Free Republic

Labour has been accused of losing control of gun crime as new figures show a sharp rise in armed robberies. Guns were used in 4,120 robberies last year - a 10% jump - including a 9% rise to 1,439 in the number of street robberies where guns were used. There was also a rapid and unexplained increase in the number of times householders were confronted in their own homes by armed criminals. Residential firearms robberies show a 46% leap, a record 645 cases in England and Wales - up 204 on the previous year and four times the level recorded...

DENVER -- When lawmakers allowed Coloradans to obtain permits for concealed weapons four years ago, part of the package included a statewide database that tracks who gets them. That database is supposed to expire this year, and at least four bills are floating in the Colorado General Assembly regarding its future. State Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, is carrying a bill that would eliminate the database altogether. Other lawmakers have offered bills to the opposite effect. Another Republican testified this week about a bill that would extend its life. State Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, told the House Judiciary Committee he...

"[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, - who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia." -- George Mason (speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 14 June 1778) Reference: The Debates of the Several State..., Elliot, vol. 3 (380)

With Courtroom Shootouts Rising, Some Judges Are Toting Guns Beneath Their Robes Sept. 24, 2006 — - When shots rang just outside Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent's courtroom in February 2005, she feared the worst. As people raced for cover in the courthouse, officers sealed the courtroom and raced to get Judge Kent out through the back door -- all as the shootout continued outside. In the bloodbath, two people were killed and four were wounded. The gunman was shot dead after a high speed chase. Because of this horrific episode, Judge Kent carries a gun. "After that day, I'll never...

MILITIA, mil ish' ah. In its most common application, this term refers to a body of armed citizens. The militia of the United States is made up of all able-bodied male citizens, and all other able-bodied males who have declared their intention of decoming (sic) citizens, who are not under eighteen or over forty-five years of age. All such persons are liable to conscription in time of war, with the exception of certain Federal and state officials, workmen in armories, arsenals, etc., and members of specified religious sects. The militia is subdivided into the National Guard, the naval militia, and...

Accidental shootings in the home are at an all-time low, but that's not low enough, said Bill Brassard, director of Project ChildSafe. In 2001, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which is affiliated with Project ChildSafe, a national program to distribute free gun locks, reported that firearms were used in 72 accidental deaths by children younger than 14. That constituted 1.3 percent of all unintentional fatalities in children younger than 14 that year and a 60 percent decrease in such deaths since 1995. Project ChildSafe is an outgrowth of Project HomeSafe, which began in 1999. Although the effort has had success,...

According to the Toronto Star, the Liberal government is set to announce new and tougher laws to fight crime. In addition to proposed new legislation the federal government is also considering suing U.S. gun manufactures for the fact that some of their firearms are smuggled into Canada and used by Canadians to kill other Canadians. Toronto police have estimated that 50 percent of the guns that are found on the streets of Toronto have their origins south of the border. The government intends to sue the manufacturers both in the United States and in Canada if the company has assets...

Gun foes warn Florida tourists about new law By CURT ANDERSON Tuesday, October 4, 2005 Posted at 8:30 AM EDT Associated Press Miami — Clark Ramm sees shades of the Wild West in Florida's new law giving greater legal protections to people who shoot or use other deadly force when threatened or attacked. "It seems like everybody ought to be packing a piece," said Mr. Ramm, a visitor from Ukiah, Calif., who found out about the law Monday from a gun-control group handing out leaflets at Miami International Airport. "I don't know if that's the right thing to do." The...

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 - Waters were receding across this flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating weapons, including legally registered firearms, from civilians in preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still living here. No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said. But that order apparently does not apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property. The guards, employees of private security...

We were awakened this morning by news out of New Orleans, five days after the devastating hurricane passed through the city, that the city is still plunged in darkness and most of it is remains flooded. But, that wasn't any different from the day before. What was different was the news that police officers are walking off the job, gunshots are common throughout the city and fires are beginning to erupt at various locations. Gangs of 7-10 men, both armed and unarmed, are roaming the city killing and stealing, some out of pure instinct to survive, some to take advantage...

