Libertarians to Debate Getting Into the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

California Libertarians, gathering at their 2004 state convention the weekend of March 12-14, must have an opinion about the hot topic of the day, but is "Till death do us part" the real Life and Death issue for the state?

(PRWEB) March 14, 2004 --Libertarians have been meeting in San Jose this weekend. The last day of their state convention is Sunday March 14. They have been energized by libertarian luminaries new and old who have all converged on the state for the most important state convention in the country for Libertarians. (Yes, whereas for the major parties, the state is either taken for granted or considered a lost cause, California is a political powerhouse for the Libertarian Party). The fact that it is a presidential year and all the major Libertarian candidates have been here has added to the excitement. (They will all speak and receive results of a presidential straw poll Sunday afternoon.) The schedule has been packed with something for every delegate: great motivational speakers, debates, and plenty of nuts and bolts internal party business to satisfy the intellectual and emotional palate. Is there room on the plate for "gay marriage?"

Saturday, Judge James Gray spoke at the banquet that culminated a full day for fun-loving and freedom-loving Californians. He recently won a contested U.S. Senate March Primary vote and will run against incumbent Barbara Boxer. His first and foremost campaign issue isn't same-sex marriage, although it should be of interest to those who support "homosexual rights" as well as "states rights." It is Medical Marijuana and the Failed War on Drugs. That is the life and death issue that he would like voters in California to focus on. Every vote cast for Judge Gray in November will constitute a referendum against Drug Prohibition, its destructiveness, its counterintuitiveness, and its lack of compassion.

Is there room to talk about "gay marriage?" Should libertarians stop and chastise the California Supreme Court, Bill Lockyer, or Arnold Schwarzenegger for what they are or are not doing? Can you call it civil disobedience if its an elected government official doing the law-breaking, whether that law is eventually considered unconstitutional or not? Is it about Equality or Entitlements?

Of course libertarians have an opinion about the issue. San Francisco Libertarians have been putting together bouquets of flowers for the newly--if only briefly--wed (pending court approval). California Libertarians have had a plank in their platform for years:

IV. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL ORDER

13. MARRIAGE
We support the rights of individuals to form private relationships as they see fit, either by contract or by mutual agreement. We regard marriage as one such private relationship. The State of California should not dictate, prohibit, control, or encourage any such private relationship. To implement this principle, we advocate:

A.    The repeal of all marriage and marriage dissolution laws and their replacement by contracts where desired by the parties.
B.    Property not specified as "community property" not being presumed as such.
C.    The repeal of all alimony laws.
D.    The recognition in law of marriage contracts as an addition to, or replacement for, marriage and marriage dissolution laws.
E.    The right of all consenting adults to form marriage contracts without regard to gender, sexual preference, degree of consanguinity, or number of parties to said contracts.

Basically, as with most issues, libertarians feel folks can do just fine with government keeping its nose out of people's business.

Last year, Libertarians got into the political fray with a resolution from the floor of the convention supporting the recall of Governor Davis. Will they make a similar commitment this year regarding same-sex marriage? A constitutional ban would certainly be a non-starter at this convention.

The 2004 Convention of the Libertarian Party of California will be held at the newly renovated San Jose Doubletree Hotel near the San Jose Airport at 2050 Gateway Place, San Jose, CA 95110. All business sessions are to be held in the Oak Room on the second level of the hotel's convention area.

For current details and information about the convention, a webpage is provided by Mark Hinkle, convention organizer at the www.ca.lp.org website.

-Edward Bowers, Media Relations, LPC