Free Republic

A Clark County man was entitled to argue self-defense when he intentionally shot toward a person, and was not required to show he intended to kill or harm the man who threatened him, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.A divided Supreme Court vacated the felonious assault conviction of Tyler Wilson for his altercation at a Springfield gas station in 2021. At trial, Wilson was acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of felonious assault after he fired a shot at Billy Reffett. The shot struck the window frame of Reffett’s truck, near his head. The trial judge refused to instruct...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Concealed-Carry License holder killed an attempted robbery suspect during a shootout on the city's South Side early Friday morning, Chicago police said. A 60-year-old man had just used an ATM down the street from his home. He was outside when a suspect, identified only as male, approached him on a bike, police said. Police said that's when the suspect, whose age was not immediately known, took out a gun and demanded the man's money and other belongings. The victim, who is a valid FOID card and CCL holder, took out his own gun and an exchange...

NRA Dethroned as Top Gun Lobby in DCBy Doug Howlett - March 7, 2024 Long a bane of anti-gun politicians, Democrats (typically one and the same) and the mainstream media, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been often blamed as well as credited, depending on which side of the issue a person falls on, with effectively stopping much of the legislation in Congress that would whittle away citizens’ Second Amendment rights. But with ongoing troubles with its longtime leadership, legal challenges in court, lawsuits and even constituent anger over the organization’s spending and direction on certain issues, NRA is no...

Palmetto State lawmakers officially became the latest to do away with permitting requirements for public gun-carry. The South Carolina Senate passed H. 3594 by a 28-18 vote on Wednesday. The measure will allow adults eligible to own a handgun to carry it in public, openly or concealed, without a permit. It now heads to the desk of Governor Henry McMaster (R.), who has pledged to sign it into law. The bill’s passage clears the way for South Carolina to become the 29th state to adopt permitless carry and the 27th since 2010, in what has arguably been the most successful...

In the ongoing Gun Free School Zone Act (GFSZ) case in Billings, Montana, the trial date is currently set for March 25, 2024. The process is a long and difficult one for Gabriel Metcalf and his mother, Vivian. Because this is a criminal, not a civil, case. Gabriel’s freedom is at risk. The current judge, Federal District Judge Susan P. Watters, has ruled the GFSZ to be constitutional, and the Montana Establishment of Individual Licensure law is insufficient to be an exception to the GFSZ. Going through the process of a challenge to the constitutionality of a criminal charge is...

If gun control is gaining steam in Congress, chances are Sen. John Cornyn is nearby, working on a ‘compromise’ with Democrats. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the first to announce his campaign to replace Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the Senate’s Republican leader. The race for leadership will expose a weakness of Cornyn — his lack of support for Americans’ right to self-defense. “Every time gun control gains steam in Congress, Senator John Cornyn is right there working with Democrats on a ‘compromise,'” says Aidan Johnston with Gun Owners Of America. Unfortunately, Johnston is correct. Cornyn sponsored the 2022 Bipartisan Safer...

At the 2024 SHOT Show industry day at the range, this correspondent stopped at the Diamondback Firearms booth. Unfortunately, they did not have any examples of their new .22 revolver, the Sidekick, available. This lead to a discussion of how the Sidekick, which strongly resembles the old Hi-Standard Double Nine revolver, was brought into production.Jimmy Stroda was the director of product development at Diamondback Firearms. He related the story to this correspondent. Diamondback had been looking at product sales in the United States. It is clear that .22 caliber single-action revolvers have a very large market share, as seen by...

There's only so much outrage left in the tank on a sunny Friday afternoon, but wow this is just insane in the membrane. An independent investigation into the school shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas was commissioned by the city of Uvalde in 2022. Yesterday, the results of the investigation were released to the public during a city council meeting. The gist of the new report is that police on the scene did nothing wrong. Former Austin Police Department detective Jesse Prado examined the actions of each Uvalde police officer as they responded to the deadliest school shooting...

16 Republican AGs seek answers from Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf... ... debanking ... Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen... As attorney general, it's my job to protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices. I will continue to investigate and fight against any illegal actions that could impact Montana businesses and consumers." ... Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Bradon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation...

Once in awhile I get to thinking and that can be dangerous. These are just some of my Sunday morning thoughts that probably don"t mean nothing. First of all I don"t know what TikTok is. The last Tick tock I saw was in my grandpa's house in the 50's. The only facebook I knew was the party line when you learned avout your neighbors while picking up the phone. I don"t know about electric cars. I suppose if you had a long enough extension cord they would be all right. My car was a 1967 mustang that required the points...

