First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights was originally proposed as a measure to assuage Anti-Federalist opposition to Constitutional ratification. Initially, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress, and many of its provisions were interpreted more narrowly than they are today. Beginning with Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Supreme Court applied the First Amendment to states—a process known as incorporation—through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Police

A police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing.

Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Many police forces suffer from police corruption to a greater or lesser degree. The police force is usually a public sector service, meaning they are paid through taxes.

Biltmore Forest, North Carolina

Biltmore Forest is an affluent town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,343 in 2010. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Biltmore Forest is located at 35°32′16″N 82°32′24″W / 35.53778°N 82.54000°W / 35.53778; -82.54000 (35.537884, -82.539882).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,440 people, 588 households, and 456 families residing in the town. The population density was 494.5 people per square mile (191.1/km²). There were 653 housing units at an average density of 224.2 per square mile (86.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.24% White, 0.35% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.14% of the population.

There were 588 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.8% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.83.

Open carry in the United States

In the United States, open carry refers to the practice of "openly carrying a firearm in public", as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer.

The practice of open carry, where gun owners openly carry firearms while they go about their daily business, has seen an increase in the U.S. in recent years. This has been marked by a number of organized events intended to increase the visibility of open carry and public awareness about the practice. Proponents of open carry point to history and statistics, noting that criminals usually conceal their weapons, a stark contrast to the law-abiding citizens who display their sidearms. Encouraged by groups like The Modern American Revolution, OpenCarry.org, GeorgiaCarry.org and some participants of the Free State Project, open carry has seen a revival in recent years, but it is not yet clear if this represents just a short-term trend.

The gun rights community has become supportive of the practice. Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation has been cautious in expressing support, while special-interest groups such as the aforementioned OpenCarry.org and GeorgiaCarry.org, and certain national groups such as the NRA and Gun Owners of America (GOA) have been more outspoken in favor of the practice.