LIBERTARIAN STAND ON ABORTION
The terms “pro-choice” and “pro-life” should be eliminated from any Libertarian’s vocabulary. They give the wrong impression of what Libertarians believe.
When you say you’re “pro-choice,” half the population is likely to assume you’re a liberal who likes Affirmative Action, big government, and a whole range of other liberal stands.
When you say you’re “pro-life,” the other half of the population probably assumes you’re a conservative who likes to legislate morality, wants to put prayer in government schools, and has all sorts of other dandy ideas to run their lives...
http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/Abortion.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/libertarian-perspectives-on-gay-rights
I.8 Reproductive Rights
The Issue: The tragedies caused by unplanned, unwanted pregnancies are aggravated and sometimes created by government policies of censorship, restriction, regulation and prohibition.
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
The Principle: Individual rights should not be denied nor abridged on the basis of sex, age, dependency, or location. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people’s abortions, nor should any government or individual force a woman to have an abortion. It is the right and obligation of the pregnant woman regardless of age, not the state, to decide the desirability or appropriateness of prenatal testing, Caesarean births, fetal surgery, voluntary surrogacy arrangements and/or home births.
Solutions: We oppose government actions that either compel or prohibit abortion, sterilization or any other form of birth control. Specifically we condemn the practice of forced sterilization of welfare recipients, or of mentally retarded or “genetically defective” individual. We support the voluntary exchange of goods, services or information regarding human sexuality, reproduction, birth control or related medical or biological technologies. We oppose government laws and policies that restrict the opportunity to choose alternatives to abortion.
Transitional Action: We support an end to all subsidies for childbearing or child prevention built into our present laws.
I.9 Sexuality and Gender
The Issue: Politicians use popular fears and taboos to legally impose a particular code of moral and social values. Government regularly denies rights and privileges on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Principle: Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have legitimate authority to define or license personal relationships. Sexuality or gender should have no impact on the rights of individuals.
Solutions: Culture wars, social friction and prejudice will fade when marriage and other personal relationships are treated as private contracts, solely defined by the individuals involved, and government discrimination is not allowed.
Transitional Action: Repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act and state laws and amendments defining marriage. Oppose any new laws or Constitutional amendments defining terms for personal, private relationships. Repeal any state or federal law assigning special benefits to people based on marital status, family structure, sexual orientation or gender identification. Repeal any state or federal laws denying same-sex partners rights enjoyed by others, such as adoption of children and spousal immigration. End the Defense Department practice of discharging armed forces personnel for sexual orientation. Upgrade all less-than-honorable discharges previously assigned solely for such reasons to honorable status, and delete related information from military personnel files. Repeal all laws discriminating by gender, such as protective labor laws and marriage, divorce, and custody laws which deny the full rights of each individual.
From Libertarian Party platform
http://www.lp.org/issues/platform_all.shtml
They have also come out against the War on Terror:
IV. Foreign Affairs
American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world and the defense — against attack from abroad — of the lives, liberty, and property of the American people on American soil. Provision of such defense must respect the individual rights of people everywhere.
The principle of non-intervention should guide relationships between governments. 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, travel, and immigration.
The thread was intended as you said in a much earlier post to put FR on notice that liberal viewpoints were not going to be tolerated in our Presidential candidates. I was just pointing out the in many of the very areas that Jim mentioned— abortion, gay rights/marriage, gays in military, the War on drugs— the objectives of the libertarians are the same as the liberals just for different reasons.
Now maybe you are one of those libertarians that doesn’t agree with the libertarian platform, but then you are you are making up your own definition of the word.