5 years ago
October 2020
“If judges did not routinely rubber-stamp search warrants, police investigating drug dealing might be less likely to invade the homes of people who are not actually drug dealers. And if cops were better trained in the appropriate use of deadly force, they might not fire wildly into an apartment building when the victims of such home invasions exercise their Second Amendment rights. But reforms like these do not address the fundamental problem. When politicians insist on using force to prevent consumption of drugs they don’t like, bad things happen, starting with the violence that is required to enforce their pharmacological prejudices.”
Jacob Sullum
“End the War on Drugs”
30 years ago
October 1995
“The most widely accepted estimate of illegal immigrants who come to stay is about 300,000 a year. Roughly half of those enter the United States on legal visas as tourists or students, for instance and then stay. Another 5,000 or so cross through Canada, sneak into Puerto Rico, or enter via sea. So even if we gave the Border Patrol the billions of dollars it would cost to extend Operation Gatekeeper across every inch of the 2,000-mile Mexican border, and even if it succeeded in stopping 100 percent of the immigrants, at least 155,000 illegal aliens a year would still be getting into the United States.”
Glenn Garvin
“Bringing the Border War Home”
35 years ago
October 1990
“For 70 years, the First Amendment has been the American Civil Liberties Union’s chief client. In case after case, ACLU lawyers have argued for absolute free speech, for a press unfettered by government restrictions, and for the strict separation of church and state. Outside the courtroom, ACLU leaders have been among the most eloquent defenders of the libertarian principles embodied in the First Amendment. Now those principles face their strongest opposition in years….The ACLU has adopted an expansive definition of ‘civil liberties’ that dilutes its absolutist commitment to free speech. The ACLU, critics say, is now more committed to goals such as comparable worth, government aid to the homeless, and nuclear disarmament than to defending the First Amendment.”
Charles Oliver
“The First Shall Be Last?”
40 years ago
October 1985
“Prohibiting marijuana and alcohol is justified, so the argument goes, because some people commit destructive acts while under their influence. Likewise, it is permissible to outlaw possession of firearms because some individuals use weapons in an irresponsible or harmful manner. This seemingly reasonable approach leads inevitably to a limitless array of governmental restrictions on what citizens may do and, in the case of censorship, what they may read. Unless we are willing to permit the extent of our liberties to be governed by how responsibly the weakest members of society exercise those rights, we must reject this rationale for governmental control of individuals’ behavior.”
Ted Galen Carpenter
“Porn Busters”
50 years ago
October 1975
“In every case of restrictive gun legislation being considered, from mere registration to outright confiscation, exception to the proposed law is granted to law enforcement officers, the military and other selected agents of the state. The state thus ex[c]ludes itself from all restrictions! In short, an individual can be ‘drafted’ or forced by the state to carry a firearm to do the state’s bidding, but cannot own one to protect himself, his family or his property.”
Morgan Norval
“Why We Need Guns”
“Libertarians who are no doubt accustomed to meeting their ideas in caricature have probably been told that in a libertarian world—one with private streets, private mass transit, private utilities of all descriptions, private ownership of redwood trees and alligators—everything would have an explicit price to it. To walk on the streets, to visit the parks, individuals would be required to make an explicit contract. That this is in fact a distortion can be seen because the real world has been kind enough to provide Walt Disney World, a contractual city which bears no resemblance to the caricature.”
David Levy
“Learning Economics From Walt Disney World”
