Free Republic

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld on Friday a federal ban on gun ownership for subjects of domestic violence restraining orders. The case centered on Zackey Rahimi, who had been barred from gun possession under a 1994 law prohibiting gun possession by those subject to the aforementioned restraining orders. NBC News suggested SCOTUS’s decision shows there are some gun controls that can survive the Bruen (2022) test. CNN quoted Chief Justice John Roberts indicating he and seven of his colleagues had “no trouble” coming together on this decision. Writing for the majority, Roberts said, “Our tradition of...

Nearly 2 out of 3 Americans questioned in a new poll said that the Supreme Court should uphold the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. The survey published Sunday found that 64 percent of respondents said the nation’s highest court should keep the decision the way it is, while 36 percent disagreed. Eighty-four percent of those who want Roe upheld said that overturning it would move the country in the wrong direction, and 82 percent said reversing it would be dangerous to women and for Americans’ rights.

As Bitcoin and gold hit 2020 highs, Uphold unveils a revolutionary new product redefining “store of value” for a panicked age. It’s physical gold. It’s crypto. It’s government-backed. It’s a new product from a Silicon Valley company mutating gold and crypto into a single unit. And it’s as deeply fear-soaked as anything since, well, 2020.  Today Uphold, a digital investment platform based in San Francisco, announced what it calls “a better form of gold”: Universal Gold. Users can buy the gold crypto UPXAU — a token verifiable on the Ethereum blockchain and audited by the security firm CertiK — and Uphold instantly contracts to...

Is the church a pillar & pedestal of truth? I’ve discussed this verse (1 Tim 3:15) on more than one occasion, but since Catholics keep citing it as a prooftext for Catholicism, I have to correct them more than once. To some extent I’ll repeat myself since they repeat themselves, but I’m also going to expand on some points. Catholics always quote this out of context. But what questions should we ask ourselves when we approach this verse? 1. How should we render the Greek phrase? The Greek construction is anarthrous. There is no definite article. Therefore, there’s no...

I am curious, perhaps concerned to know what if any oath the "officers" employed by DHS (Homeland Security) swear. I can readily read what our military enlisted and officer corps recite when they swear in. I can also read the same for the President. But to WHAT or WHOM do the 'officers' of DHS owe their loyalty and duty?

The Supreme Court refused to review the convictions and death sentence Tuesday for serial killer Richard Ramirez, the so-called Night Stalker who killed 13 people in California in the 1980s. The justices declined without comment to act on Ramirez's appeal. His killing spree terrorized the Los Angeles area in 1984 and 1985. Satanic symbols were left at murder scenes and some victims were forced by the killer to "swear to Satan." Ramirez, convicted in 1989, is not likely to be executed any time soon. He still has another round of federal appeals to pursue and the state's death penalty has...

The California Supreme Court upheld the convictions and death sentence Monday for serial killer Richard Ramirez whose so-called Night Stalker killing spree terrorized the Los Angeles area in the mid 1980s. Ramirez, 46, was sentenced to death in 1989 for 13 Los Angeles-area murders in 1984 and 1985. Satanic symbols were left at murder scenes and some victims were forced to "swear to Satan" by the killer, who entered homes through unlocked windows and doors. The justices unanimously denied claims that Ramirez was incompetent to stand trial, that the case should have been moved outside Los Angeles, and that all...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Gays and lesbians won a major legal victory Wednesday when the California Supreme Court let stand a new law granting registered domestic partners many of the same rights and protections of heterosexual marriage. Without comment, the unanimous justices upheld appellate and trial court rulings that the sweeping measure does not conflict with a voter-approved initiative defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who leaves Thursday to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, did not vote. The domestic partner law, which was signed in...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court upheld state sentencing guidelines Monday amid challenges judges were unconstitutionally justifying steeper sentences based on elements not considered by the jury. Leaving intact the sentencing guidelines avoided what might have been the resentencing of thousands of prisoners. The decision was the third this year by California's justices interpreting new precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court involving a hodgepodge of topics including sentencing, executing the mentally retarded and limiting the amount of damages jurors could award to punish business for egregious conduct in civil lawsuits. Ruling 6-1 Monday, the justices said California's...

WEST PALM BEACH - (AP) -- A judge is being criticized for openly questioning and often reporting the immigration status of abused, abandoned and neglected children in his courtroom. Some lawyers call Roger B. Colton's actions disturbing, saying he abuses his power by revealing to law enforcement details disclosed before him. Colton says he is just doing his duty. ''They're violating the law, and I'm a judge,'' said Colton, whose background included nine years as a special agent with the FBI. ``Don't I have some type of obligation to the system to report it . . . when it's smack-dab...