The liberty movement in other states don’t get a fraction of the news coverage that Free State Project participants do. That’s because they aren’t anywhere near as relevant. The FSP is a major threat to the status quo, and the press its members receive is proof. Here’s the latest feature piece from the Concord Monitor focusing on the future of the FSP, thanks to the Monitor’s Nick Reed: (more…)
In Concord this week, a bill that would make concealed carry of a gun legal without a license was heard by the state house criminal justice committee. It’s already passed the NH senate and if it makes it through the state house and governor it will make New Hampshire as free as its neighbor Vermont, in the area of gun freedom. The room was packed with supporters of freedom and also held a few fearmongering moms. Keene liberty activists spoke out in favor:
Darryl W. Perry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmE5JoDC80I
With a solid veto-proof margin, the New Hampshire house of representatives overwhelmingly passed cannabis decriminalization today, 297-67, according to state rep Kyle Tasker. That’s a significant increase over 2014’s 215-92 vote on decrim. 297 votes is 38% higher than last year’s 215. A total of 74.25% of the house’s 400 members voted for the bill and 16.75% voted against. That leaves 9% who did not vote. Of those who voted, over 81% voted in favor of decrim.
If this isn’t a mandate, I don’t know what is. Now the bill moves on to the senate, where it died last time. However, it’s a new senate and a new year. With evidence of cannabis legalization’s success mounting, and now even Washington DC legalizing, politicians in NH are finding a little backbone. Sadly, they are late to the party – the other New England states have decriminalized cannabis, some more recently, but Maine as far back as the 1970s.
Maybe the overwhelming support for decrim in this house vote will transfer to the senate, or maybe not. If it passes the senate, unless governor Maggie Hassan finds her conscience, they’ll have to pass this with a 2/3rds veto-proof margin in order to stop Hassan from striking this much-needed legislation down.
In related news, last week the state house voted to add more conditions to the medical cannabis statutes. That also now goes to the senate.
As you may know, in late 2014 the NH supreme court decided against Rich Paul’s appeal, claiming the “jury nullification” bill of 2012 was not in point-of-fact, a jury nullification bill. Turns out the 2012 law was gutted prior to passing and the rejected wording was more like JR Hoell’s 2015 edition of the bill, HB 470. Hoell’s bill was heard this week by the NH house judiciary committee. Here’s the full video of the hearing, which in addition to liberty-loving activists speaking, includes the “justice” bureaucrats trying their best to dissuade the committee from supporting having the jury being informed of their full rights:
NH Bitcoiners again converged on the state house legislative office building yesterday to testify on a bill that would make NH the first state to allow tax and fee payments in bitcoin. The video below is day two of two. (Day one is here.)
Last week, Keene liberty activists visited Concord’s state house legislative office building and spoke on multiple issues, including a bill, HB300, that if passed would prohibit government bureaucrats from testifying at the state house’s committees without permission from the committee chair. It would also make them wear their state ID when in the state house.
One of the worst things about the state house is that there are bureaucrats who attend nearly every committee hearing who are constantly pushing for more taxes and more power. The bill in question would be a major step in the right direction. Darryl W. Perry, Chris Cantwell, and I all spoke on the issue:
Darryl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh9_xGGpdTM
Recent Forum Posts
