The Profession That Dares Not Speak Its Name

Jacob Sullum | September 7, 2006

If you need a license to arrange flowers in a vase, it stands to reason that you'd need a license to arrange furniture in a house—not to mention picking paint and window treatments. Or so the state of New Mexico (along with four other states) seems to think. To be fair, you can do interior design in New Mexico without a license; you just can't call it interior design, or call yourself an interior designer, which makes it hard for potential customers to find you. Today two people who in most states would call themselves interior designers filed a federal lawsuit objecting to the state's protectionist censorship on First Amendment grounds. Guess who's helping them.