MANCHESTER, NH — Organizers of the Free State Project’s “Moved by Liberty” 2015 Liberty Forum are promising a bigger and better weekend of information and exploration for those intrigued by libertarian movement’s push to colonize the “Live Free or Die State.”
For one thing, they’ve moved the annual event for this year from Nashua to Manchester, according to FSP President Carla Gericke. Attendees will descend on the Radisson Hotel, 700 Elm Street, for the four-day event, March 5-8.
“Not only do you have an opportunity to meet the community, but explore downtown Manchester,” says Gericke in the YouTube invitational, posted above.
Tours will also be conducted in and around the Queen City in the week leading up to the forum, which means Manchester’s curb appeal could make or break the FreeStaters’ initiative, something which began in earnest in 2003 in an effort to recruit 20,000 “liberty-loving people” to move to New Hampshire.
They are in essence inviting the Free State Project-curious to come kick the tires, and see if a move to New Hampshire as the promised land of liberty feels right.
Among the speakers listed for the event is Lyn Ulbricht, mother of Ross Ulbricht, aka “The Dread Pirate Roberts,” who was convicted last week of seven felony charges related to his operation of the Silk Road, an online market place that dealt most notoriously in illegal drugs, using only bitcoin as currency.
Ross Ulbricht faces a minimum of 30 years in prison to a maximum of life, convicted of narcotics and money laundering conspiracies. According to Wired, Ulbricht’s legal team will appeal the court’s decision.
The Silk Road has been described as an “eBay for the illicit,” because it connected buyers and sellers of whatever they wanted to buy or sell via Tor, an encrypted Internet network.
Ulbricht’s family maintains that his conviction “opens the door for the censure and erosion of a free Internet,” whether for legal or illegal activities.
His mom will be in Manchester to talk on March 7 about her son’s “trial, tactics, and tribulations” since his arrest in 2013.
[Click here for a complete list of speakers on the schedule.]
The only requirement for FSP membership according to their bylaws is alignment with the group’s “political philosophy” expressed in their Statement of Intent, which reads: “I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the state of New Hampshire. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of individuals’ life, liberty, and property.”
[Click here for 101 Reasons to Move to NH from the FSP site.]
Anyone who promotes violence, racial hatred, or bigotry is not welcome, according to the group’s website.
According to information on the Free State Project site, founders believe they will have 20,000 people signed on to make the move to NH by 2018. Once that number is reached, those who’ve made the commitment have five years to move to the Live Free or Die State.
In an attempt to speed up the trigger point, a “Trigger the Move” campaign was launched in 2013 to initiate the five-year move by 2015, which means founders expect thousands of FreeStaters to be here by 2020.
Cost for a “basic ticket” to the Liberty Forum is $125 and covers Friday and Saturday events, meals excluded.
An “all inclusive” ticket is $359 and includes Thursday night entertainment and dinner event, Friday and Saturday all day speakers, panels and keynote presentations, breakfasts and dinners, and brunch on Sunday with a special speaker. Last day to sign up for meals is March 1.
[Click here for a complete schedule of events.]
There are other options available, including specific meal tickets, in-hotel child care, and “diner and a show” for Thursday night’s “fancy pants” participant.
Click here for more information. Registration deadline is March 1.
Liberty Forum 2015 T-shirts are $25 and can be ordered online here. While supplies last.
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