The ACLU, not exactly known for being sympathetic to the right to keep and bear arms, is going to bat for a New Orleans man who had his gun confiscated. From the Associated Press:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana filed the federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Errol Houston Jr., who was arrested last year following a traffic stop. The lawsuit says the district attorney's office declined to prosecute Houston but has refused to return his .40-caliber firearm.

Why? After all:

"Mr. Houston has done nothing wrong. There are no criminal charges against him. His firearm, which he is and was entitled to carry, has been confiscated for no reason..."

Visit the National Gun Rights Examiner for the rest of this article .

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, Independence Day. A day of picnics, cookouts, family gatherings, and fireworks. Our country's birthday. A day to celebrate the actions of our Founding Fathers when they cast off the oppression of the British Crown and issued the proclamation:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

Unalienable Rights. And yet it seems that every day some politician or political interest group is trying to take those rights away.

As a Gun Rights Examiner, most of my articles deal with the Second Amendment, which ties directly into the goal of securing the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to be able to pursue happiness unmolested.

All of our rights, enumerated but not limited by the Bill of Rights, are part of who we are and part of what makes us free. All too often, it seems that people are willing to trade away those rights for a government handout or the false promise of additional safety or security.

Visit the Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner for the rest of this article.

National Training Week, July 4-11

The week of July 4th is being established as National Training Week, when Americans celebrate their freedom with firearms at the nation's shooting ranges. "Good Americans Are Good Marksmen." Perfect time to bring a newcomer to the range for an experience, and to exercise your freedom. Participating ranges offer free handgun rentals, special classes, go out and ask your local range to participate if they're not. (They'll probably say, "Never heard of it," that's OK, it's all described here, print it and give it to them):

http://www.gunlaws.com/NationalTrainingWeek.htm

Arizona Congressman John Shadegg has endorsed the idea, along with Gun Owners of America, The Second Amendment Foundation, many others, all posted at that link. You want to do something to defend your rights? Visit your range and motivate them.

Thanks to Alan Korwin of Gunlaws.com for this content.

The government has thrown in the towel in its prosecution of Albert Kwok-Leung Kwan for possession of a short barreled rifle. A June 25 order dismisses the indictment against him "based on the government's motion"...

[The FBI] really fixed Kwan for his refusal. They obtained a search warrant, kicked his door down and seized every firearm in his home. Kwan legally owned 100 machine guns along with some run of the mill semi-automatic firearms. The Agents took one of Kwan's rifles, a...semi-automatic M-14 copy, remanufactured the receiver, and installed new parts turning it to a machine gun! Since that [rifle] was not registered as a machine gun the agents charged Kwan for the federal felony under the National Firearms Act of 1934.

Per the United States District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle:

The jury found defendant not guilty of Count I, which charged him with unlawful possession of a machinegun, namely a...M-14 rifle. As a result of the jury verdict, Count I was dismissed.

But the feds weren't done with Kwan.

Visit the National Gun Rights Examiner for the rest of this article .