Press Release from the Free State Project:
Additional images and interviews available on request.
The Free State Project (“FSP”) has reached its
milestone of having 1,000 pro-liberty activists living in the Granite State. The ultimate goal is to attract 20,000 liberty-oriented individuals to New Hampshire.“This is an important benchmark” said Free State Project President, Carla Gericke, who moved from New York City in 2008. “It shows people are willing to vote with their feet for more freedom. We are modern day pioneers.”
The Free State Project was founded in 2001 with the goal to recruit 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to a single state to concentrate their efforts. New Hampshire was selected in 2003. FSP participants sign a statement of intent declaring that they will move to New Hampshire within five years of getting 20,000 signers. More than 11,500 people have signed the statement of intent.
The ‘First Movers’ have made vast strides. At least twelve are now State representatives, and numerous others serve on school and town boards. State representatives have worked on pro-liberty legislation like Right to Marry, expanding the Castle doctrine, and cutting the NH state budget.
Others have founded or worked with organizations that highlight liberty-oriented issues, such as the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance which grades state representatives according to their voting records, and Cop
Block, a police accountability organization.Movers have created a strong independent media presence in New Hampshire. Free Talk Live, based out of Keene, NH, is a nationally syndicated radio talk show. The Liberty Radio Network hosts a number of shows, including ones focusing on LBGT and women’s issues from a
libertarian perspective.Movers have also started private charities and mutual aid societies, like Shire Sharing which delivers care baskets to the needy, and Fr33 Aid which provides volunteer first aid at events like Liberty Forum and the Porcupine Freedom Festival.
When asked about the reasons for the FSP’s accelerating growth, Gericke said it was a combination of factors, citing the economic downturn, the popularity of Ron Paul and his message of limited government, the growing deficit, the federal government’s overreach on
issues like education and health care, and President Obama’s new wars.“With its ‘live and let live’ culture, its livability, its low taxes, its relative prosperity,” Gericke said, “New Hampshire is well situated to become the beacon of liberty for the rest of the country.”
Contact: Stephanie Murphy (Free State Project Media Liaison)
Email: StephanieMurphy4 at gmail.com
