If there was one theme that kept surfacing during Dr. John Lott’s sit-down on Strictly Speaking: Unfiltered with Bob Frantz at the NRA Convention, it was this: the facts are out there but good luck getting anyone to debate them. Lott, the economist and founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center, didn’t hold back. From his academic career to the reliability of FBI crime data, the conversation hit nearly every pressure point in today’s gun debate. And if you’ve followed Lott for any amount of time, none of it will surprise you. “You Just Can’t Get People to Debate” Lott…

The U.S. on Tuesday approved a potential $373.6 million long-range precision bomb package for Ukraine, offering the East European nation more leeway to potentially strike Russian targets from farther away. The package includes Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range, or JDAM-ER, kits and related equipment, according to the State Department. Boeing is listed as the primary contractor for the proposed sale. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, prompting strong U.S. support. But that support, in terms of both weapons and financial aid, has dramatically decreased over the past 1 1/2 years. Last week, the second U.S. ambassador to Ukraine announced her…

Just a few months from now, California’s mountain lions will finally have a safe way to cross one of Los Angeles County’s busiest highways. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is a vegetated overpass connecting the isolated Santa Monica Mountains to the south with the Simi Hills on the other side of Highway 101. When finished in November, it will be the largest such crossing in the world, offering safe passage to many species that frequently die trying to cross the highway’s 10 lanes of traffic. Bobcats, grey fox, and mule deer will all likely benefit, but the mountain lions benefit…

The Bruen decision ended the idea of “may issue” permitting once and for all. The arbitrary decision process of who gets a permit and who doesn’t creates rights for some while excluding them for others, and that’s not how our civil liberties are supposed to work. Anti-gunners hated the decision, of course, because they want to make the lawful carry of firearms untenable. If they can’t ban it outright, they want to make the process so onerous that many will simply decide that it’s just not worth it.However, they don’t seem to grasp reality in…

The Department of Justice just picked a HUGE fight with Denver. In a newly filed lawsuit, the DOJ is challenging the city’s long-standing ban on so-called “assault weapons,” arguing it violates the Second Amendment by prohibiting firearms that are in common use: specifically AR-15-style rifles. They’re not being subtle about it. “The Constitution is not a suggestion and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. At the center of the case is Denver’s ordinance that makes it a crime to possess certain semi-automatic rifles. According to the DOJ, that includes AR-15-style firearms. By…

SWAT officers responded to an emergency situation on Tuesday at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., which was later discovered to involve an on-duty officer. Police were called to the facility, known as Natick Labs, at 9:15 a.m. for a possible distressed individual. “This person that we were looking for was an on-duty security officer for the base,” Natick Police Department Chief Jim Hicks said in a news conference. “The officers were working to talk with him, to discuss with him what was going on. He fled the officers into an area of the base, where…