Opponents of a controversial state law covering who can carry a handgun in public resumed their legal fight Monday, a couple of months after the Legislature reinstated the measure the courts had struck down. Two Twin Cities churches filed a new lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court, saying the law continues to violate religious freedom. The law allows people at least 21 years old with a clean record, no mental illness and proper training to get a permit to carry a gun. Prior to 2003, local law enforcement authorities had more say over who received a permit.

Make no mistake about it, George Soros wants your gun. In addition to funding political organizations to attack George Bush and the Republicans, Soros is also one of the leading backers of International Action Network on Small Arms ("IANSA"), a well funded lefty group dedicated to keeping you from your guns. Right now the UN is meeting in New York to discuss small arms and IANSA is there to push for "an international, legally-binding Arms Trade Treaty" that would limit your 2nd Amendment rights. One of the points IANSA stretches to make is that "gun violence is undermining the...

Police are investigating two violent home invasions Friday. The shootings and break-ins appear to be unrelated, officials said. However, in both cases, the victims said the gunmen were strangers to them. One of the crimes happened in southeast Kansas City at 8603 Corrington Ave. Police said a man came to the house asking if a car was for sale. The husband and wife who live there said it wasn't. Less than an hour later, three people burst into the home and ordered the woman to the floor at gunpoint, police said. Then, her husband surprised the intruders by wielding a...

SB 319, the state level gun ban which is more extensive than the federal ban that sunsetted last year, has been re-referred to the Senate Judiciary C Committee. SB 319 would ban the possession..

MIAMI -- It is either a Wild West revival, a return to the days of "shoot first and ask questions later," or a triumph for the "Castle Doctrine" -- the notion that enemies invade personal space at their peril. Such dueling rhetoric marked the debate over a measure that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) could sign as early as Tuesday. The legislation passed so emphatically that National Rifle Association backers plan to take it to statehouses across the nation, including Virginia's, over the next year. The law will let Floridians "meet force with force," erasing the "duty to retreat" when...

In the March 11 New York Times, Neil MacFarquhar notes in passing, "Most Iraqi households own at least one gun." This comes as a shock to those of us who've been hearing for years from the gun lobby that widespread firearms ownership is necessary to prevent the United States from becoming a police state. Here, via the National Rifle Association's Web site, is Bill Pryor, attorney general of Alabama, decrying the "war on guns": "In a republic that promotes a free society, as opposed to a police state, one of the basic organizing principles is that individuals have a right...

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed a bill Friday meant to provide legal protection for homeowners who violate local gun ordinances by shooting intruders. The legislation was a response to the heavily publicized case of Hale DeMar, a Wilmette restaurant owner who in December shot a burglar who had broken into his home twice. Cook County prosecutors declined to press criminal charges against DeMar, but Wilmette officials charged him with violating the suburb's ban on handguns. DeMar is challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance. The bill the governor vetoed Friday would have allowed people in situations like DeMar's to argue...

"I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel, crawl around on my stomach. I track and move and decoy and play games and try to outsmart them. You know, you kind of play the wind. That's hunting," said Kerry.  (Craig Gilbert, "Bringing candidate to life," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/5/04) The Truth about John Kerry’s Record for Hunters §         John Kerry has the highest rating on the Humane Scorecard sponsored jointly by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fund for Animals.  Both groups are firmly committed to ending hunting in this country.  o       HSUS’ website says “sport...

Richard Skidmore is a professor at Los Angeles Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California, having taught at Pierce College since 1975. O’ Hear ye, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in their December decision that the Second Amendment of the Constitution was not adopted "to afford rights to individuals with respect to private gun ownership or possession." The left hails this courts decisions as decisive and correct, while the right sees the court as a bulwark to destroy our republican form of government and forging the links in chains of usurpation. Remember, this is the same federal court...

Reuters SAN FRANCISCO -- The chief Western U.S. appeals court stood by its decision Friday to allow a wrongful-death lawsuit to proceed against a gun manufacturer. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit declined to have a larger panel of judges reconsider its 2 to 1 November ruling that allowed a lawsuit against Glock Inc. and gun sellers. The suit alleges negligence for using a distribution scheme that made it likely their guns would end up in the hands of illegal buyers. The case stems from the murder of a postal worker, Joseph Ileto, who was shot by...