New Jersey Libertarian Party

“I’m not going to stop doing what I’m doing,” says medical marijuana advocate Eric Hafner.

By JOHN T. WARD

Among those cheering at the Statehouse when New Jersey’s law allowing medical marijuana passed in January, 2010 was Eric Hafner, an 18-year-old who found in cannabis what he did not in prescription drugs: relief from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by a “traumatic, horrifying” incident two years earlier.

Two years later, however, the law has yet to be implemented, and Hafner is a facing a charge of possessing less than 50 grams of marijuana as a result of an early-morning traffic stop in Middletown in late November.

Read the full story at RedBankGreen.com...

Dear Friend of Liberty,

I ran for governor against Mitt Romney in 2002 in Massachusetts. I read his every press release, read every major newspaper article about him, and followed his every move throughout his governor campaign -- and in each of the four years he served as governor.

Mitt Romney IS Big Government -- to the core.

Which is why I nearly fell off my chair one day when I was asked by a libertarian, “Aren’t you glad to have Mitt Romney as your governor? He’s pretty libertarian, isn’t he?”

It is critical that voters know the truth about Big Government Mitt Romney. Please forward the below column to every voter you know who would consider voting for him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The New Jersey Libertarian Party is likely to have a very exciting candidate for U.S. Senate this year. Kenneth Del Vecchio - a critically acclaimed filmmaker/best-selling author/film festival chairman/newspaper publisher/former judge - strongly believes in our principles of personal freedoms, strict adherence to the constitution, limited federal government, dismantling of the the IRS and the Federal Reserve, and massive cutting of spending. Mr. Del Vecchio has a long history of memorializing his views in his movies, books, law career and newspaper (he is the Publisher of Garden State Journal). Please go to his daily newspaper's website - GardenStateJournal.com - and read today's lead articles. We have a rarity here, where a DAILY newspaper is routinely publishing Libertarian views. See columns by Garden State Journal's editorial page editor, Mario Cash, as well as Andrew Napolitano, John Stossel, Jacob Sullum and many others.

The following email was sent to the Borough Council in Little Silver today. Many towns across New Jersey are charging exorbitant late fees for property taxes. Much thanks go to John Paff for his contributions to this effort.

Hon. Robert Neff, Jr., Mayor and members of the Little Silver Borough Council
480 Prospect Avenue
Little Silver, NJ 07739

Dear Mayor Neff and Borough Council members:

I write in my capacity as chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party. As you may be aware, Libertarians take a pretty dim view of taxation (Note1) and, if we had our way, we would a substantially reduce the size and scope of government causing a corresponding decrease in the tax burden presently shouldered by New Jersey citizens. While we don't expect the Little Silver Borough Council to adopt a Libertarian viewpoint overnight, we would like for you to effect a small change that would help reduce the burden on some of the Borough's most vulnerable residents.

In wrapping up the year, I looked over some my old files and found some news articles from April of 1991 about a New Jersey Superior Court judge who successfully stepped on a juror's right to judge for herself whether New Jersey's drug laws were fair and proportionate. I thought this 20-year old bit of history would be interest, so I put these articles on the internet.

I remember this case well, as I visited the juror several times and recall hand-typing her May 17, 1991 letter into a text file - in the days before scanners and OCR--so that I could distribute it more easily (the text file is also at the above link). I also remember the case well because I traveled more than once to the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton to visit the man who was sentenced to life imprisonment because of the juror's forced verdict. Anyway, here's the story.

On December 28th, Gary Johnson held a news conference in Santa Fe, NM announcing his switch from the Republican to the Libertarian Party.

Following Gary's announcement, National LP Chair Mark Hinkle welcomed Gary back to the Libertarian Party.

WASHINGTON - Today, December 15, libertarians celebrate Bill of Rights Day.

On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights was ratified, creating the first Ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The Libertarian Party platform expressly supports the Bill of Rights and calls for restoring our freedoms lost as a result of laws passed in violation of the Constitution by Democratic and Republican politicians.

The Bill of Rights guarantees important individual freedoms and restrains the powers of the federal government. Among them, our rights to free speech, self-defense and justice. These restraints were later extended to the states with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Democrats and Republicans regularly violate the Bill of Rights, especially the Tenth Amendment which states that the powers of the federal government are strictly limited to those enumerated in Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution - a short list which stands in stark contrast to the incalculably long list of functions comprised by today's Big Government.

NJ Libertarian Party member and former Libertarian candidate for NJ State Assembly is currently facing a charge of jury tampering for distributing  Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) literature near the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He is facing a hearing on December 12th in front of Judge Kimba Wood. So far the courts have denied his request for a jury trial.

The U. S. Constitution is quite clear on this issue in two places. In Article III, Sec. 2, it states: “The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury.” In Amendment VI, it states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,...”
                   - Julian Heicklen in a letter to Judge Wood

Julian's story was the subject of last nights Free Talk Live show.

Cato @ Liberty also covered it here. The New York Times has a story on it here.

Julian is currently out of jail on a bond while his conviction and sentence for leafleting in Florida is under appeal.

From our friends at Downsize DC:

E-Verify is "an Internet-based system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify is currently free to employers and is available in all 50 states. E-Verify provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers."

It is currently a voluntary system. House bill H.R. 2885, however, would make it mandatory for all employers. The result is an even more intrusive National ID System than the REAL ID, against which DownsizeDC.org has successfully fought.

The nominal intent of the bill is to crack down on illegal immigration, even though America has a shortage of unskilled labor and would be better served by broadening immigration law.

On November 8th there is one lone ballot question:

Shall the amendment to Article IV, Section VII, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the state of New Jersey, agreed to by the Legislature, providing that it shall be lawful for the Legislature to authorize by law wagering at casinos or gambling houses in Atlantic City and at current and former running and harness horse racetracks on the results of professional, certain college, or amateur sport or athletic events, be approved?

If approved by the voters this bill will potentially place New Jersey law at odds with federal law. In 1993 the federal government banned sports betting nationwide with an exception for four states (Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana) because at the time those states had recognized legal betting.