Tag Archives: right to bear arms

Disabled Vet Imprisoned After Using Gun to Prevent a Crime

Posted on June 9, 2026 by | 8 comments

FROM THE RIGHT TO BEAR.COM

It won’t take you long to figure out what the problem is here.

In the state of New Jersey a retired and disabled veteran was thrown in the slammer after he used his gun to prevent himself from being attacked.

Because he chose to protect himself he ended up being booked, despite the fact he was legally allowed to own the gun in the state he bought it.

Vet

Guns’N’Freedom gives us the details:

Master Gunnery Sergeant (Ret) Richard Zahn is the latest victim of New Jersey’s out-of-control gun laws. Richard, a disabled veteran, spent 26 years of his life serving and protecting the United States of America in Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He has more awards and commendations than I have space to list here. In the words of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, in a personal letter to Zahn, “Many desire to attain your accomplished goals, but few can compare to you. You have clearly demonstrated the exceptional leadership qualities and professional contributions we seek of our senior Marines.”

For the last 10 years, Zahn had worked as a government contractor on board Camp Lejeune training Marines and Sailors in a variety of different tactical subjects from Communication, Command & Control, Counter Improvised Explosive Devices & Counter Remote Electronic Warfare Systems, convoy operations, force protection, crew serve weapons and Marine Combat Marksmanship Program among other skill sets.

Instead of enjoying his retirement and reporting for work instructing Marines, Zahn is now sitting in jail in New Jersey.

Early last year, after receiving a phone call concerning his seriously ill mother, Zahn drove from North Carolina to New Jersey where his mother was being treated for cancer (she has since passed away). Zahn had legally owned firearms in his vehicle and was not aware that his permit would not be valid in New Jersey. Upon arriving at the facility where his mother was being treated, Zahn was confronted by a man in a car Zahn had passed on his way there. The man, Jorge Polo, a convicted felon, was apparently irate that Zahn had “cut him off” at a drive way while passing him.

The felon, who was wearing yellow and black clothing associated with the Latin Kings street gang, approached Zahn while yelling, cursing, making gang-related gestures, and issuing verbal threats. Zahn felt threatened by the younger and larger man and so he told the assailant he had a gun. The verbal assault continued so Zahn then brought his holstered gun out into the open, hoping the sight of it would discourage the assailant. When all else failed, Zahn took his rifle from the vehicle, but as with the handgun, did not point it at anyone or make any threat to use it. Finally, the convicted drug dealer went away. By the way, according to Zahn’s attorney, this record of events was confirmed by both the assailant and his wife who had been in the car with him. Zahn then went to see his mother.

After caring for his mother, Zahn was met in the facility parking lot by local police who arrested him for possession of the guns. Despite his full cooperation with police, despite his completely unblemished record, despite the fact he never actually fired the weapon or even aimed it in the direction of anyone, despite the fact he legally owned the guns in North Carolina, Zahn was sentenced to 364 days in jail in New Jersey.

As a result of this arrest and his incarceration, Richard Zahn will lose his security clearance. He will lose his ability to work as a contractor and train Marines. After sixty days in jail he will lose his pension and medical coverage. His attorney is scheduled to attend a hearing today to appeal his sentence.

It’s an outrageous thing to do to someone who’s faithfully served their country and fought to protect it.

This isn’t the first time an event as ridiculous has transpired in the state of NJ.

You might remember we covered a similar story in which a mother of two was arrested for carrying her legally owned firearm into NJ. Or the story of Brian Aitken, who is also living a personal nightmare due to New Jersey’s outrageous gun laws.

It just proves the state has a vendetta against one of the most sacred provisions in our bill of rights.

We can only hope Zahn is issued a pardon for this ridiculous abuse of the law.

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“Snowden’s a Hero, Drug War’s a Failure, Guns Aren’t for Hunting” Vince Vaughn Tells it Like it Is!

Posted on June 8, 2026 by | 4 comments

By Matt Agorist for THE FREE THOUGHT PROJECT

MATT

In a recent interview with the British edition of GQ magazine, Vince Vaughn held no punches about his thoughts on liberty in America.

A preview of the interview was posted on the GQ website Monday highlighting four key points. The first point was about Vaughn’s role in “assembly-line comedies” to which he responded candidly and honestly.

The next three topics of conversation, however, is when the interview became particularly interesting.

All too often we see Hollywood personalities side with the establishment. They toe the line with the day’s current talking points and serve as little more than passive reverberators of the status quo.

The line between Hollywood and the government is deliberately blurred, and politicians often use famous personalities to bolster their public image.

When a Hollywood actor crosses this blurred line of establishment cheerleading, they are normally drug through the slosh pit of MSM and hung out to dry. However, this has yet to happen with Vaughn, and most likely because his stance is based in logic.

When GQ asked Vaughn about where he stands on the American Government, Vaughn responded with the following:

“Edward Snowden is a hero. I like what he did. My idea of treason is that you sell secrets to the enemy. He gave information to the American people. Snowden didn’t take information for money or dogmas. Governments claim to write endless laws to protect us, a law for this, a law for that, but are they working? I don’t think so. The consequences are that there is a staggering loss of freedom for the individual. I look at the drug wars and they are absolutely f***ing ridiculous. There is a black market and the prisons are overcrowded and it’s not preventing drug use. There’s a corruption that goes all the way to the top.”

Vaughn calling out America’s war on drugs is something that most of Hollywood refuses to do. It’s a gutsy move that needs to be said by more people who have such a large forum. But it just doesn’t happen.

He also called Edward Snowden a hero, and he’s right! Snowden risked his life to inform the American people about the atrocities committed by the US government.

The typical hot air spewed from the right wing of the establishment about Snowden is that he’s a traitor and deserves to be imprisoned and/or killed.

Vaughn’s view on Snowden, coupled with his next point about gun control, is likely to cause some conservative heads to explode.

GQ asked Vaughn about what he thought on the American’s right to own a gun. This was his response:

“I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home. We don’t have the right to bear arms because of burglars; we have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government. It’s not about duck hunting; it’s about the ability of the individual. It’s the same reason we have freedom of speech. It’s well known that the greatest defence against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back. All these gun shootings that have gone down in America since 1950, only one or maybe two have happened in non-gun-free zones. Take mass shootings. They’ve only happened in places that don’t allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenceless human beings. They do not want confrontation. In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing six-year-olds.”

Queue the conservative peanut gallery, “But how can he be pro-gun and pro-Snowden?” That’s an easy one Foxaholics; it’s because he’s pro-Freedom!

But Vaughn does not stop there, he turns up the pro-gun notch to “11” in his next answer. Below is Vaughn’s response after he’s asked by GQ if he thinks guns should be allowed in schools.

“Of course. You think the politicians that run my country and your country don’t have guns in the schools their kids go to? They do. And we should be allowed the same rights. Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won’t rid the world of criminality.”

There you have it. Vince Vaughn not only shatters to status quo-supporting Hollywood paradigm, but he obliterates the Left/Right paradigm as well. The Free Thought Project would like to thank Mr. Vaughn for having the courage to speak truth to power. It is quite heartening to see.

 

 

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