Free Republic

My pastor recently told me that 25 years ago, the first person that people would contact when they faced a marriage crisis was their pastor. Ten years ago, he continued, it was their counselor or psychiatrist. Today, it’s their lawyers. A recent study conducted by the Associated Press and the University of Chicago concurs. “Doctors, teachers, members of the military,” and scientists are, according to the survey, esteemed “more positively than clergy.” Among infrequent churchgoers, clergy are viewed as negatively as lawyers. (For the record, that last line came from a member of our editorial team who’s been admitted to...

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- On 28 August, 2019, relatives of a former gun dealer called the police because they said, they were concerned the 72-Year-old man might be depressed and/or suicidal. I do not know if the man was suicidal or not, but old white men commit the largest percentages of suicides. They tend to use guns to do the deed.  The police raided the house, on the authorization of the relatives. It appears to be a nice home in a nice neighborhood. Bustleton is home to many of Philadelphia's police officers and firefighters.The wellness check turned into a full-blown media circus....

A California state appeals court Friday overturned the lone conviction against an undocumented immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle on the San Francisco waterfront in 2015, a case which drew national attention and became a flashpoint in the debate over illegal immigration. Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, who was in the U.S. illegally had been deported to his native Mexico five times, was acquitted in November 2017 of first and second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Friday, the 1st District Court...

despite what you may have heard, the frequency of mass shootings hasn’t changed much over recent decades. In fact, such shootings are rare and account for a tiny fraction of overall gun deaths in America. About 33,000 people are fatally shot in the U.S. each year. About two-thirds of these deaths are suicides. Another third of these are homicides, which have been steadily declining for decades. In 2015, some 13,286 people were killed in the U.S. by firearms in non-suicide related deaths. In 1993, that figure was 18,253. In most of the years in between, part of a decades-long trend...

A leading gun rights advocate has warned upcoming legislation in Congress could threaten Second Amendment rights. One America’s John Hines has more from Washington. Video here: https://www.oann.com/dr-john-lott-upcoming-legislation-may-threaten-second-amendment/

This is the case of Siwatu-Salama Ra, who was sentenced to two years in prison after using the display of a gun to protect herself, her mother and her daughter. Ra was pregnant at the time of the event on 16 July, 2017. The other party involved, Channell Harvey, contacted the police first, three hours before Ra did. The Detroit police assumed that Channell Harvey, the first person reporting the incident, was the victim. This is a common occurrence in law enforcement, which is why there may be a race to the phones to be the first to report an...

Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong police used water cannon for the first time and at least one officer fired his sidearm during pitched battles with protesters Sunday, one of the most violent nights in three months of pro-democracy rallies that have rocked the city.An afternoon rally in the district of Tsuen Wan spiralled into violent running confrontations between protesters and police, with officers several times caught outnumbered and isolated by masked youths wielding sticks and throwing rocks.In one instance, several police officers drew their sidearms, an AFP reporter at the scene said. “According to my understanding, just now a...

The Truth about guns did an excellent job covering the Gun Owners of America rally in Austin, Texas. Rachel Malone is Gun Owners of America's representative in Texas. I have met Rachel. She is smart, dedicated, talented, and easy on the eyes. She is also extremely effective. The rally is nicely done with Stephen Willeford, the hero who stopped the mass killing at the Sutherland Springs church in November of 2017. Stephen is articulate and knowledgeable. He does an excellent job. It is worth watching him debate a heckler who is passionate, but poorly informed. The debate starts about...

(VIDEO AT LINK) www.westernjournalism.com ‘Occupy Wall Street Names Colorado Massacre Shooter James Holmes as Occupy Black Bloc Member’ Occupy Wall Street’s main website, OccupyWallStreet.org, has named Colorado Massacre Shooter James Holmes as an Occupy Black Bloc Member, which has been confirmed by Occupy Black Bloc researcher and expert private investigator Bill Warner. occupywallst.org (Occupy Wall Street.org took this down about an hour after it was posted, but screenshot proves James Holmes’ connection to Occupy movement) pibillwarner.wordpress.com cheatersflorida.wordpress.com www.occupyunmasked.com

The Office of Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement announcing the creation of the new “Texas Safety Commission”, which comes as a response to the recent terror attack in El Paso. The commission is charged with developing an immediate action plan for the State of Texas, tasked with preventing future mass shootings and domestic terror attacks. Part of the commission’s duty will be to produce legislation corresponding with the commission’s findings for lawmakers to tackle in the next Texas Legislature (particularly, legislation providing solutions to combat domestic terrorism, extremist ideologies, and addressing the link between mental health and gun violence)....

