"Pro-choice on everything"--everything peaceful. The Libertarian philosophy, nicely captured in that slogan, embodies a profound respect for individual differences. Accordingly the Libertarian Party has supported the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and inscrutable individuals since its founding in 1971.
The Party platform specifically calls for "the repeal of all laws regarding
consensual sexual relations, including prostitution and solicitation, and the
cessation of state oppression and harassment of homosexual men and women, that
they, at last, be accorded their full rights as individuals." Pretty impressive,
considering that in 1971 the American Psychiatric Association still classified
homosexuality as a disease.
In supporting the rights of LGBTQI people, however, we are not recognizing any
special "group rights." Ironically, those who oppose concepts like "gay rights"
often implicitly claim special rights for other groups, such as heterosexuals or
adults. Libertarians believe that human rights are not specific to age, sex,
race, or sexual orientation, and that LGBTQI people have in particular the same
rights as anyone else to marry whom they please, to adopt and have custody of
children, and to serve openly in the military.
Our strong stand on civil liberties also does not mean that the Libertarian
Party specifically approves of homosexuality, or prostitution, or drug use. Some
Libertarians actually disapprove of all of these things. But they don't believe
they have the right to impose their beliefs on others. Their inspiring example
shows the way for all of us to get along with our differences.
Conservatives and liberals may disagree on whether the basic evil is sex or greed, but both tend to believe that everything they disapprove of, like pornography or high rents, should be illegal, and that everything they think is good, like education or giving to the poor, should be made compulsory. The logic of their common approach, if fully implemented, would leave us all ideally with no choice in any aspect of our lives--and no responsibility.
In truth, very few people see the need for more government control of their
own lives, but liberals and conservatives agree on the need for more control
over other people's lives. Respect for individual differences--the Libertarian
approach--means allowing other people to live their lives peacefully as they see
fit, even if we're sure their choices are misguided.
Our commitment to freedom across the board means that we also support, in Robert
Nozick's phrase, the repeal of all prohibitions on "capitalist acts between
consenting adults." Just as the State has no business coming between you and
your partner(s), it has no business coming between you and your tenant or
landlord, between you and your customers, or between you and your employer. It
is no more appropriate for the government to force you to rent an apartment to
me or to hire me than to force you to have sex with me. Libertarians believe
these relationships, like all others, should be voluntary. Bigots have rights,
too. Not only that: Sometimes we ourselves want to discriminate. If we have a
store in a gay neighborhood, we may prefer to hire gay employees, both for
business reasons and for support of the community.
If we simply get government out of the picture, queer folk and homophobes will
have nothing to fear from each other, since neither can then use the coercive
power of the state to impose its values on the other.
The impulse to control others has had particularly tragic consequences for gay
people, as is widely recognized, in the age of AIDS. Having medical decisions
made by bureaucrats rather than by patients and doctors imposes an oppressive
uniformity on treatment regimens and makes criminals of those seeking
alternatives.
The Libertarian Party has called from the beginning for the abolition of the
DEA and the FDA, and the decriminalization of all drugs. It also calls for
strict separation of state and science: Research by bureaucracy is as
conservative and monolithic as bureaucratic medicine; the very heavy dominance
of the field by the federal government greatly restricts the diversity of
approaches that are pursued, in research on AIDS or anything else.
Historically, governments have been far more zealous in oppressing than in
protecting LGBTQI people. In the 21st century, they still deny us basic rights
like marriage and adoption. For those who may consider it foolhardy, or even
demeaning, to rely on our oppressors to protect us, it is important that we
retain the right to defend ourselves, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
Don't you wish Matthew Shepard had been armed so that he could have defended
himself and were with us today?
The Tao Te Ching observed 2500 years ago that "governing a big country is like
cooking a small fish": Too much handling will destroy it. We are just beginning
to appreciate the wisdom of the great Lao Tzu in recent years, as scientific
developments like complexity theory are pointing to spontaneous order as a more
viable basis for a peaceful and prosperous society than the imposition of
top-down control (so 20th century!). Libertarians believe, in short, that
freedom is not only humane, but practical. The War on Drugs, like alcohol
prohibition before it, surely demonstrates clearly enough the futility and the
destructiveness of trying to control people by force.
Can you relate to the idea of not imposing your values on others by force, even
if you have "the good of society" at heart? Can you match the generosity of
spirit of those odd libertarians who believe homosexuality is wrong, but who
also believe LGBTQI people have the right to live their lives as they see fit?
If our vision of peace and respect appeals to you, please join us in helping to
make it a reality!
Check out the Libertarian Party
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