Free Republic

A Republican lawmaker from Colorado expressed shock at being told by Democratic colleagues that he had to remove a sticker supporting the Second Amendment from his laptop while in the state's House chamber. "I had to cover up this, they couldn't stand my sticker," Colorado Republican state Rep. Ken DeGraaf said during remarks on the state's House floor, pointing to paper covering up a sticker in support of the Second Amendment on a laptop he carried with him to the chamber. "It said ‘shall not be infringed’ and signed ‘2-A’ and that was considered offensive, which I understand would be...

A report from CNN indicates FBI director Kash Patel — who is also ATF acting director — plans to cut “as many as 1,000 ATF agents” and move them to the FBI. This will represent a cut of roughly one third of the ATF’s current agents. According to CNN: The move represents a major cutback of the ATF, an agency that long has been in the crosshairs of gun rights groups that believe its work infringes on Second Amendment rights. The ATF has about 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a number that has remained largely unchanged for years....

On February 5, 2025, an officer responded to a “suspicious person with a weapon” call near a Jack-in-the-Box located on the 5900 block of Gulf Freeway. The video does not say what department the officer was with. The address is in downtown Houston, so the officer is probably from the Houston Police Department. The officer noticed a young man and started questioning him. The young man stated he had been inside the Jack-in-the-Box watching his brothers sell “waters” outside. A man, with a knife in hand, had rushed at his brothers. The young man said he had pulled out a...

You’d never know it from watching television, but civilians stop more active shooters than police and do so with fewer mistakes, according to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, where I serve as president. In non-gun-free zones, where civilians are legally able to carry guns, concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5% of active shootings, compared to 44.6% stopped by police, CPRC found in a deep dive into active shooter scenarios between 2014-2023. Not only do permit holders succeed in stopping active shooters at a higher rate, but law enforcement officers face significantly greater risks when intervening. Our research...

On January 30, 2025, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. stated a new policy of restoring Second Amendment rights should be attempted in the United States Virgin Islands. If it happens, it will be an extraordinary reversal in policy. The United States Virgin Islands have the most restrictive firearms laws in the United States. They are more restrictive than Hawaii or the District of Columbia. From the viconsortium.com: “I think the Virgin Islands gun policy has totally failed,” said Governor Albert Bryan Jr., speaking during Wednesday’s exclusive interview with the Consortium. He was responding to a question about how the territory could...

President Donald Trump is expected to name FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. A Justice Department official told ABC News that Patel is expected to be sworn into the acting director position early next week.

A federal judge has blocked a Maine law requiring a three-day waiting period to buy a firearm in response to a legal challenge filed by gun dealers who argue the restrictions are unconstitutional. The ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge Lance Walker sided with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, Gun Owners of Maine and several gun sellers who filed a lawsuit last year alleging the law requiring people to wait 72 hours to acquire a firearm — even if they pass a required criminal background check. Walker's ruling temporarily blocks the law while he considers the legal challenge. "Citizens wishing...

After a violent year that saw multiple mass shootings in the state, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and many lawmakers in both parties are supporting a ban on so-called Glock switches and other conversion devices that make semi-automatic weapons fire like machine guns. The Republican governor is expected to back the proposal in her State of the State address Tuesday as part of a broader package of bills focused on public safety that she has named her top priority for the session. Democrats have long supported banning the conversion devices, but their bills have failed to win final approval in the...

MEXICO CITY, 2 Feb.-RIA Novosti. Following the introduction of tariffs by the United States, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum instructed Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard to use "tariff and non-tariff measures" to protect the country's interests...

A look at Bastinelli Knives’ FBag for Cross-Body Carry of a Handgun and a Knife. Story and Photos by P Pawela We first wrote about Bastien Coves and his company Bastinelli Knives back in January 2021. Since then, his popularity as a custom knifemaker has skyrocketed. Coves’s knives have been featured in half a dozen popular action movies, and while that is an intriguing reason to purchase one of his products, I’m more concerned about who uses these knives for real-world purposes. That said, I have confirmation that Bastinelli knives are being used in the intelligence and special operations...

