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Mozart, The Libertarian?
By: Michael Gray, We Are 1776, Contributor Every year, many Americans attend opera productions for the rich music, riveting stories, and intriguing ambience. Others view the art venue as a gathering place for the societal elite; a place to declare affluence. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what aspect of opera draws people to the classic compositions. One facet that many may not consider is the cause of liberty. In the years preceding the American and French revolutions, Mozart was using his operatic compositions as a vessel for the message of human equality, justice, and freedom. From The Magic Flute to…
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Why Politicians Need to Legalize Hemp
By: Marc Connuck, We Are 1776, Managing Partner Marijuana has an extraordinary number of uses, and while it Can be grown for use by the individual to get “high,” marijuana can also be grown for use by industries with little to no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC.) Marijuana with little to no THC is known as hemp. Industrial hemp will, at the end of the day, benefit the economy of the Untied States of America. To detail the effect that marijuana can have in your life, an analogy is made below to illustrate some of the more common uses for industrial hemp. Now,…
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The Good Guys Are NOT Coming To Save Us
By: Paul Rosenberg, The Project to Restore America A lot of Americans know that the U.S. government is out of control. Anyone who has cared enough to study the U.S. Constitution even a little knows this. Still, very few of these people are taking any significant action, and largely because of one error: they are waiting for “the good guys” to show up and fix things. Some think that certain groups of politicians will pull it together and fix things, or that one magnificent politician will ride in to fix things. Others think that certain members of the military will step in…
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Candidate Corner: NJ Libertarian Candidate Propounds Political Honesty To Maintain Constitutional Republic
Candidate Corner: A We Are 1776 Column By: Sean O’Connor, Libertarian Candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly, District 14 Here in the United States of America, most of us take pride in following the laws passed by our politicians. Even laws we disagree with. There are certain cases when, out of protest against laws violating individual liberty, some people practice civil disobedience, but most of us are nonviolent and take that moral and legal standard as a given, most of us pay our taxes despite some of us disagreeing with how our tax dollars are spent and most of…
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California Statesman: Assemblyman Says Second American Revolution Has Already Begun
California Statesman: A We Are 1776 Column By Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks, California) Not since 1776 have Americans had more cause to revolt. The long train of abuses number far more than the original 26 levied against one tyrannical king: King George. Today, tens of thousands of tyrants rule over legions of government agents, whose sole purpose has become perpetuating and growing their state-sanctioned fiefdom. In California, under the guise of saving the planet from “Global warming”, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is wiping out thousands of small businesses, confiscating mass amounts of capital through the Cap and Trade…
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Mozart, The Libertarian?
May 21, 2013
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Why Politicians Need to Legalize Hemp
May 21, 2013
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The Good Guys Are NOT Coming To Save Us
May 21, 2013
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Candidate Corner: NJ Libertarian Candidate Propounds Political Honesty To Maintain Constitutional Republic
May 20, 2013
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California Statesman: Assemblyman Says Second American Revolution Has Already Begun
May 19, 2013
Domestic Policy
Florida Governor Rick Scott Vetoes Palm Beach County “Intervention Prevention” Unit
By Ryan Bell, We Are 1776, Contributor On the tenth of May 2013, We Are 1776 released an article detailing that $1 Million was going to be awarded to the Sheriff of Palm Beach County to start up a “Prevention Intervention” Unit. This “Prevention Intervention” unit was Palm Beach County’s Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s way of enacting preemptive strikes on incidents like the Newtown, Aurora shootings and the Boston Marathon Bombing. The Unit encouraged citizens of Palm Beach County to call in if they hear anything suspicious about their neighbors, and the person reported would be met with police officers and…
California Bill Set to Allow Governmental Employees to Be Rehired After Missing Five Non-Leave Days
By Alec Scheer, We Are 1776, President Generally in the private sector, it is not permissible to be absent without leave for several days. Such disregard to your employment obligations is considered quitting your job. Government employees in the state of California, however, might be in luck! Introduced by Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D–San Bernardino), Assembly Bill (A.B.) 855 aims to reinstate any state employee that has been absent for five consecutive business days, as long as they come back with a doctor’s note. The Assembly floor analysis reads: “[A.B. 855] Allows a state employee who is absent without leave to…
Victimizing Drug War Policies: Police Shut Down Civil Disobedience Rally, Arrest and Cite 6 Non-Criminals
By: Marc Connuck, We Are 1776, Managing Partner Photograph by Diane Fornbacher “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” -Martin Luther King Jr. UPDATES: One source just told me that N.A. Poe was in fact smoking marijuana at the time of his arrest. Other sources tell me that the police had arrested him without him having smoked marijuana. Edward Forchion was not officially arrested by the police. He was grabbed by one officer and let go shortly afterwards. There was no official detainment of Edward Forchion. On Saturday, May 18th, 2013, the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for…
Proposed Minnesota Amend. Set to Allow Citizen Council Set Legislative Salaries
