary gambit is called the "Motion to Recommit," or MTR as it’s known in congressional shorthand. MTR's must be "germane" and tied directly to the legislation at hand. In short, an MTR can't deal with cats if the bill deals with dogs.

After more than two dozen moderate Democrats broke from their party's progressive wing and sided with Republicans on a legislative amendment Wednesday, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly sounded the alarm in a closed-door meeting Thursday and said those Democrats were "putting themselves on a list." The legislation that prompted the infighting was a bill that would expand federal background checks for gun purchases, the Washington Post reported. But a key provision requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be notified if illegal immigrants attempt to purchase guns saw 26 moderate Democrats side with Republicans. According to the...

A rapper’s lunch at a Cracker Barrel in sleepy Fairburn on Thursday ended with a broken SUV window and nearly half-a-million-dollars worth of belongings stolen, police say. Fairburn police’s Deputy Chief Anthony Bazydlo confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Young Dolph, a 33-year-old Memphis rapper, had two chains valued at $84,000 and a $230,000 watch along with a gun stolen out of a vehicle.

Jesse Watters said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's reported warning to her moderate colleagues could signal a looming "catastrophe" for the Democratic Party.After more than two dozen moderate Democrats broke from their party's progressive wing and sided with Republicans on a legislative amendment Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reportedly sounded the alarm in a closed-door meeting Thursday and said those Democrats were ("putting themselves on a list.") Ocasio-Cortez reportedly said she would help progressive activists unseat those moderates in their districts in the 2020 elections.

Recently sworn in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly compiling “a list” of moderate Democrats that break party lines and vote with their Republican colleagues; lashing out at centrist legislators during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.“After more than two dozen moderate Democrats broke from their party’s progressive wing and sided with Republicans on a legislative amendment Wednesday, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly sounded the alarm in a closed-door meeting Thursday and said those Democrats were ‘putting themselves on a list,’” writes Fox News.Cortez was referring to recent legislation that expanded universal background checks for nearly all gun purchases in the United...

Who’s the Boss? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Upstages Pelosi, Warns Moderate Dems: Vote Left or Be Put on List for Defeat in 2020 Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) threatened moderate House Democrats she will put them on a list to be targeted in 2020 if they do not vote with the Leftist majority in the Democrat caucus, the Washington Post reported. Ocasio-Cortez made the threat during a contentious meeting of House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) after Republicans maneuvered to get a pro-ICE amendment passed with help from moderate Democrats. Pelosi offered to help Democrats with tough votes but Ocasio-Cortez...

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) threatened her moderate colleagues during a Thursday Democratic caucus meeting, telling the lawmakers she plans to provide progressive activists searching for primary targets with a list of Democrats who work across the aisle. Speaker Nancy Pelosi began the meeting by chastising the two dozen moderates who voted on Tuesday in favor of a Republican amendment to a gun control bill that requires gun retailers to report illegal immigrants who attempt to buy a gun. “We are either a team or we’re not, and we have to make that decision,” Pelosi said, two people who were...