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Written by Brian Miller
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Tuesday, 14 April 2009 00:00 |
SACRAMENTO -- In its ongoing efforts to educate the public, Outright Libertarians and its partners released the following eight point guide to why complete Proposition 8 repeal is the right path forward for California and for Libertarians -- and why the Domestic Partnership Initiative (DPI) is a path backwards for California and for Libertarians.
1. Repealing Proposition 8 brings tens of thousands of Californians out of legal limbo. Prop 8's repeal has straight-forward consequences for anyone who gets married -- they are married, no more, and no less. DPI, in contrast, puts millions of Californians into a legal limbo. DPI proponents have blind faith that courts, legislators, or a higher power will straighten out the tax, custody, medical, financial, and numerous other legal nightmares and ambiguities that DPI creates. DPI thrusts uncertainty on millions of Californians, even those who oppose DPI. In this recession, heaping financial uncertainty on millions of consumers is fiscally irresponsible. Libertarian principals oppose risking the well being of millions of California families, and that's what DPI's risky, ill-researched, misguided experiment does.
2. Family lawyers, tax policy experts, and researchers all agree: DPI increases married Californians' federal tax burden. Repealing Proposition 8 doesn't. DPI will annul the marriage of every married Californian. Those marriages will become "domestic partnerships" with no federal tax recognition. Under DPI, formerly married Californians will pay $130 billion per year in extra taxes. Proposition 8's repeal carries no risk of raising taxes on anybody. Hiking taxes solely to appease the semantic yearnings of social conservatives is the opposite of Libertarian. In fact, it's just plain wrong. The Secretary of State's website says DPI "would have an unknown fiscal effect on state and local governments" while repealing Prop 8 "would likely have little fiscal impact on state and local governments. " During this recession, "unknown fiscal effects" are the last thing Californians need.
3. DPI expands the role of government in the most intimate relationships of all Californians. DPI creates an entirely new licensing scheme imposed on all relationships. DPI offers all the negative aspects of marriage licensing, not to mention even fewer associated freedoms, and new hurdles and government restrictions on individuals. Proposition 8 repeal removes a state restriction imposed on the familial relationships of tens of thousands of Californians. Proposition 8 repeal is far more Libertarian in approach and effect.
4. Libertarians were key partners in opposing Proposition 8. Withdrawing from that coalition mid-stream dilutes the power of our principles, makes the Party appear unreliable, and calls into doubt the commitment of Libertarians to individual liberties. The core of Libertarianism is commitment to principles and fulfillment of obligations -- abandoning our coalition partners is not only politically unwise, but anti-Libertarian.
5. Proposition 8's repeal is a step towards privatizing marriage. DPI solidifies "marriage under another name" as the permanent domain of state government. Libertarians should not endorse any referendum that creates
an entirely new, heavy-handed government regime. We should be working to deconstruct those regimes and to maximize personal liberties.
6. DPI lacks a clear federal strategy. DPI was not carefully studied by the Libertarian Party of California's leadership before they endorsed it. Proposition 8's repeal has a clear and logical strategy for state and federal legislative and legal efforts. Proposition 8's repeal has been extensively studied by family law experts and Libertarian research organizations. Libertarians across California and across America agree -- Proposition 8's repeal is the course of action that will advance society in a broadly Libertarian direction.
7. Domestic partnership is a failing and fading strategy. Equal Marriage treatment for all is the path of the future. Libertarians in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey and Washington state have successfully advanced equal treatment under the law by removing government restrictions on marriage. In Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts, they have been especially successful. In contrast, no effort like DPI has ever been successful. It replaces the marriage bureaucracy with an even riskier "domestic partnership" bureaucracy. Libertarians should not support losing strategies, especially when the strategy that has already won in state after state is more Libertarian than DPI.
8. Prominent Libertarians from around California -- and around the country -- agree that a Prop 8 repeal is the way to go:
* Ed Clark was the Libertarian Party's most successful presidential candidate. A prominent California Libertarian and keynote speaker at several recent LP California events, his position on the DPI and Proposition 8 is clear: "I support the outright repeal of Proposition 8. California doesn't need the Domestic Partnership Initiative which will raise taxes on many Californians, create a new bureaucracy and is much less likely to be approved by the voters than is the repeal of Proposition 8."
* A well-known activist and former candidate for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, Massachusetts Libertarian Party Treasurer George Phillies, writes: "Massachusetts has had equal marriage rights for years and years. Massachusetts residents have seen the truth: Equality means happiness for fellow Americans. There are no bad consequences. Last year, our state legislature voted on repealing marriage rights. Gay marriage opponents couldn't get a quarter of the votes."
* "The strategy behind the DPI has been 'fire, aim, ready!'" said Rob Power, National Chair of Outright Libertarians. "The embrace of a risky, tax-hiking social engineering 'solution' to the marriage question -- without doing any significant research beforehand -- was a mistake. I am certain that at the upcoming Libertarian Party of California state convention the delegates will vote to recommit the Party to the Libertarian goal of eliminating Proposition 8, and at the same time vote to discard support for any competing initiatives. Then we can get back to continuing our efforts to reduce the heavy hand of the state bureaucracy in all of our affairs."
About Outright Libertarians
Outright Libertarians is the leading lobby of LGBTQ Libertarians and their supporters within the Libertarian Party.
Comments and requests for information are welcomed by Outright's Chair, Rob Power, at
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