Document:National Platform 1984

PREAMBLE

As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty: a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives. and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.

We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.

Consequently, we defend each person‘s right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.

In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles.

These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.

We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.

Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.

We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely, (1) the right to life — accordingly we support prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action — accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property — accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.

Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL ORDER

No conflict exists between civil order and individual rights, Both concepts are based on the same fundamental principle: that no individual, group. or government may initiate force against any other individual, group. or government.

1. FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY

Members of the Libertarian Party do not necessarily advocate or condone any of the practices our policies would make legal. Our exclusion of moral approval and disapproval is deliberate: People‘s rights must be recognized; the wisdom of any course of peaceful action is a matter for the acting individual(s) to decide. Personal responsibility is discouraged by society routinely denying the people the opportunity to exercise it. Libertarian policies will create a society where people are free to make and learn from their own decisions.

2. CRIME

The continuing high level of violent crime — and the government's demonstrated inability to deal with it — threatens the lives, happiness, and belongings of Americans. At the same time, governmental violations of rights undermine the people‘s sense of justice with regard to crime. The appropriate way to suppress crime is through consistent and impartial enforcement of laws that protect individual rights. Laws pertaining to "victimless crimes" should be repealed since such laws themselves violate individual rights and also breed other types of crime. We applaud the trend toward private protection services and voluntary community crime control groups. We support institutional changes, consistent with full respect for the rights of the accused, that would permit victims to direct the prosecution in criminal cases.

3. VICTIMLESS CRIMES

Because only actions that infringe the rights of others can properly be termed crimes, we favor the repeal of all federal, state, and local laws creating "crimes" without victims. In particular, we advocate:

  a. the repeal of all laws prohibiting the production, sale, possession, or use of drugs, and of all medical prescription requirements for the purchase of vitamins, drugs, and similar substances;

  b. 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;

  c. the repeal of all laws regulating or prohibiting the possession, use, sale, production, or distribution of sexually explicit material, independent of "socially redeeming value" or compliance with "community standards;"

  d. the repeal of all laws regulating or prohibiting gambling; and

  e. the repeal of all laws interfering with the right to commit suicide as infringements of the ultimate right of an individual to his or her own life.

We demand the use of executive pardon to free and exonerate all those presently incarcerated or ever convicted solely for the commission of these "crimes."

4. SAFEGUARDS FOR THE CRIMINALLY ACCUSED

Until such time as persons are proved guilty of crimes. they should be accorded full respect for their individual rights. We are thus opposed to reduction of present safeguards of the rights of the criminally accused.

Specifically, we are opposed to preventive detention. so-called "no-knock laws," and all other measures that threaten individual rights.

We support full restitution for all loss suffered by persons arrested, indicted, tried, imprisoned, or otherwise injured in the course of criminal proceedings against them that do not result in their conviction. When they are responsible, government police employees or agents should be liable for this restitution.

We call for a reform of the judicial system allowing criminal defendants and civil parties to a court action a reasonable number of peremptory challenges to proposed judges, similar to their right under the present system to challenge a proposed juror.

5. JUSTICE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

The present system of criminal law is based almost solely on punishment with little concern for the victim. We support restitution for the victim to the fullest degree possible at the expense of the criminal or wrongdoer.

We accordingly oppose all “no-fault" insurance laws. which deprive the victim of the right to recover damages from those responsible in case of injury. We also support the right of the victim to pardon the criminal or wrongdoer, barring threats to the victim for this purpose. We applaud the growth of private adjudication of disputes by mutually acceptable judges.

We support a change in rape laws so that cohabitation wwll no longer be a defense against a charge of rape.

6. JURIES

We oppose the current practice of forced jury duty and favor all-volunteer juries. In addition, we urge the assertion of the common law right of juries to judge not only the facts of criminal cases but also the justice of the law. Juries may hold all criminal laws invalid that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and find all persons guiltless of violating such laws.

7. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY

We favor an immediate end to the doctrine of "Sovereign immunity" which implies that the State Can do no wrong and holds that the State, contrary to the tradition of redress of grievances, may not be sued without its permission or held accountable for its actions under civil law.

8. GOVERNMENT AND "MENTAL HEALTH"

We oppose the involuntary commitment of any person to a mental institution. To incarcerate an individual not convicted of any crime, but merely asserted to be incompetent, is a violation of the individual‘s rights. We further advocate:

a. the repeal of all laws permitting involuntary psychiatric treatment of any person, including children and those incarcerated in prisons or mental institutions;

b. an immediate end to the spending of tax money for any program of psychiatric or psychological research or treatment;

c. an end to all involuntary treatments of prisoners by such means as psycho-surgery, drug therapy, and aversion therapy;

d. an end to tax-supported "mental health" propaganda campaigns and community "mental health" centers and programs; and

e. an end to criminal defenses based on "insanity" or "diminished capacity" which absolve the guilty of their responsibility.

9. FREEDOM OF COMMUNICATION

We defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It is particularly important in any society, including our own, to guarantee the right of individuals to dissent from government itself. We recognize that full freedom of expression is only possible as part of a system of full property rights. The freedom to use one‘s own voice; the freedom to hire a hall; the freedom to own a printing press, a broadcasting station, or a transmission cable; and similar property-based freedoms are precisely what constitute freedom of communication. At the same time, we recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use of other people‘s property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary consent of the owners.

We oppose all forms of government censorship, whatever the medium involved. Specifically. we oppose all laws against obscenity or commercial advertising. We condemn securities regulations that deprive financial advisory newsletters of freedom of the press. We further condemn indirect censorship through government control of the postal system and regulation of cable transmissions.

We support repeal of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which classifies information as secret that should be available to taxpayers, violates freedom of speech and press, and prohibits public discussion of covert government paramilitary activities and spying abroad.

We also oppose the government's burgeoning practice of invading newsrooms, or the premises of other innocent third parties, in the name of law enforcement. We further oppose court orders gagging news coverage of criminal proceedings — the right to publish and broadcast must not be abridged merely for the convenience of the judicial system. We deplore any efforts to impose thought control on the media. either by the use of anti-trust laws, or by any other government action in the name of stopping "bias". We further deplore all measures that restrict competition in the electronic media by barring telephone companies from publishing electronic newspapers and electronic "Yellow Pages."

To complete the separation of media and State. we support legislation to repeal the Federal Communications Act and to provide for private homesteading and ownership of airwave frequencies, thus giving the electronic media First Amendment parity with the other communications media. Government regulation of broadcasting can no longer be tolerated. We therefore urge repeal of the "fairness doctrine," the "equal time" rule, and the "reasonable access" provision. Government ownership or subsidy of broadcast band radio and television stations and networks — in particular, the tax funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — must end. We also oppose government ownership of, grants of monopoly franchise for, or regulation of, "pay TV" cable or satellite transmission systems. We specifically condemn such government efforts to control broadcast content as banning advertising for cigarettes and sugar-coated breakfast foods or regulating depiction of sex or violence.

We call for immediate cessation of federal funding and contracting of ads produced by the National Ad Council, so that no individuals be forced to pay to support issues or ideas to which they would not voluntarily contribute. The implied threat of loss of license renewal broadcasters face, if they refuse to show National Ad Council ads for free, can only be ended by abolishing the FCC.

In particular, FCC regulation of political coverage must be immediately ended, to stop its chilling effect on the level of political debate in this country. Federally mandated lower rates for political ads, which unjustly harm established broadcasters, must end, as must FCC rules and regulations that unjustly benefit established broadcasters.

Removal of all these regulations throughout the communications media would open the way to untrammeled diversity and innovation. We shall not be satisfied until the First Amendment is expanded to protect full, unconditional freedom of communication.

10. FREEDOM OF RELIGION

We defend the rights of individuals to engage in (or abstain from) any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. In order to defend religious freedom, we advocate a strict separation of church and State. We oppose government actions that either did or attack any religion. We oppose taxation of church property lot the same reason we, oppose all taxation.

