Press Release
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Libertarian Party of Virginia Supports Marriage Equality:
Urges the U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn both DOMA and CA Prop 8
(FAIRFAX) – The Libertarian Party of Virginia (LPVA) strongly supports marriage equality.
National LP platform (1.3 Personal Relationships):
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the government’s treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Chuck Moulton, LPVA chairman, exclaims “The Libertarian Party already demanded marriage equality in its platform 30 years ago – while the big debate in this country was over gay imprisonment! In contrast the Democratic Party only added a marriage equality plank in 2012.”
“Democrat Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law,” Moulton notes, “and banned openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT). Democrats are late to the parade… Libertarians advocated for gay rights long before it was popular.”
The 2012 Libertarian Party candidate for President, Governor Gary Johnson, signed on to an amicus curiae brief for the American Foundation for Equal Rights in support of overturning California Prop. 8.
Although Libertarians would prefer government out of marriage entirely, if the state issues marriage licenses, then it must issue them to all loving couples regardless of sexual orientation. Lindsey Bolton, a LP candidate for VA HoD (48 – Arlington area) and a tax attorney, observes “Marriage is a fundamental right under the 14th amendment recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in past precedents such as Loving v. Virginia.” (Many Libertarian legal scholars believe marriage belongs under the umbrella of unenumerated rights guaranteed by the 9th amendment.) Bolton continues, “The Constitution doesn’t grant or create rights; it recognizes and protects rights that inherently exist. Marriage is one such right.”
Jonathan Parrish, a LP candidate for VA HoD (23 – Lynchburg), clarifies, “The Libertarian Party’s view on same sex marriage is like our view on anything else: what you do in your home is your business.”
Justices are likely to draw heavily from the precedent Loving v. Virginia for both cases currently before the U.S. Supreme Court: United States v. Windsor (a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act) and Hollingsworth v. Perry (a challenge to California Proposition 8). In Loving, Mildred Loving (a black woman) and Richard Loving (a white man) violated Virginia’s anti‐miscegenation statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, by marrying each other. The 1967 unanimous decision recognized a fundamental right to marriage and ended all race‐based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (in part):
5. It shall hereafter be unlawful for any white person in this State to marry any save a white person, or a person with no other admixture of blood than white and American Indian.
Laura Delhomme, a LP candidate for VA HoD (47 – Arlington area) and Virginia director of Outright Libertarians (a LP caucus advocating for LGBTQ issues), remarks “We all should be embarrassed that interracial marriage was still prohibited 50 years ago – and Virginia was so committed to that backwards position that it asked the U.S. Supreme Court to sanction its bigotry.” Delhomme puts Virginia’s gay marriage ban in the same category, continuing “The 2006 Marshall‐Newman Amendment to the Virginia Constitution, which excludes homosexual and lesbian couples from the definition of marriage, is just as stupid. Virginia is on the wrong side of history. 50 years from now our grandchildren will look back on this same‐sex marriage prohibition and think we were nuts!!”
Virginia Constitution §15‐A. Marriage (Marshall‐Newman Amendment, ratified 11/7/2006, in part):
That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
Libertarians support marriage equality both in Virginia and nationwide. Robert Sarvis, a LP candidate for Governor, declares “I am campaigning to repeal the state constitutional ban on gay marriage and recognize same‐sex marriages from other states.”
Virginia’s antiquated puritan streak isn’t limited to oppression on the basis of race and sexual orientation. Even straight couples aren’t safe from the nanny state that believes government should dictate your personal choices. Until February 20 of this year, cohabitation by unmarried couples – or simply extramarital sex – was a misdemeanor (1st offense: $500, 2nd offense: $2,500 + 1 year in jail).
If you believe your personal relationships should be your choice without government interference, vote for Libertarian Party candidates. “I can’t believe [gay marriage] is even a question up for discussion,” Laura Delhomme summed it up, “Let’s bring marriage equality to Virginia!”
Questions aboutthe Libertarian Party of Virginia’s position on marriage equality may be directed to:
LPVA chairman Chuck Moulton 215‐768‐6812 [email protected]
VAGovernor candidate Rob Sarvis 571‐499‐4015 [email protected]
VAHoD(23) candidate Jonathan Parrish [email protected]
VAHoD(47) candidate LauraDelhomme 571‐249‐4613 [email protected]
VAHoD(48) candidate Lindsey Bolton [email protected]
@2,3 Awesome!
@5 Yes, it’s too bad if CA doesn’t issue one of these.
@7 Maybe minimizing participation/attendance is part of the plan?
Everyone asks. A certain LNC member has been calling around trying to find out. Truly, it’s just amazing what no one can find out. This has been going on for months now. Maybe northern CA people know something, but they’re certainly not sharing with Los Angeles County or other southern Caliornia people. Maybe it’s the plan? Dunno.
@5 no one knows…someone could ask.
The problem in CA is that there’s no communication, even among the Ex Com members. Considering it’s such a large state, it’s not there are central events where we see each other and catch up. It’s truly unbelievable to me that here we are, 5 days before the convention, and I know of one person running for one spot-Southern Vice-Chair. That’s one one the reasons we’ve decided not to go. It’s an expensive trip when we don’t really know if our votes are needed or not.
I shouldn’t bitch here, though. What I should do is congratulate Virginia for doing things right!
Good for you!!!
The time to recruit was months ago.
In Virginia, we’ve been discussing establishing an “officer search committee” for a while. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but I always thought it was a good idea. LP organizations need to stop relying on the same half-dozen people to lead.
Part of the problem is we have a surplus of people who want to run for chair because they think their election will mean they have a mandate to “do things their own way”. It doesn’t work that way — our chairs should follow the “weak chairman” model:
1) Play fair referee at meetings;
2) Let the Board members make all the decisions; and
3) Delegate all of his duties to volunteers.
I’m so disappointed California hasn’t and won’t issue similar press release, especially when Proposition 8 is from our state. 🙁
Perhaps we’ll elect a new chair next weekend, but apparently there isn’t a challenger to Kevin Takenaga in the entire state–and no one knows if Kevin is going to run again.
Sorry, meant to include a link to the FB article.
I don’t think a login is required to see it.
We re-posted this media release to our Facebook page, and it seems it has almost gone viral. As of the time of this comment I’m making right now, FB reports “120,832 people saw this post”, 226 shares, and 368 Likes. That is about 30x anything we’ve posted in the past.
A lot of people from the left have commented positively on it.
Here is a great picture:
Great press release. After opposing marriage equality all my life, I now fully support it. I cannot understand how gays getting married affects straight people’s marriages in any way.