Free Republic

Technically speaking, guns don’t kill people — bullets do. Yet we rarely hear about “bullet control.” Ammunition regulation hasn’t been a top priority for gun reformers and lawmakers, and public opinion polls and surveys rarely include questions about it. But a reader recently asked The Trace: “Why aren’t bullets regulated like pharmaceuticals, with a database and license to purchase that will tip off law enforcement when large quantities are purchased?” First, a quick fact-check: While the reader’s question presupposes that police are notified if a patient is prescribed a lot of pills in a short time period, that’s not actually...

Post-Covid, firearm sales at the retail level soared to record levels. According to National Shooting Sports Foundation, the 2022 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) totaled 16.4 million. While NICS checks aren't related to actual firearms sales, it's a proxy for gun demand. A new monthly report from GunGenius, which uses data from Gunbroker, reveals the top-selling firearms sold online in 2022:SIG Sauer P320 semi-automatic pistolRemington 700 bolt-action rifleSig Sauer P365 pistolHere are the top-selling handguns from last year. Here are the top-selling rifles. And top top-selling shotguns. Also, the top gunmakers last year. We have covered soaring NICS...

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) addressed the shooting death of Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald and made clear his view that one cannot claim to back the blue if they do not back gun control. Breitbart News reported that Fitzgerald was shot and killed while investigating a carjacking Saturday night. The alleged cop killer, 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, was arrested Sunday morning without incident. The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Kenney reacting to the slaying, saying, “There’s too many [guns] and they’re too easy to get.”

On February 9, 2023, in the Websters Grove subdivision near Memphis Tennessee, a homeowner received a call from a neighbor. The neighbor alerted him there were several people suspiciously near his vehicles. The homeowner armed himself and went out to investigate. There were two men in his driveway. They ran, but one fired at the homeowner, striking him in the ankle. From foxnews.com: The unidentified homeowner living in the Websters Grove subdivision in Shelby County said he received a call from a neighbor on Thursday evening that there were several people standing outside his residence, Shelby County deputies told CBS...

WARSAW February 20. /TASS/. The Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration has decided to impose a ban on carrying weapons because of US President Joe Biden's visit to the republic, Warsaw police spokesman Sylwester Marczak said at a briefing on Monday. "From February 20 until February 22, the carrying of weapons is prohibited, including for those who have them legally," he said, stressing that "this is for security reasons."...

If you believe tweets from Michael Bloomberg’s The Trace and its employees, I am “one major factor” why the U.S. hasn’t passed stronger gun control laws and thus, they claim, responsible for mass shootings in the United States. These are becoming regular tweets after each mass public shooting. They are upset that I have quoted mass murderers on their decisions to target gun-free zones. Yet, statements such as, “Areas where CCW are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack” are common among mass murderers. That doesn’t make sense to gun control supporters. Immediately after this week’s shooting at...

While speaking to the National Association of Counties Tuesday, President Biden pushed for more gun control and said there is “no rationale…for magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.” He did not say what he believes to be a rational magazine capacity nor did he note whether 70-round magazines exist. Biden said, “I’m going to say something that’s always controversial, but there is no rationale for assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.”

Tuesday's Morning Joe predictably jumped on the mass shooting at Michigan State to denounce Republicans. Among many such condemnations during the segment, Joe Scarborough said, "there's no other way to put it. It's the Republican party that's allowing this to continue to happen." Beyond that, there was a moment of either utter obtuseness, or shameless hypocrisy, on Scarborough's part when he said: "It's this fetishness that's grown over the past 25 years about all rights, no responsibilities. And I need the most extreme version of whatever right you're handing out, unless, of course, it has to do with a woman's...

She joined the FBI after watching the World Trade Center collapse before her eyes, leaving a lucrative job at a hedge fund.As a Special Agent in Miami, she worked on many high-profile cases and won awards and accolades for her hard work and diligence.Last year she resigned in disgust. The FBI had turned its sights from fighting crime to fighting Americans’ freedoms.Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker broke down in tears Thursday while testifying during a congressional hearing.Parker said during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s inaugural hearing that she left her job at a hedge...

SANTA FE – Lawmakers are evaluating a wide-ranging package of proposals to impose new firearms restrictions in New Mexico.Democrats hold large majorities in both chambers and have made gun legislation a priority this year.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, also called on lawmakers to take action during her State of the State address.One proposal – a restriction on a straw purchase for a felon – has bipartisan sponsorship.House Bill 9: Unlawful access to firearm by minor Where it stands: Awaiting action by full House. Approval there would send it to the Senate and Senate committees.Senate Bill 44: Ban firearms at...

