The Libertarian Party, established in 1971, is currently the third largest political party in the USA, the largest third party in American history. It is larger than all other current third partys combined; in the number of people elected to Office, membership, and the number of local affiliates.
Political Libertarianism is firmly grounded in libertarian philosophy as exemplified in the Declaration of Independence - many of this country's founders would be described as libertarian today. This philosophy says that all people are born as free beings; that they have certain rights that cannot be taken away and that those rights begin with life, liberty and justly acquired property which is the cornerstone in the pursuit of happiness. Also, government has no power that doesn't come from the people it governs and we, as citizens, have the right to take back that power or change the government if it becomes too oppressive.
Modern Libertarians believe in a government that is small and stays within set boundaries. It has been said that, "A government large enough to give you everything you want, is large enough to take everything you have." A small and limited government would be much less expensive, therefore taxes would be much lower. And, such a government would have to govern by leadership, not by force as it does now. Adult individuals under such a government would be free to associate with, trade with, sell to, sleep with and marry whomever they choose, as long as no force or fraud is involved. And there would be no laws governing harm or potential harm you might do to yourself, only the harm you actually do to another.
Each person is free to do what he wants with his own property which includes his own body and the life therein, as long as it doesn't cause measurable injury or loss to another individual.
Owning your own body means, for example, you can choose to harm it or even forfeit your life if you choose. But, freedom of choice requires that you accept the responsibility for your actions and deal with the consequences yourself. Unless, of course, someone offers to help you voluntarily; this is the true opposite of selfishness and the starting point for charity. There is no such thing as mandatory charity; such as ex-President, Bill Clinton's proposal to require charitable volunteerism.
To put it personally, it doesn't matter to me if my neighbor approves of me or accepts my lifestyle, as long he doesn't try to make my life his business and leaves me alone, as I leave him to his own way. Tolerance does not require acceptance or approval but does require that everyone stop assuming that they know what is best for others. There are a vast number of people in this world that will never approve of our lifestyles or accept us for who we are. Since it is not possible to get their acceptance or approval, I would be happy to have their tolerance.
Once I fell prey to the media's and politicians' propaganda about wasting my vote. But I finally realized that voting for the lesser of evils meant that I still voted for someone I didn't really want to have in office. When I did, I felt dirty, like I had done something for which to be ashamed.
When I started voting my conscience, voting for people who shared my principles and values, I suddenly started feeling good about voting.
Remember you have a choice. You can vote for the Republicrats and Demopublicans, candidates in single cause parties or single personality parties, or you can vote for the candidates of the Party of Principle--The Libertarian Party.