Illegally present foreigners who don’t have the constitutional right to bear arms can arrest and even disarm a U.S. citizen who does.The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is hiring illegal border crossers with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and equipping them with guns to police American citizens in California. President Barack Obama’s 2012 DACA order indefinitely delays the deportation of illegal border crossers who enter the United States claiming to be minors. Recipients do not start becoming U.S. citizens unless they apply for a green card. That is why many seek endless DACA renewals that allow them to continue...

Thousands of patriots assembled at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo center on Friday the 9th of February, 2024. There was static in the air and the energy was beyond high. People started lining up as early as 1 p.m. in order to be able to hear President Donald J. Trump speak at 6 p.m. that evening. The NRA Presidential Forum marked the eighth time Trump has addressed National Rifle Association members and there are plans for the NRA to host him again at the upcoming NRA annual meeting in Dallas. Before Trump took to the stage and lectern...

Volokh: The order came down today; it noted that no judge called for a vote on the en banc rehearing petition. Here's my post on the panel decision, from September. From Junior Sports Magazines, Inc. v. Bonta, decided today [Sept, 13, 2023] by Ninth Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, joined by Judges Randy Smith and Lawrence VanDyke: "This case is not about whether children can buy firearms. (They cannot under California law.) Nor is this case about whether minors can legally use firearms. (California allows minors under adult supervision to possess and use firearms for hunting, target practice, and other activities.)...

John Mellencamp has issued a blunt, powerful statement calling for gun control in America. Posting on his social media channels, the 72-year-old singer/songwriter writes, "Excuse me for stating the obvious truth. I do so out of love for this country and the pain of learning, once again, that children have been killed by gun violence. "If we as a country want to find the collective will within ourselves to change our gun laws, let’s stop playing silly political games. Show the carnage on the news. Show the American people the dead children and others who have been struck down. Show...

The Second Amendment doesn’t grant a person the right to bear arms—the Second Amendment recognizes an individual’s God-given right to self-defense, and prohibits the American government from infringing upon that right. Well in other news that isn’t news, Commiefornia is ignoring all that law and precedent; on Friday, Democrat Assemblyman Mike Gipson put forth a bill that would require insurance companies to ask a litany of very specific questions regarding personal firearms an applicant may or may not have. Then, these insurers would need to hand this information over to state agencies and lawmakers. From AWR Hawkins at Breitbart:The bill,...

(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) Democrats constantly crow about their faith in “the right to choose.” But this applies to little beyond abortion. Any woman who chooses to buy a gun or send her child to a charter school should expect “pro-choice” Democrats to stand in her way. Democrats crave control and uniformity, even when it comes to medical care for America’s veterans. Democrats want vets in the Department of Veterans Affairs, not getting cured in the private sector. Obama–Biden’s VA waitlist scandal found veterans dying before they could see their doctors. Donald J. Trump promised to fix this lethal mess....

Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, introduces everyone to SB 1160, a bill, in California, that would actually force California residents to register each and every firearm they own...annually. Yes, this is a bill, that claims to not violate 18 U.S.C. 926, but just exactly that and does it by design. Just when you thought that California could not get any more evil or detached from Constitutional reality, they out-do themselves once again. Learn about all of this insanity and arm yourself with education today.

For years, California Democrats have been hostile to gun owners. California Democrats frequently attempt to erode Second Amendment rights in the state. A bill in the Democrat-controlled California State Assembly that was introduced on February 16th, would force homeowners and renters to disclose information about firearms they own. Assembly member Mike Gipson, and State Senator Catherine Blakespear are the two leading California Democrat lawmakers pushing this legislation.

There wasn’t much to report regarding the latest updates on the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting other than it was a “dispute” among several people that led to gunfire. Three people were arrested—all juveniles. One has since been released after it was determined this individual was not part of the shooting, but two have been booked on firearm-related charges. One person was killed, with at least 20 injured—11 of them were children. Nine kids had gunshot wounds, but all survived. That’s the good news. We’re still waiting on the suspects' names and the real motive. What we do know...

The January 2024 National Instant Background Check System (NICS) shows the number of guns sold for the month is very close to the average for the last ten years. From 2015 through 2024, the number of guns sold in January varied from .98 million in 2018 to 2.02 million in 2021. The average was 1.21 million. The 2024 number is 1.15 million. This is a 5.8% decrease from gun sales in January of 2023. Background check numbers varied more than gun sales, from 1.77 million in 2015 to 4.32 million in 2021.The number of background checks does not correlate well...