As a recipient of State Policy Network’s community engagement grant, the John Locke Foundation was pleased to partner with Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines and spread the principles of freedom to a local troop of ten year olds.

These young ladies were quite enthusiastic to learn about laws and the role of government on a Saturday morning at JLF. Guest speakers included Republican House representative Marilyn Avila and JLF historian Troy Kickler. Representative Avila talked to the girls about her role as a state legislator, why compromise in state government is important, what it takes to be a responsible citizen, and the debate on what constitutes a good government. Dr. Kickler spoke about how laws have evolved to adapt to the changing community in North Carolina.

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The girls then applied the concepts of laws and liberty into their campaign platforms. Advocating which laws to maintain or amend, policy issues ranged from taxes to strengthening animal rights to pro-second amendment. Others were so passionate about keeping Americans healthy that they proposed to ban junk food. The pro-business candidates didn’t agree so much on that.

Overall, the event was a success as our nation’s future leaders left with different interpretations of freedom and what active citizenship truly means.