Sending the news release below to the following forums:
http://forum.protestwarrior.com/viewtopic.php?p=10943654#10943654http://www.libertynewsforum.com/libertynewsforumcgi/YaBB/YaBB.cgi/YaBB.cgi?board=general;action=display;num=1147736459;start=0#0http://www.politicalcrossfire.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1357143#1357143http://www.bearpit.net/index.php?showtopic=7183http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2455134#post2455134http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?p=772074#post772074http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1634390/postshttp://liberalforum.org/liberalforum//index.php?showtopic=17828http://www.politicaldiscussion.info/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1852205#1852205http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?board=1.0http://boards.billmaher.com/showthread.php?p=682207#post682207http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=705006#post705006http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/showthread.php?p=224450#post224450http://www.annoyatorium.com/tm.aspx?m=223357&mpage=1&key=𶡽http://www.volconvo.com/forums/thread10435.html----
NH: Free Staters kill proposed smoking 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
