Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law on Sunday that bans the use of plastic bags at grocery stores — after the state’s ten-year-old ban on single-use plastic bags was shown to have made plastic pollution even worse. Newsom’s office buried the news in a press release on Sunday in which it failed to identify the legislation as a plastic bag ban. The press release simply identified the law as “SB 1053 by Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) – Solid waste: recycled paper bags: standards: carryout bag prohibition.” It was one of dozens of bills Newsom signed.

If you’ve visited a grocery store in the last year, chances are high that you saw single-use plastic bags swapped for another reusable bag (also made with plastic, but we’ll get to that later). Or maybe your local grocery store hasn’t even made this trade-off, despite the law stating they must do so. On your walk home from that very store, you probably saw plastic bags still littered along the street. This is all part of the current problem with single-use plastic bans on bags, straws and takeout containers across the U.S. They are disjointed and, for the average person,...

In a recent development, multiple cases challenging state bans on so-called assault weapons are now appealing for immediate Supreme Court review. A recent YouTube video shared that these legal battles, with implications far beyond their state boundaries, have taken a pivotal step forward, driven by what many are calling a critical mistake by the state of Illinois in response to these lawsuits. Here’s the full story. The State of Illinois, like many others, has faced legal challenges to its bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. However, in a strategic move, supporters of the Second Amendment have leveraged these disputes...

Officials of Nassau County, New York, are bucking the liberal establishment of the state after moving to place a ban on men competing as women in the sports facilities the country controls. County Executive Bruce Blakeman says the ban is intended to protect the integrity of women’s sports. “What we are saying here today with our executive order is that if a league or team identifies themselves or advertises themselves to be a girls or women’s league or team, then biological males should not be competing in those leagues,” Blakeman said, according to WLNY-TV.

The New Jersey town of West Orange has banned gas-powered leaf blowers, joining two other towns in Essex County and hundreds of towns across the nation. The West Orange Township Council last week voted in favor of banning the tools in a 3-2 vote. The town will roll out with a partial ban that prohibits the use of gas leaf blowers during some winter and summer months, before moving to a full ban on January 1, 2026. Council members Bill Rutherford, Asmeret Ghebremicael and Susan Scarpa in favor of the ban, while Tammy Williams and Michelle Casalino voted against. Newsweek...

Search... Florida Democrats Send Letter to DeSantis to End Non-Existent 'Book Bans' Amy Curt They're really grasping at straws in Florida. Having been relegated to a super minority, the Florida Democrats are begging Ron DeSantis to end the non-existent book bans in Florida schools. Florida Democrats pen letter calling for Gov. Ron DeSantis to end book bans https://t.co/PfitPMDEdd — The Hill (@thehill) December 8, 2023 The Hill explains: A group of Florida Democrats urged state Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to end his administration’s current initiative of banning books in the state. In a letter sent Thursday, the group wrote to...

The French government announced it was banning pro-Palestinian protests on Thursday, explaining they cause a disturbance to public order and give rise to racial hatred. Paris announced it would arrest organisers and deport “trouble makers.” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote to the nation’s departments and regions on Thursday, informing them he had banned “pro-Palestinian demonstrations” because they are “likely to generate disturbances to public order,” the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Thursday, claiming to have had sight of his communication to regional leaders. The French government announced it was banning pro-Palestinian protests on Thursday, explaining they cause a disturbance...

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed three new gun control bills Tuesday, one of which expands areas where concealed carry for self-defense is banned. State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale) sponsored the expanded ban contained in SB2. He spoke prior to the signing, saying, “Do you need a gun to go to your daughter’s…soccer game? I would say you need a water bottle and orange slices.” He said, “When you go to the mall, do you need a weapon to go shopping, or do you need a credit card? You need a credit card.”

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has set out to lay the groundwork to ban meat, dairy, and cars in order to meet climate goals for the 2030 Agenda with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. In August, The Daily Fetched reported that fourteen American cities are set to ban meat, private vehicle ownership, and dairy under a new goal assigned by a globalist climate organization called the “C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.” Those 14 cities are part of a far-left climate organization headed by billionaire globalist Mike Bloomberg, which follows the World Economic Forum’s ‘great reset‘ agenda According to the organization’s website,...

