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Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where you can tell everyone down in old Frisco that Tiny Montgomery says hello.

We begin in Washington—the state, not the open-air asylum—where you should get to know the name Barronnelle Stutzman, and not just because it's a cool name to say, but also because Stutzman undoubtedly is on her way to being a big star in the wingnut victimization complex. From the AP:

A lower court had fined Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in Richland, Washington, for denying service to a gay couple in 2013, and ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine. Stutzman argued that she was exercising her First Amendment rights. But the court held that her floral arrangements do not constitute protected free speech, and that providing flowers to a same-sex wedding would not serve as an endorsement of same-sex marriage. "As Stutzman acknowledged at deposition, providing flowers for a wedding between Muslims would not necessarily constitute an endorsement of Islam, nor would providing flowers for an atheist couple endorse atheism," the opinion said. Stutzman's lawyers immediately said they would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision. "It's wrong for the state to force any citizen to support a particular view about marriage or anything else against their will," Stutzman's attorney, Kristen Waggoner, wrote in a statement issued after the ruling. "Freedom of speech and religion aren't subject to the whim of a majority; they are constitutional guarantees."

"Floral arrangements do not constitute protected speech" is not exactly Blackstone, but it seems to be a reasonable opinion to me.

Let's skip on from there to Wyoming, where they take their shootin' 'arns very seriously and where they like to take them everywhere they go because that's just the way we do things here in 1853. I heard on KGAB radio, though, them varmints in the state legislature are on the case.

House Bill 136 would allow those with concealed carry permits to carry firearms onto college campuses, including to sports events on campus. The bill would apply to all seven of the state's community colleges as well as the University of Wyoming. Opponents of HB 136 argue college campuses and sporting events, with their sometimes high emotions, are no place for guns. HB 137 would repeal the gun-free zones regulations that currently apply to government meetings ranging from local city council and county commission meetings to proceedings of the Wyoming Legislature.

It's nice to see yet another example of how dedicated conservatives are to the proposition that the government closest to the people is more likely to have their interests at heart. Want to keep your city council meetings gun-free? Sorry, Laramie knows best. Freedom!

We move along now to Missouri, where the state legislature has been running wild and free for some time now, particularly on the issues involving ladyparts and the ladies who have them. There's this guy Mike Moon who has decided, the hell with it, I'll just propose a bill that's flatly unconstitutional, and in violation of the Supremacy clause, and we'll see where she goes. From The Missouri Times:

Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, has once again filed his "personhood" legislation in the Missouri House, seeking a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot. Moon presented his legislation to the hour-long hearing. The controversial "personhood" legislation, this year appearing under HJR 18, seeks to grant rights from the moment of conception, establishing that an embryo is a person. Moon recited Section 2 of the State Constitution, which states that "all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry; that all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design." Moon argues that the first line, which ensures a natural right to life, is all that is needed to prove that abortions are unconstitutional. Under the resolution, all abortion would be banned in Missouri, including in cases of rape, incest, or pregnancies that threaten the life of the mother.

This is an idea so far on the fringe that it once lost a referendum in Mississippi Goddamn. But it will never die as long as there are Mike Moons out there to keep it alive. Moon, it should be noted, is a kind of all-purpose wingnut; he tried to impeach then-Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, because Moon thought Nixon was slow-walking special elections to fill vacant seats in the state legislature. (Personally, I think the seats were empty because people didn't want to work with Mike Moon.) How he hasn't been elected to Congress yet is anybody's guess.

A short jaunt then places us in Kansas, where the state legislature is trying to pull the state out of the abyss into which it was dropped when Governor Sam Brownback decided to use it as a crackpot economics lab rat. Things have gotten so bad that the state senate is debating a Democratic plan to…shhh…raise taxes. The Garden City Journal has the blow-by blow.

The full Senate's conversation about Senate Bill 188 — designed to roll back tax policies cherished by Gov. Sam Brownback — is expected to last hours longer than the 10-minute session Wednesday in the House, where a similar but less aggressive strategy for raising revenue was advanced to final action on Thursday. The Senate had called off floor debate last week on legislation that would have cut K-12 spending and elevated taxes to close the gap. "We've had a lot of discussion," said Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita. "I would have liked to cut. The public clearly said … fix the budget." "This is the start to an honest discussion in a long process to structurally fix our budget," said Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City. A key feature of the budget-balancing package put together by Democrats is the repeal, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2017, of the income tax exemption granted to farmers, dentists and other owners of limited liability corporations and other business structures. That business-owner tax was signed in 2012 by Brownback, who promised an economic renaissance in post-recession Kansas.

Here, just for balance, is Brownback's plan for digging the state out of the Sam Brownback Memorial Sinkhole.

Brownback said he would refuse to sign the House's tax bill, but Wagle said there was a possibility the Senate would debate that measure Friday if it cleared the House as expected. The House's bill was advanced 83-39 to final action. In January, Brownback proposed a plan that would increase the state's alcohol and tobacco taxes, expand a business filing fee, drain more money from the state highway fund, liquidate a long-term investment fund of at least $300 million and sell future proceeds of tobacco payments now dedicated to programs for children.

His strategy would preserve the income tax exemption for LLCs and other businesses that served as a rallying point in the 2016 elections. Moderate Republicans and Democrats gained seats in the Legislature in part because of growing public disenchantment with the LLC exemption. It costs the state about $200 million annually in revenue and has been characterized by opponents as fundamentally unfair and not the job creator promised by the governor.

Contacted in Oz, Ms. Dorothy Gale, late of Liberal, told the Journal, "Hell, no. I'm staying right where I am until those idiots get their manure together."

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Official Blog Dry Lightning Rod Friedman of the Plains brings us yet another example of a man confounded by ladyparts and the ladies who have them. From the Tulsa World:

HB 1441, by Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, also advanced on a 5-2 vote. The bill would require any woman seeking an abortion to obtain written permission from the man who impregnated her, except in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency. Critics of the measure, citing U.S. Supreme Court decisions, say it is unconstitutional and almost certain to be challenged. Humphrey, who caused a stir in recent days by referring to pregnant women as "hosts," said his bill is "not just about abortion. It's about trying to get men involved." Humphrey said men have to pay "$70,000 to $100,000 in child support. … They're involved in the creation (of the pregnancy) but have no say for the next nine months."

"Hosts"? Really? In 2017?

That hat doesn't make you smart, dude.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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