2022 was a mighty year. In addition to some of the most impactful Supreme Court decisions we’ve seen in a long time, the nation endured a divisive mid-term election season. Already, Americans are gearing up for the presidential showdown in 2024.
But what importance does 2023 have? Unlike the politicos and campaign committees that think only in terms of the next election, the Constitution and the law must be remembered every single day.
Far from being a filler year, Mountain States is treating 2023 like it is the most important year for liberty. As part of that effort, our team is thinking about the Foundation’s important work of restoring our rights and the constitutional order of our Republic in a very special manner.
The Good Fight
The work of Mountain States is about helping Americans who long to live a life of their choosing, to be unshackled from a government that has broken the fundamental agreement of popular sovereignty. Mountain States, since 1977 all the way to today, has been about challenging the Goliath. It is about safeguarding those who need help in their courageous battles for liberty.
Much of our work has been fighting overeager bureaucrats and their environmental ideological allies who abuse laws like the Endangered Species Act to strangle and choke American industry. What was once a powerful statutory tool to protect animals on the verge of destruction has been weaponized to destroy the right to property.
But for many years now, Mountain States has expanded its expertise beyond our cornerstone work of natural resources and property rights. We are in courtrooms across the country at every level defending the right to keep and bear arms, the rights of free speech and association, and the fundamental principle of equality under the law. What we have noticed time and time again is a theme. It is an idea that we are embracing in 2023 as our marching banner:
The Free American: The Other Endangered Species
The most at-risk group in this country is not a sagebrush grouse, a two-inch fish, or a prairie dog. The endangered species list we care about protecting is the Free American, coming in all shapes and sizes:
- Small-scale miners
- Ranchers on federal grazing land
- Independent energy producers
- Gun owners in hostile cities and states
- Artists dissenting from the woke orthodoxy
- The meritorious applicant to a public university
- The teacher fired for using the wrong pronoun
The list could go on and on. This year, Mountain States is approaching our work as a response to: how the federal government and overly litigious organizations have abused the law to bully American entrepreneurs, how bureaucrats write regulations in defiance of the separation of powers, how state legislators blatantly ignore the Second Amendment, how agencies think they can hire someone based on the color of their skin, and how the government tries to control the language we use or refuse to use.
Our Promise Renewed
2023 is about upholding our promise and renewing our commitment to protect the Free American, an endangered species that is threatened by the poaching and predatory trends of Big Government.
In the coming weeks, you will learn how we identify the Free American, who their biggest predators and threats are, and the tools we’re using to protect them. Stay tuned to our social media and our blog The Pamphlet to stay aware of our work in restoring the Other Endangered Species.