We condemn the attempts by parents or any others — via kidnappings, conservatorships, or instruction under confinement — to force children to conform to their parents‘ or any others‘ religious views. Government harassment or obstruction of unconventional religious groups for their beliefs or nonviolent activities must end.

11. THE RIGHT TO PROPERTY

There is no conflict between property rights and human rights. Indeed, property rights are the rights of humans with respect to property, and as such, are entitled to the same respect and protection as all other human rights.

Moreover. all human rights are property rights, too. Such rights as the freedom from involuntary servitude and the freedom of speech and press are based on self—ownership. Our bodies are our property every bit as much as is justly acquired land or material objects.

We further hold that the owners of property have the full right to control, use, dispose of, or in any manner enjoy, their property without interference, until and unless the exercise of their control infringes the valid rights of others. We oppose all violations of the right to private property, liberty of contract, and freedom of trade done in the name of national security. We also condemn current government efforts to regulate or ban the use of property in the name of aesthetic values, riskiness, moral standards, cost—benefit estimates, or the promotion or restriction of economic growth.

We demand an end to the taxation of privately owned real property, which actually makes the State the owner of all lands and forces individuals to rent their homes and places of business from the State. We condemn recent attempts to employ eminent domain to municipalize sports teams or to try to force them to stay in their present location.

Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners by government or private action in violation of individual rights, we favor restitution to the rightful owners. Specifically, we call for the return of lands taken from Americans of Japanese ancestry during the Second World War.

12. PROTECTION OF PRIVACY

The individual‘s privacy, property, and right to speak or not to speak should not be infringed by the government. The government should not use electronic or other means of covert surveillance of an individual's actions or private property without the consent of the owner or occupant. Correspondence, bank and other financial transactions and records, doctors‘ and lawyers‘ communications, employment records, and the like should not be open to review by government without the consent of all parties involved in those actions. So long as the National Census and all federal, state, and other government agencies‘ compilations of data on an individual continue to exist, they should be conducted only with the consent of the persons from whom the data are sought.

We oppose the issuance by the government of an identity card, to be required for any purpose, such as for employment, voting, or border crossings.

13. GOVERNMENT SECRECY

We condemn the government's use of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it should have. We favor substituting a system in which no individual may be convicted for violating government secrecy classifications unless the government discharges its burden of proving that the publication:

a. violated the right of privacy of those who have been coerced into revealing confidential or proprietary information to government agents. or

b. disclosed defensive military plans so as to materially impair the capability to respond to attack.

It should always be a defense to such prosecution that information divulged shows that the government has violated the law.

14. INTERNAL SECURITY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

We call for the abolition of all federal secret police agencies. In particular, we seek the abolition of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and we call for a return to the American tradition of local law enforcement. We support Congressional investigation of criminal activities of the CIA and of wrongdoing by other government agencies.

We support the abolition of the subpoena power as used by Congressional committees against individuals or firms. We hail the abolition of the House Internal Security Committee and call for the destruction of its files on private individuals and groups. We also call for the abolition of the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security.

15. THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS

Maintaining our belief in the inviolability of the right to keep and bear arms. we oppose all laws at any level of government restricting the ownership, manufacture, transfer, or sale of firearms or ammunition. We oppose all laws requiring registration of firearms or ammunition. We also oppose any government efforts to ban or restrict the use of tear gas, “mace,” or other non-firearm protective devices. We further oppose all attempts to ban weapons or ammunition on the grounds that they are risky and unsafe.

We support repeal of the National Firearms Act of 1935 and the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, and we demand the immediate abolition of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

We favor the repeal of laws banning the concealment of weapons or prohibiting pocket weapons. We also oppose the banning of inexpensive handguns (“Saturday night specials").