By Sridutt Nimmagadda, We Are 1776, Managing Partner A new constitutional amendment sponsored by Representative Jason Metsa, a Democrat who favors libertarian ideologies in the Virginia County, proposes the creation of a 16-member council to determine the salaries of state legislators in the state of Minnesota. Through the creation of the council, legislators’ salaries would be determined by citizens democratically by March 31st of every odd year. So far, the bill has been approved by the House Government Operations Committee and is now under review by the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee. A companion bill making its rounds through…
Gun Control
Beretta Leaving Maryland over Gun Politics
By Michael Gray, We Are 1776, Contributor The Newtown Shooting has spawned new gun-control legislation at the state and federal levels throughout 2013. From New York’s magazine cap and ban to attempted federal legislation of Universal Background Checks, the anti-gun lobby has been gaining ground in respect to their agenda. Maryland was one of a half-dozen states to pass new restrictions on firearms after the Newtown tragedy. The Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 281, legislation that is supported by Governor Martin O’Malley, that is set to do the following: – Requires all stolen firearms be reported 72 hours after…
HB 357- The Commonwealth Will Not Side with President Obama’s New Gun Control Measures
By Mike Gabrieli, We Are 1776, Contributor “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” -Section 21, Pennsylvania Constitution This is our right to bear arms under Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution (Constitution). It is very similar to the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution, although not nearly as controversial probably because it is just not as widely known as the Second Amendment. However, this particular right to bear arms still has significant meaning for the gun owners of Pennsylvania since most…
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is Engaging in Fraud, Lies, and Bribes to Advance Gun Control
By Gun Owners of America, Action Alert Within the past two weeks, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and his staff have openly lied about the status of talks with two Republican senators. Manchin is claiming that two Senators who originally opposed his background-registration check amendment would flip their vote if superficial changes were made to the text. But at the request of Gun Owners of America, a prominent constituent spoke with his U.S. Senator in regard to the allegations that Manchin was making about that particular Senator. The constituent reported that his Senator called Manchin’s representations a lie. In a…
Man Kicked Out of New Jersey Committee Hearing on Gun Control Bill While Testifying
By: Ryan Beeler, We Are 1776, Contributor On May 17, 2013, in New Jersey, James Kaleda, a Second Amendment activist, was thrown out of a committee hearing for S 2723. This is a bill that would “revise statutes concerning firearms purchaser identification cards and handgun purchase permits” and “[make] handgun purchase permits valid for four years.” The bill currently has twelve sponsors: all Democratic senators. In summary, the bill that James Kaleda was speaking against, S2723, would give the state of New Jersey the power to withhold a permit to purchase firearms pending a criminal history background check. Disregarding any personal…
Economic Policy
Federal
Foreign Policy
Legalization
Nullification
South Carolina Senate Nullifies Obamacare
By Devin Barras, We Are 1776, Contributor The “South Carolina Freedom of Healthcare Protection Act” passed the Senate in a close 23-19 vote today. This legislation has risen through the South Carolina House recently in its approval of a 65-39 vote. The bill declares that South Carolina has the “absolute and sovereign authority to interpose and refuse to enforce the provisions of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act of 2010″. The legislation goes as far to say that the state of South Carolina is prohibited from cooperating with federal officials from implementing the Affordable Care Act: “No agency…
California NDAA Nullification Bill (A.B. 351) up for Appropriations Vote
SACRAMENTO, CA - Assembly Bill 351, introduced by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks), passed the California Public Safety Committee unanimously on April 9, 2013. It is now up for a vote in the Appropriations Committee next week, May 15th, 2013. A.B. 351 would nullify the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (Sections 1021 and 1022.) Take Action Now Respectfully urge the Appropriations Committee to pass A.B. 351: Mike Gatto (Chair) Dem – 43 Contact Assembly Member Mike Gatto Capitol Office P.O. Box 942849, Room 2114, Sacramento, CA 94249-0043; (916) 319-2043 Diane L. Harkey (Vice Chair) Rep – 73 Contact Assembly Member Diane L. Harkey…
Texas House Votes to Nullify Federal Gun Control, 102-31
By Tenth Amendment Center Daily Updates AUSTIN, TX – Today, the Texas State House approved a bill that would render almost all federal gun control measures toothless. House Bill 928 (HB 928), by Representative Matthew Krause, was approved on thrid reading by a wide margin. The final vote was 102-31 (roll call here). If passed into law, HB928 would require that the state refuse to enforce almost all federal gun control measures enacted at anytime – past, present or future. It reads, in part: An agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, and a law…
Constitutional Tender Act Passes Missouri House 107-47
By Tenth Amendment Center Daily Updates JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A bill that would make gold and silver coin legal tender in Missouri overwhelmingly passed the House Tuesday. HB 421 exempts any capital gains income included in Missouri adjusted gross income from the exchange of gold and silver issued by the federal government at a nonbank depository from state individual and corporate income taxes and allows the use of silver coins issued by the federal government as legal tender at face value. The silver coins of the United States are hereby declared a legal tender, at their par value, fixed by…
Texas Action Alert: 2nd Gun Control Nullification Bill Hits the House Floor on Saturday
By Tenth Amendment Center Daily Updates Joining HB1076 for a full Texas State House vote on SATURDAY, May 4th, is HB928. Both are based on the same principle – that no one working for government in the state of Texas will enforce federal gun control measures. 1076 focuses only on new federal gun control enacted on or after January 1, 2013. But HB928 makes no distinction – and virtually all federal gun control measures will be unenforceable within the state of Texas. This would make a HUGE dent in any new federal effort to further restrict the right to keep and…