...When you do talk to other families about your child going to their home or riding in their car, you want to make sure you find out if any guns they have are stored safely — meaning they are secured in a safe and unloaded, Crifasi said. ...When her daughter is going to meet with a new friend, Thomas said she likes to lay out all the safety information for that family. She mentions how many dogs they have, that there’s an alarm on the pool, that guns are stored unloaded in a safe separate from ammunition, and that alcohol...

A California judge issued a preliminary injunction against a state law that empowers the Medical Board of California to discipline physicians who support opinions about COVID-19 that are not in line with the “consensus,” according to reports. The law, known as Assembly Bill 2098, was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Under the law, the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California could discipline physicians who “disseminate” information about COVID that is not in line with the “contemporary scientific consensus.” But in November, a group of five California physicians filed a lawsuit against California...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) railed against “weapons of war” after the suspected Half Moon Bay shooter used a handgun to kill seven people. Breitbart News reported the suspected shooter killed seven people in separate shootings on two mushroom farms early Monday afternoon. CBS News noted that the suspected shooter “drove himself to the substation located between the two businesses and surrendered to deputies.” They pointed out that the weapon used was “a [semiautomatic] handgun.”

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-— The jurisprudence of the Second Amendment is: it was ratified to protect the existing right of the people to keep and bear arms. It did not create new rights. One reason to protect the right was to enable the creation of militias from the armed population. It was well understood, at the time of ratification, the right to keep and bear arms included the right to do so for self-defense as well as community defense, for hunting, and included the ancillary rights to practice, buy, sell and make weapons, as well as ammunition and accessories for them. These...

AmmoLand News has been cited in the Angelo v. District of Columbia case. The case challenges the constitutionality of a ban on carrying arms on public transportation in the District of Columbia. The AmmoLand article is cited, and the illustration is shown, on page 27 of the Memorandum of Points and Authorities submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, on October 30, 2022.The article in AmmoLand News about the illustration of the street car scene in New York came about in this manner:The illustration was published on Freerepublic.com as part of a discussion about a...

... Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison slapped the gun control law with a temporary restraining order after former Republican candidate for attorney general Tom DeVore sued to block the law. DeVore said in a press release that he's representing citizens from 87 Illinois counties who are challenging the law, which he called, "an outright attack on the constitutional rights of lawful gun owners across the state."Morrison's ruling only applies to 850 plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit in Effingham County and four licensed gun dealers.Pritzker said he was not surprised by the decision and accused the plaintiffs of advancing "ideology over...

The Supreme Court rejected a bid by New York gun retailers on Wednesday to block a slew of new gun control laws in the state, which they argued violate their Second Amendment rights and hurt their businesses. There were no noted dissents in the order or explanations from the justices for their decision. “We are disappointed that not one of the nine justices saw fit to grant the plaintiffs some stay of enforcement of the new laws against them,” Paloma Capanna, the lead attorney for the New York gun retailers, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “We are challenging the...

FOX News personality Geraldo Rivera backed President Biden’s push for an “assault weapons” ban and said that the “AR” in AR-15 stands for “automatic rifle” on Tuesday’s The Five. Newsweek quoted Rivera telling the co-hosts, “I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, there is no legitimate reason … to have an AR-15.” He described the AR-15 as a “machine gun” that people own in order to make them feel “macho.”

After years of flip-flopping, the ATF has issued a rule recharacterizing guns with pistol braces, making millions of currently owned guns subject to federal "short-barrel" rifle registration, together with a $200 tax. The effect of this rule change is particularly potent in Connecticut, where existing laws banning so-called "assault rifles" are immediately triggered. Owners there of handguns with pistol braces cannot merely remove the brace if the weapon has a "forward pistol grip" or "second hand grip"; these guns are effectively rendered instantly illegal due to the fickle federal rule change. Prior to the rule change, Connecticut gun-owners could legally...

President Joe Biden spoke on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day and reiterated his belief that it is time to “ban the number of bullets that go in a magazine.” Mediate.com published the portion of Biden’s MLK speech in which he pledges to ban firearms which Democrats label “assault weapons.” Biden said, “I am going to get ‘assault weapons’ banned. I did it once and I’m going to do it again.” He added, “And ban the number of bullets that go in a magazine.”