The North Carolina Court of Appeal has upheld the state’s ban on smoking in most bars and restaurants. A Pitt County for-profit club owner had challenged the county’s enforcement of the ban. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato discusses the ban in the context of property rights and its infringement on those rights that occurs when government seeks to control behavior it deems as bad. Then we turn to the state’s upcoming primary election. North Carolina voters will decide on May 8 whether to amend the state constitution to add a definition of marriage. Jeanette Doran, executive director and general counsel for the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, discusses the complicated rules surrounding the state’s constitutional amendment process. Next is a discussion of executive power. The Obama administration raised eyebrows among some constitutional scholars when it targeted Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, for death in Yemen. The John Locke Foundation and Campbell Law School Federalist Society recently hosted a debate surrounding the question: When should the U.S. government be allowed to target a citizen for death? Afsheen John Radsan, founder of the National Security Forum, discussed the legal implications. Federal law has been “overcriminalized,” and that gives federal prosecutors too much power to pursue people for prosecution. That’s the assessment of John Baker, professor emeritus of law at Louisiana State University. Baker explains the problems associated with government overreach in criminal law. And finally, lawmakers will return to Raleigh in mid-May for the short legislative session. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray discusses what they’ll be focusing on, including budget issues, the state’s huge unemployment insurance debt, and pressures on the Medicaid system.
State Smoking Ban’s Erosion of Property Rights
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