Earlier this week, progressive dreamboat Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey appeared on “HuffPost Live” and made some strong – dare I say liberty-leaning – statements concerning the ongoing, disastrous affront to humanity known as the “War on Drugs.” Booker decried the drug war, stating that it makes life difficult for law enforcement and diverts attention from other crimes. Booker stated:

“You shouldn’t be letting this bureaucracy grow so big,” Booker said. “It’s chewing up taxpayer dollars, squeezing out money. Would you rather have a nonviolent drug offender with a bunch of marijuana cost us a million dollars for a high mandatory minimum … or would you rather be able to hire two more investigators to investigate insurance fraud? To investigate other white collar crimes that are costing society? Or to protect us against terrorism?” He continued, “We’re spending money in the wrong place as a society if we really want to stop the kind of crime that threatens and undermines our economy and our safety.”

Booker is certainly correct in his assertion that the War on Drugs diverts resources and attention from actual crimes that police should be pursuing. Where Booker and I disagree is where exactly those “actual crimes” are occurring. Booker hails from New Jersey – a state with this most draconian gun laws in the country. New Jersey is a place where a 72 year old man is facing 10 years in jail for owning a federally legal antique pistol. New Jersey is a state which was attempting to jail Shaneen Allen for daring to crossover into that state with her legally owned (in Pennsylvania) concealed carry firearm. New Jersey is a state that sentenced Brian Aitken – this coming Tuesday’s guest on the Lions of Liberty Podcast – to seven years in prison for legally transporting (according to federal law) his legally owned guns. No, really. You can’t make this stuff up!

Cory Booker has been an ardent supporter of New Jersey’s gun laws. He has stated (emphasis mine):

We know we have a gun violence problem in America. The solution is not to get rid of guns. The solution is to have sensible gun laws that keep illegal weapons out of the hands of criminals but also empower communities to make smart choices about how to best protect their neighborhoods, their towns, their cities. Right now moving through our federal legislature is this insane idea that says that people can carry hidden loaded weapons, concealed weapons, all throughout the country regardless of individual state laws. They are basically saying that if in Florida or in Utah, they make a decision to issue a concealed weapon permit, that permit should apply to every other state. S

Booker was also a member of “Mayors Against Illegal Guns”, and stated the following in support of the group.

We believe, a Coalition of Mayors, called “Mayors Against Illegal Guns”, we believe that local states should make their own choices and that other people should respect those laws. The laws of Florida when it comes to concealed loaded weapons should not apply to New Jersey. The laws of New Jersey shouldn’t necessarily apply to the laws of UT or AL. We cannot have a situation where Congress passes a law and next thing you know, people are showing up in your community with hidden weapons that you, your state legislature, your mayors don’t want to have happen. We need each other to respect the laws of our states. And most importantly we need to respect human lives and come together with sensible laws to make sure that our neighborhoods, our towns, our cities, our families can be kept safe and strong and secure.

I applaud Cory Booker’s stance against the War on Drugs. My only wish is that he would examine the issue from not just a utilitarian point of view, but from a moral point of view, and see that all victimless crimes – created by laws regulating drugs and guns – are no crimes at all.

For more on how the War on Drugs hinders police officers in their duties, check out my interview with ex-police officer and vocal opponent of the War on Drugs and the War on Guns, Raeford Davis.

Liberty Links!

– John Oliver tackles the subject of drones in his latest segment from the great “Last Week Tonight.”

– H&R Block is set to cash in on the Affordable Care Act.

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