16. CONSCRIPTION AND THE MILITARY

Recognizing that registration is the first step toward full conscription, we oppose all attempts at compulsory registration of any person and all schemes for automatic registration through government invasions of the privacy of school, motor vehicle, or other records. We call for the abolition of the still-functioning elements of the Selective Service System, believing that impressment of individuals into the armed forces is involuntary servitude. We call for the destruction of all files in computer-readable or hard—copy form compiled by the Selective Service System. We also oppose any form of national service. such as a compulsory youth labor program.

We oppose adding women to the pool of those eligible for and subject to the draft, not because we think that as a rule women are unfit for combat, but because we believe that this step enlarges the number of people Subjected to governmental tyranny.

We support the immediate and unconditional exoneration of all who have been accused or convicted of draft evasion, desertion from the military, and other acts of resistance to such transgressions as imperialistic wars and aggressive acts of the military. Members of the military should have the same right to quit their jobs as other persons.

We call for the end of the Defense Department practice of discharging armed forces personnel for homosexual conduct. We further call for retraction of all less-than-honorable discharges previously assigned for such reasons and deletion of such information from military personnel files.

We recommend the repeal of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the recognition and equal protection of the rights of armed forces members. This will promote thereby the morale. dignity. and sense of justice within the military.

17. UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

We support the right of free persons to voluntarily establish, associate in, or not associate in, labor unions. An employer should have the right to recognize, or refuse to recognize, a union as the collective bargaining agent of some or all of his or her employees.

We oppose government interference in bargaining, such as compulsory arbitration or imposing an obligation to bargain. Therefore we urge repeal of the National Labor Relations Act, and all the state Right to Work Laws, which prohibit employers from making voluntary contracts with unions. We oppose all government back—to—work orders as imposing a form of forced labor.

Workers and employers should have the right to organize secondary boycotts if they so choose. Nevertheless, boycotts or strikes do not justify the initiation of violence against other workers, employers, strikebreakers, and innocent bystanders.

18. IMMIGRATION

We hold that human rights should not be denied or abridged on the basis of nationality. We condemn massive roundups of Hispanic Americans and others by the federal government in its hunt for individuals not possessing required government documents. We strongly oppose all measures that would punish employers who hire undocumented workers. Such measures repress enterprise, harass workers, and systematically discourage employers from hiring Hispanics.

Undocumented non—citizens should not be denied the fundamental freedom to labor and to move about unmolested. Furthermore, immigration must not be restricted for reasons of race, religious or political creed, age, or sexual preference.

We therefore call for the elimination of all restrictions on immigration, the abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol, and a declaration of full amnesty for all people who have entered the country illegally. We oppose government welfare payments to non-citizens just as we oppose government welfare payments to all other persons.

Because we support the right of workers to cross borders without harassment, we oppose all government-mandated "temporary worker" plans. Specifically, we condemn attempts to revive the Bracero Program as government imposition of second-class status on Mexican-born workers.

We welcome all refugees to our shores and condemn the efforts of US. officials to Create a new “Berlin Wall“ which would keep them captive. We condemn the US. government‘s policy of barring those refugees from our shores and preventing Americans from assisting their passage to help them escape tyranny or improve their economic prospects.

19. DISCRIMINATION

No individual rights should be denied or abridged by the laws of the United States or any state or locality on account of sex, race, color, creed, age, national origin, or sexual preference. Protective labor laws, Selective Service laws, and other laws that violate rights selectively should be repealed entirely rather than being extended to all groups.

Discrimination imposed by the government has brought disruption in normal relationships of peoples, set neighbor against neighbor, created gross injustices, and diminished human potential. Anti-discrimination enforced by the government is the reverse side of the coin and will for the same reasons create the same problems. Consequently, we oppose any governmental attempts to regulate private discrimination, including discrimination in employment, housing, and privately owned so»called public accommodations. The right to trade includes the right not to trade—for any reasons whatsoever.

Notes about this page

Source: http://marketliberal.org/LP/Platforms/1983_09%20LP%20Platform.pdf

OCR and initial wiki entry by Ken Moellman 1/15/2017

Preceded by: 1982 Libertarian Party Platform

1984 Libertarian Party Platform 1983-1985

Succeeded by: 1986 Libertarian Party Platform