Posted on 05/18/2006 8:26:26 AM PDT by Dada Orwell
Freepers...your thoughts?
From NHfree.com 5/15/06
New Hampshire's Free Staters kill smoke ban
Acting nearly alone against the American Cancer Society and a massive juggernaut of established lobby groups, a few dozen Free State Project members have managed to preserve New Hampshire's hands-off approach to smoking in bars and restaurants. N.H. is currently the only state in New England which allows consumers and businesses to make the "smoking decision" for themselves, and last month's vote assures that the market - rather than state regs - will determine smoking policies in 2007.
While Free Staters have been on the winning side of many lobbying efforts in Concord, this victory for property rights is significant, because it's virtually certain things would have gone the other way were it not for the Free Stater immigration.
Since the Free State Project targeted New Hampshire for libertarian migration in 2003, about 150 hardcore freedom activists have trickled into the state, aiming to preserve its Live Free or Die culture and roll back government there to a third of its present size. Aided by the state's predisposition toward liberty and their own relentless involvement, these incoming activists had already achieved an impact completely out of proportion to their numbers.
But past Free Stater victories involved alliances with other groups such as gun rights organizations and homeschoolers. This is the first they have won on their own, with only the pro-liberty legislators as allies.
And it was a close fought battle. With the rest of New England now under the thrall of smoking bans, many of the state's traditional ban opponents (such as restaurant and bar owners) switched sides, leaving the novice liberty activists holding the line nearly unassisted. Libertarian volunteer-lobbyists were outnumbered about three to one in the hallways and hearing rooms, losing on this issue in the House of Representatives, lacking support from the governor and winning in the Senate by only a single vote. To become law, a New Hampshire bill must pass all three elected branches.
Narrow or not, the victory changes the course of New Hampshire history a bit, and for the first time ever, Free Staters can say they did it virtually alone.
May 14 article in the Concord Monitor:
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060514/REPOSITORY/605140337/1265/48HOURS
Details on the Free State Project: www.FreeStateProject.org
Ping
Awesome. Just awesome.
But...but...libertarians only care about child porn and dope... < /Big Gov't Republicans >
Sounds like the Free State Project is working the way it was intended.
Nice going!
Keep up the good work.
I'm glad to know that sanity is a mere 30 minute drive away.
Business owners, not the nanny state, should make the decision.
If stuff like this keeps happening, I would consider moving there. Get enough free staters in the state and you might repel a few big government statists, as well.
I want to move to New Hampshire!
Those damn Free Staters are just going to ruin New Hampshire.
Go Free Staters!!
Good for them!
I just love it when things work the way they're supposed to!
Excellent work AGAINST the Nanny State!!!!!!!!!
bttt!
Thanks for the good news.
Forgive me if I say this sounds like a press release to generate hype. I'd just like to see an independent source. But regardless, more power to them.
Ayn Rand, in Atlas Shrugged, picked Colorado but they chose New Hampshire instead. Go FREE STATERS.
ya gotta love the freedom loving freestaters
ping
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