Why is the Justice Department bullying a small libertarian magazine?

Reason has a vitriolic comments section. But that doesn't mean the government can push the magazine around.

Reason magazine
(Image credit: Illustrated by Sarah Eberspacher | Covers courtesy Facebook.com/Reason Magazine)

If you're gay or lesbian, transgendered, or just want to explore your sexuality without judgment or legal constraint, it can seem like Americans are living through a new birth of freedom. The same holds for billionaires aiming to influence presidential elections. And, in a rapidly expanding list of cities and states, for those who want to smoke, buy, and sell marijuana.

If, on the other hand, you're a devout Christian business owner who wants to avoid being forced by anti-discrimination laws to provide services for a same-sex wedding, or a doctor who would prefer not to hire yet another consultant to help ensure compliance with the maze of regulations surrounding the Affordable Care Act, or a professor who fears losing her job for daring to shake the moral certainties of some of her students — in such cases, the second decade of the 21st century can feel like the dawning of the age of soft authoritarianism.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.