U.S.-based gun makers produced over 8.6 million new firearms last year, with almost a quarter of those being 9mm pistols. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)Initial gun production numbers are in from 2018, showing an increase from the previous year’s figures and the solid popularity of 9mm handguns. According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 8,669,259 new firearms of all sorts were produced last year. This is up from 8,327,792 released into commerce in 2017. The largest single category of firearms produced in 2018 was in pistols chambered larger than .380ACP to 9mm, with 2,281,450 handguns...

Rep. Eric Swalwell of California might have left the presidential race, but his signature issue is still on the primary ballot. After the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton earlier this month, Swalwell’s proposal for a mandatory buyback of all assault-style weapons was embraced by the congressman who represented the Texas border city, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke — giving the idea its highest-profile platform yet. Swalwell has been actively advising presidential candidates to follow his lead, telling them in conversations that “the moms will have your back,” even as critics denounce the plan as gun confiscation that would turn...

Did you know that there are more fatal accidents involving children and bicycles than there are involving children and guns?It is documented in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fatal injury database. As you can see from the illustration, for the last 19 years, from 1999 to 2017, there were 2,467 children killed in fatal accidents involving bicycles, versus 1,994 children killed in fatal accidents involving a firearm.Total accidental deaths of children (unintended deaths). Data from WISQARS database, Image created by Dean Weingarten, 14 August 2019. Both of the rates are very low. The firearm rate is...

...“We just heard from NASCAR on a number of gun-related ads and unfortunately, due to a gradual shift in NASCAR’s position on guns, these ads must be edited/changed—especially those that are depicted as assault-style rifles/sniper rifles. NASCAR is still open to some of the less controversial gun accessories, concealed carry, or classes.” Consider this, even if your audience was split 50-50 as to the issue of the Second Amendment, why would you intentionally alienate half of your base? Let’s take it to an extreme. What organization wants to intentionally anger even 10 percent of its base? I am sure much...

Against the dictatorship of church ladies The Church has lost its manly spirit. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the recent protests at St. Francis Church in Portland, Oregon.The ultra-progressive, borderline-heretical parish was recently assigned a new priest, Fr. George Kuforiji, who tried to restore theological and liturgical orthodoxy. For instance, the newly-minted pastor stopped using the gender-neutral terms assigned to God by the parishioners and instead began using Our Lord’s preferred pronouns: He, Him, etc. Fr. Kuforiji did away with folk music during the liturgy and took down a banner outside the church that said, “Immigrants and Refugees...

This week, I've got another article for those interested in "tactical" gunsmithing, and building and shooting black rifles: The Complete Guide to AR-15 Barrels (Twist, Length, Rifling & Type). The barrel is arguably the most important part of your black rifle or pistol. It determines what types of rounds you can shoot, how accurate you can get, and how far you can reach out and touch targets. Picking the perfect barrel can make or break any AR build. Today, we’re going to go over everything with a complete guide to AR-15 barrels. This guide gets into twist rates, barrel length...

In a time when gun control is such a hotly debated topic, why are so many of those who are in favor of destroying the 2nd Amendment so completely uninformed when it comes to guns & weapons? This is my all-time favorite "DUMB" things that have been said by social justice warriors and politicians over the years. It is quite clear to me that these people have no idea what they are talking about and want the citizens of the United States to go along with their law proposals and policy suggestions. There is no doubt that there are good...

Razor brand Gillette says it is “shifting the spotlight from social issues to local heroes” after an ad delving into “toxic masculinity” caused a customer backlash. The new ad, which launched last week, stars Australian firefighter and personal trainer Ben Ziekenheiner. “I’ve been a firefighter for 19 years,” Mr Ziekenheiner says in the ad. “People sometimes ask if it’s scary. It can be, but like anyone who has a job to do, you prepare — not just in terms of your equipment but also mentally and physically.” The ad spruiks the brand’s SkinGuard range, highlighting the issue of sensitive skin...

Republicans continue to experience a fundraising bounty from supporters, raising $20.8 million in July, almost three times as much as their Democratic opponents. That was the largest amount ever received during the month of July in a non-election year which is twice the amount of money that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has on hand, according to Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. That pushes RNC fundraising to $117.9 million for the 2019-2020 period.

RUSH: So the onslaught continues in the Drive-By Media’s incoherent attack, popularized by Laurence Tribe now claiming that Trump wants to reverse the outcome of the Civil War. But the truth of the matter, ladies and gentlemen… The truth of the matter is on the other side of the aisle. Here’s a little story that will never show up in the Drive-By Media. Stephen Green, PJ Media. “Democrats Seemed Bored with Their Presidential Candidates.” You know it’s bad when Joe Biden’s brain surgeon has to come out and assure everybody that Biden’s brain is okay despite the fact he doesn’t...