Chicago gun sale ban ruled unconstitutional

Chicago gun ban ruled unconstitutional - Chicago Tribune - Dahleen Glanton and Jason Meisner:

January 7, 2014 - "A federal judge on Monday stripped away a key element of Chicago's gun ordinance, ruling that it is unconstitutional to prohibit licensed gun stores from operating in the city.

"U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang found that the city failed to convince him that banning the sale of guns by licensed dealers was necessary to reduce gun violence.

"The ruling also would make it legal for individuals to transfer ownership of a firearm as a gift or through a private sale as long as the recipient was at least 18 and had a firearm owner's identification card.

"Chicago, the last city to allow residents to have handguns in their homes, once had one of the strongest handgun crackdowns in the country, making it a primary target of the National Rifle Association.

"Overturning the ban on retail gun stores and private gun sales was the last major hurdle gun rights groups faced in their hard-fought battle to dismantle Chicago's tough firearm prohibitions.

"The latest court ruling in the long legal fight came one day after Illinois, the last state to approve a concealed carry law, began accepting applications from residents who want to carry concealed firearms in public."

Read more: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-07/news/chi-citys-gun-ordinance-ruled-unconstitutional-by-federal-judge-20140106_1_gun-ordinance-gun-rights-advocates-gun-ranges
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46,000 Alaskans want cannabis initiative on ballot

Backers of vote on legal marijuana in Alaska turn in signatures | State News | ADN.com - Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News:

January 8, 2014 - "Backers of a ballot initiative that could make Alaska the third state to legalize marijuana for recreational use turned in some 46,000 signatures to the state election officials Wednesday -- putting the question one step closer to the Aug. 19 ballot.

"The Alaska measure is modeled on the 2012 Colorado initiative that paved the way for a recreational-pot industry that threw open its doors there on Jan. 1, when the law went into effect....

"The proposed initiative is backed by a coalition that calls itself the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana....

"So far, the campaign has mostly been funded by the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that is the largest marijuana policy reform group in the country."

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2014/01/08/3264121/backers-of-initiative-to-legalize.html#storylink=cpy

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The tide is rising for America’s libertarians

The tide is rising for America’s libertarians - FT.com - Edward Luce, Financial Times:

January 12, 2014 - "Robert Nozick, the late US libertarian, smoked pot while he was writing Anarchy, State and Utopia. He would applaud the growth of libertarianism among today’s young Americans. Whether it is their enthusiasm for legalised marijuana and gay marriage ... or their scepticism of government, US millennials no longer follow President Barack Obama’s cue.... If there is a new spirit in America’s rising climate of anti-politics, it is libertarian....

"Republicans such as Rick Santorum, the former presidential hopeful, who once likened gay sex to 'man on dog', elicit pure derision. Even moderate Republicans, such as Chris Christie, ... are considered irrelevant. Whether Mr Christie was telling the truth last week, when he denied knowledge of his staff’s role in orchestrating a punitive local traffic jam, is beside the point. Mr Christie’s Sopranos brand of New Jersey politics is not tailored to the Apple generation....

"The opposite is true of Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator, whose chances of taking the 2016 prize rose with Mr Christie’s dented fortunes last week.... Paul eschews the more outlandish fringes of libertarian thought. Rather than promising an isolationist US withdrawal from the world, he touts a more moderate 'non-interventionism'. Instead of pledging to end fiat money, he promises to audit the US Federal Reserve."

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cc9a31b8-7928-11e3-b381-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2qCFtSyNE
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What’s next for the marijuana lobby?

What’s Next for the Marijuana Lobby? -- Fusion. - Ted Hesson:

November 27, 2013 - "This isn’t an experiment anymore: legal pot is one of the fastest growing markets in the country. One investment group estimates that more than $1.43 billion in legal pot will be sold in 2013, and $2.34 billion in the coming year.

"So what’s next for the marijuana lobby?

"Create space for the market to do its thing -- that’s according to Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. He spoke to The Atlantic this week:

"'The goal is simple,' he said, 'It’s really to alleviate the voices of cannabis business-people and then push federal laws so these businesses are treated just like any other businesses in the country.'

