Warm weather has arrived and summer is around the corner, which means it is once again time for that Great American Pastime – shutting down little kids’ concession stands! (Check out this excellent five-minute film, “Lemonade Stand” by Bill Doherty, Jr.; thanks to Robert Fernandes at LemonadeFreedom.com for bringing it to our attention.)
If you just thought to yourself, “Wait… that’s not right,” you are absolutely correct. It isn’t right. But unfortunately, it is true.
On April 16 the town of Hopkinton, Massachussets, saw the first lemonade stand shut-down of 2012. Even though the Westbury family had for years made a practice of setting up in their driveway and selling lemonade, cookies, and banana bread to spectators at the Boston Marathon, this year city officials closed the stand down because the kids had not obtained a permit from the health department. This is just the most recent of literally dozens of examples of local officials all over the nation shutting down kid-run concession stands.
The Freedom Center of Missouri is fighting a first-of-its-kind legal battle to ensure that citizens can exercise their constitutional right to use private property in harmless ways – and we believe there is nothing quite so harmless as a kid-run lemonade stand. That’s why we’re proud to be launching a new effort called Lemonade for Liberty. We are calling on all freedom-loving parents and kids to set aside Saturday, June 2, to make a (lemonade) stand for property rights! Not only will participants have fun by practicing entrepreneurship, they will help spread the word about the Freedom Center’s fight to ensure that lemonade stands remain legal in Missouri – and throughout the entire country.
We hope that as many people as possible will take part in Lemonade for Liberty and we’ve prepared this simple, printable flyer in hopes that you will help us spread the word:
Please share this flyer with friends, neighbors, churches, community groups, and especially your local media. The more people who know about this effort, the more will participate! With your help, Lemonade for Liberty can make a big impact for property rights here in Missouri and throughout the country.