A massive Ukrainian drone attack repelled in Russia's Rostov Region... The Rwandan-backed rebels say they intend to follow up on seizure of Congo's largest city Goma with a move on the capital city... Israeli air strikes late tonight in two parts of Lebanon... A US Appeals Court ruling that a federal ban on selling handguns to 18, 19 and 20-year-olds is unconstitutional... Top officials in the Federal Bureau of Investigation being asked to resign or retire... President Donald Trump says the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico begin Saturday... The US Federal Aviation Administration says that air traffic controller...

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a decades-old ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to people aged 18, 19 and 20 is unconstitutional. In a unanimous ruling, the three-judge panel on the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals slammed the Biden administration’s attempt to argue that the handgun ban was in line with the “nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” — a test for gun laws set by the Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. ... “Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) appeared to try and avoid Donald Trump's anti-DEI executive order by switching the job title of its Chief Diversity Officer. On Tuesday, Trump's administration ordered federal agencies to place all DEI hires on paid leave, and warned authorities not to use 'coded or imprecise language' to circumvent the move. But within a day of the order being announced, eagle-eyed online sleuths noticed the ATF's Chief Diversity Officer Lisa T. Boykin had a new job role, appearing to have been updated to 'Senior Executive.' The ATF did not immediately respond to a...

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) used an executive order Tuesday morning to create a state-level violence prevention office, dedicated to fighting gun crime. KSTP reported that Evers did this in response to the December 16, 2024, shooting at Madison’s Abundant Life Christian School, which left two innocents dead. The suspect in the shooting was a 15-year-old student, and police have not revealed how the student acquired the guns. Evers used a X post to push for more gun control after signing the executive order. The post said: And with 60% of suicides and 78% of domestic violence homicides involving a...

In Kennesaw, Georgia, it’s against the law not to own a gun. The city law, dating back to the 1980s, makes it a requirement for residents to own guns and ammo. Kennesaw’s gun law states: “In order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition.” The law excludes residents with mental or physical disabilities, felony convictions or conflicting religious beliefs. ... the law keeps citizens safe as there were no murders in town in...

The U.S. has more guns than people, with nearly 400 million in civilian possession.In this map, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti ranks states by the highest percentage of gun ownership for adults, based on data from the Pew Research Center compiled by Data Pandas as of 2024.High Gun Ownership in Northwestern AmericaMontana tops the ranking of the states with the highest percentage of gun ownership, with 66.3% of the adult population owning firearms. The state has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in America. No state permit is required to purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.The state...

A Colorado law that went into effect January 1, 2025, requires guns in vehicles to be kept in locked containers. snip Breitbart News pointed out numerous new gun controls go into effect in California on January 1, 2025, among them a law that requires licensed gun dealers to warn would-be gun purchasers of the alleged dangers of gun ownership. snip California leads the nation in gun control and Colorado has been leaning more and more toward adopting California-style gun controls. Beginning July 1, 2025, Coloradans who want a concealed carry permit will have to take an eight-hour training course as...

Hundreds of students at Madison High School marched to the state Capitol on Friday to demand an “assault weapons” ban after the December 16, 2024, Abundant Life Christian School handgun attack. The Cap Times reported the students chanted “books, not bullets” and “no more silence, end gun violence.” The Wisconsin Examiner quoted the high schoolers saying, “Graduations not funerals.” Once at the Capitol, the students called for an “assault weapons” ban and enhanced background checks. The students did not mention that the alleged 15-year-old shooter did not use a firearm categorized as an “assault weapon” nor did she buy her...

@CollinRugg NEW: The man accused of attempting to m*rder streamer Nick Fuentes is 24-year-old John Lyons. Very dangerous times especially when we have degenerates praising Luigi Mangione for executing a man in the back. Lyons reportedly traveled 140 miles to Fuentes' home after allegedly m*rdering three family members. Fuentes has released footage of the man calling out for him at his home. Fuentes was reportedly live-streaming when the man showed up, an action that may have saved his life. Officers who were called to the scene spotted Lyons who ran away and forced his way inside someone's home. When inside,...

Nine people were injured and one killed in a mass shooting that took place on the 8500 block of Loch Raven Blvd. in Towson on Tuesday evening, Baltimore County Police said. Around 7:12 p.m., officers were dispatched to the intersection of Loch Raven Boulevard and White Oak Avenue, at the Johnson-Fosbrink Funeral Home, where they found a car flipped and on fire, and multiple victims, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said during a news conference following the incident. Police were still determining how many people had been shot Tuesday night, McCullough said. Multiple gunshots were visible in the facade...