9 Democrat-run states, California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington, have moved to ban cars by 2035. The Biden administration has exploited EPA emissions standards to accomplish the same thing. The green push to ban cars and force everyone to buy electric vehicles is a core part of the program and also highly unpopular with families struggling with high prices and inflation. Electric vehicles are far more expensive and much less reliable than cars and most can’t afford them. 59% of Americans oppose a ban on cars while only 40% support it. But, in...

Looking at the big picture, the two things that corrupt ruling elites want to see TERMINATED are the Constitution and God Himself The U.S. government was never meant to be an all-inclusive entity involved in almost every aspect of our lives, the way it is today. So how did we get to this point and what areas of our lives need to be taken back from the illegitimate claims of government in order for us to be able to say we live in a truly free country? Watch the brief video below, provided by Hillsdale College, comparing the Founders’ vision...

Florida has “effectively” banned AP Psychology from being taught in schools, according to a statement from the College Board. The Florida Department of Education instructed superintendents that “teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law,” according to the statement.

Nationwide maps reveal how access to children's gender-affirming care is eroding across parts of America - as the issue becomes one of the key political battlegrounds heading into the 2024 Presidential Election. The maps show how minors seeking this care, which can include hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and genital reconstruction, now have to travel as long as nine hours to receive the treatments. Up until the wave of state bans began in 2020 and 2021, there were no restrictions at the federal level for access to these treatments, which in cases are irreversible. As of May 2023, 20 states have...

More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations — a fifth of the US total — have received permission to leave the denomination amid a schism over theology and the role of LGBTQ people in the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination. Those figures emerge following the close of regular meetings in June for the denomination’s regional bodies, known as annual conferences. The departures began with a trickle in 2019 — when the church created a four-year window of opportunity for US congregations to depart over LGBTQ-related issues — and cascaded to its highest level this year. Church law forbids the marriage or ordination...

The rush in conservative states to ban abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women living in those states. Doctors are showing — through their words and actions — that they are reluctant to practice in places where making the best decision for a patient could result in huge fines or even a prison sentence. And when clinics that provide abortions close their doors, all the other services offered there also shut down, including regular exams, breast cancer screenings, and...

Foreign adversaries could be banned from owning or leasing agricultural lands in Louisiana under legislation approved in a House committee this week. House Bill 125, sponsored by Rep. Michael Echols, R-Monroe, is pending a floor vote in the House after members of the Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development Committee unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate. "This bill is really centered around foreign adversaries who are coming to Louisiana, acquiring agricultural lands, acquiring lands near our military bases, and this is imposing more a national security threat than we have seen in many...

FLINT, Mich. (NewsNation) — Public schools in Flint are enforcing a policy banning backpacks, including those made of clear plastic material, amid concerns over firearms, weapons and threats. The Flint Board of Education voted 7-0 to ban backpacks for the remainder of the school year. The new policy allows small purses for personal items, clear plastic bags for gym clothes and lunchboxes “within reason.” They’ll also be subject to searches. Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones said, “Things have changed,” and it’s the only way to move forward. “For the most part, the majority of our families are putting in...

The Taliban, earlier this month, prohibited women and families from accessing the garden restaurants in Herat. Video games, foreign movies, and music have been outlawed in Afghanistan under the Taliban government because they are considered to be anti-Islamic. This ban is first imposed in the western city of Herat in Afghanistan. More than 400 firms in Herat had to shut down as a result of the sudden ban enforced by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to Maulana Azizurrahman Mohajir, the provincial head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of...

Regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area voted Wednesday to eliminate the sale and installation of natural gas-powered furnaces and water heaters over eight years beginning in 2027, ostensibly to limit air pollution. The vote was the latest step taken by left-wing jurisdictions against natural gas — a convenient and relatively clean-burning source of fuel. The San Francisco Chronicle reported (original links): Bay Area regulators voted Wednesday to adopt rules to phase out the sale and installation of natural-gas furnaces and water heaters over the next eight years, one of the most ambitious plans in the country to replace gas...

Environmental advocates are celebrating in Laguna Beach — but it won’t be with balloons. The hilly seaside city known for stunning ocean views and rolling bluffs is banning the sale and public use of balloons to curtail the risk of devastating wildfires and eliminate a major source of trash floating near the community’s scenic shores. The Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to ban in public the popular mainstay of birthday and graduation parties, whether inflated with helium or not. Beginning in 2024, the balloons cannot be used on public property or at city events. The move in the...