Document:National Platform 2004: Difference between revisions

Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make.

The appropriate way to suppress crime is through consistent and impartial enforcement of laws that protect individual rights.

Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes.  

The War on Drugs is a grave threat to individual liberty, to domestic order, and to peace in the world.  

Until such time as persons are proved guilty of crimes, they should be accorded full respect for their individual rights.  

We support restitution for the victim to the fullest degree possible at the expense of the criminal or wrongdoer. We oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense.

   

We favor all-volunteer juries and urge the assertion of the common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the justice of the law.

   

We favor an immediate end to the doctrine of "Sovereign Immunity" which ignores the primacy of the individual, and holds that the State may not be held accountable for its actions.

   

We oppose the involuntary treatment for mental health by health officials or law enforcement.

   

We defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right of individuals to dissent from government.

   

We defend the rights of individuals to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others.  

All rights are inextricably linked with property rights. Property rights are entitled to the same protection as all other human rights.  

The individual's rights to privacy, property, and to speak or not to speak should not be infringed by the government.

   

We condemn the government's use of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it should have.

The defense of the country requires that we counter threats to domestic security; however, we call for repeal of legislation that violates individual rights under the color of national security.  

We affirm the right to keep and bear arms and oppose all laws at any level of government restricting, regulating, or requiring the ownership, manufacture, transfer, or sale of firearms or ammunition.  

We oppose any form of compulsory national service.  

We hold that human rights should not be denied or abridged on the basis of nationality and welcome all refugees to our country.  

Individual rights should not be denied or enhanced at the expense of other people's rights by government.  

Individual rights should not be denied or abridged on the basis of sex. Recognizing that abortion is a very sensitive issue and that people, including libertarians, can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept out of the question.  

We believe that families are private institutions, which should be free from government intrusion, and that parents have the right to raise their children according to their own standards and beliefs.  

We believe that adults have the right to private choice in consensual sexual activity.  

American Indians should be free to determine their own system of governance and should have their property rights restored.  

'''The only proper role of existing governments in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected.'''  

Government intervention in the economy imperils both the personal freedom and the material prosperity of every American.  

All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We oppose all government activity that consists of the forcible collection of money or goods from individuals in violation of their individual rights.  

Government control over money and banking is the primary cause of inflation and depression.  

Regulation of financial and capital markets represses capital ventures.  

We support a constitutional amendment requiring government budgets be balanced by cutting expenditures and not by raising taxes.  

Government is the source of monopoly, through its grants of legal privilege to special interests in the economy. We advocate a strict separation of business and State.  

The unrestricted competition of the free market is the best way to foster prosperity. We oppose all government subsidies.  

Tariffs and quotas give special treatment to favored special interests and diminish the welfare of consumers and other individuals.  

We advocate the termination of government-created franchise privileges. The right to offer services on the market should not be curtailed by law.  

We support the right of free persons to associate or not associate in labor unions. An employer should have the right to recognize or refuse to recognize a union.  

'''Current problems in such areas as energy, pollution, health care delivery, decaying cities, and poverty are not solved, but are primarily caused, by government.'''  

We oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production.  

Pollution of other people's property is a violation of individual rights. Strict liability, not government agencies and arbitrary government standards, should regulate pollution.  

We support strong and effective laws against fraud and misrepresentation.  

We advocate the complete separation of education and State.  

The American people are not a collective national resource. We oppose all coercive measures for population control.  

We support transit competition and deregulation.  

We support the repeal of all laws that impede the ability of any person to find employment. The proper source of aid to the poor is voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.  

We favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. We advocate a complete separation of medicine and State.  

Resource management is properly the responsibility and right of the legitimate owners of land, water, and other natural resources.  

Farmers and consumers alike should be free from the meddling and counterproductive measures of the federal government -- free to grow, sell, and buy what they want.  

We call for the repeal of OSHA, which denies the right to liberty and property to both employer and employee and interferes in private contractual relations.  

Replace the fraudulent, bankrupt Social Security system with a private, voluntary system.  

We propose allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.  

The Civil Service system entrenches a permanent and growing bureaucracy and is inherently a system of concealed patronage.  

We call for an end to government control of political parties, consistent with First Amendment rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and propose electoral systems that are more representative.  

We recognize the right to political secession by political entities, private groups, or individuals.  

'''The United States government should return to the historic libertarian tradition of avoiding entangling alliances, abstaining totally from foreign quarrels and imperialist adventures, and recognizing the right to unrestricted trade and travel.'''