"There’s a pretty strong impetus for investors to remove the roadblocks that keep pot profits underground, so the strategy makes sense: give businesspeople a taste of the potential revenue marijuana could generate, then watch as influential allies flock to your team.

"And there appear to be some legitimate opportunities right around the corner."

Read more: http://fusion.net/justice/story/whats-marijuana-lobby-264867
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Overstock 1st major online retailer to take Bitcoin

Bitcoin wins the heart of libertarian CEO | City A.M. - Guy Bentley:

January 10, 2014 - "Encouraged by positive Senate hearings in November and enthusiastic Bitcoin processors, online retailer Overstock.com has decided to take the plunge and accept the cryptocurrency. In the first 90 minutes of Bitcoin sales, the site received around 150 orders....

"The libertarian chief executive of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne, said in a press release:

This is historic. Digital currency will be an important part of the future and Overstock is excited to be the first major online shopping retailer to accept it.

As one who believes in limited government, this attracts me because it is a form of money that no government mandarin can will it into existence.

"While the use of Bitcoin can lower Overstock's transaction costs, there is more than just business behind Byrne's decision to accept the digital currency. Speaking to Wired magazine he said 'It helps us fight the machine'.”

Read more: http://www.cityam.com/blog/1389367222/bitcoin-wins-heart-libertarian-ceo
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Insane Clown Posse, fans, and ACLU sue the FBI

Insane Clown Posse take the FBI head on - West Palm Beach Libertarian | Examiner.com - Karl Dickey:

January 9, 2014 - "Yesterday, January 8, 2014, two members of the music group Insane Clown Posse and four of their fans, known as Juggalos, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for claiming they are part of organized crime. The group claims the FBI and the DOJ have overstepped their bounds....

"In 2011 the FBI labeled the group and their fans as members of a gang if they had the'Juggalos' logo tattooed on their skin and fans have reportedly been involved in repeated altercations with police simply for exercising their right of free expression and association.... Individual Juggalos have reported suffering improper investigations, detentions and other denials of their personal rights at the hands of government officials.

"The group and the four fans are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.... 'The Juggalos are fighting for the basic American right to freely express who they are, to gather and share their appreciation of music, and to discuss issues that are important to them without fear of being unfairly targeted and harassed by police,' said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director. 'Branding hundreds of thousands of music fans as gang members based on the acts of a few individuals defies logic and violates our most cherished of constitutional rights.'"

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/article/insane-clown-posse-takes-on-the-fbi-head-on
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Rand-oriented economics professor to primary House Leader Cantor

Eric Cantor’s Challenger from the Right | National Review Online - Betsy Woodruff:

January 6, 2014: "An economics professor from Henrico, Va., Dave Brat, will announce his entry into the race for Eric Cantor’s House seat on January 9.... 'I want to be Eric Cantor’s term limit,' he tells National Review Online....

"He ... intends to target Cantor for his support of the Ryan–Murray budget deal, as well as his stances on immigration reform. He’ll also go after the majority leader on the Affordable Care Act. 'He hasn’t moved the ball down the field at all,' Brat says.

"'He had two CRs at the end, one in favor of the shutdown and one opposed to the shutdown at the same time,' Brat continues. 'And that’s fairly symbolic of unprincipled leadership. I mean, that’s not a leadership position, where you’re on Side A and Side B at the same time and you’ve got your finger up in the air, checking which way the wind is blowing.'

"Brat’s background should make him especially appealing to conservative organizations. He chairs the department of economics and business at Randolph-Macon College and heads its BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism program. The funding for the program came from John Allison, the former CEO of BB&T (a financial-services company) who now heads the Cato Institute. The two share an affinity for Ayn Rand:...

"Brat can expect backing from much of the Virginia grassroots, especially the libertarian and tea-party activists who have long been frustrated with the state party’s leaders.... Brat received a warm welcome at the last Richmond Tea Party meeting."

Read more: http://m.nationalreview.com/article/367690/eric-cantors-challenger-right-betsy-woodruff
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