Palin's Alaska #1 state for personal freedom

According to a study released by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, Alaska is the clear winner among the 50 states in terms of personal freedom:

Sarah Palin’s Alaska does extremely well on personal freedom, conclude study authors. Reasons for its high personal freedom alone score include: fully legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana (accomplished through a court ruling), the best (least restrictive) gun laws in the country, recognition of same-sex domestic partnerships, and possibly the best homeschooling laws in the country.

Among the findings, presented in a paper by Jason Sorens and William P. Ruger, is that in general, some of the most liberal U.S. states rank lowest when it comes to personal freedom.

The study, which bills itself the "first-ever comprehensive ranking of the American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres," may help explain why Gov. Palin is so popular among libertarians.

A PDF of the paper is available for download here.

h/t: The Jawa Report

- JP