Union

 

Federalism

Louisiana is a sovereign State jealous of its territories and powers and zealously guards them. We have a reciprocal responsibility to our fellow States to bind the national government with the chains of the Federal Constitution. We pledge in this union, assistance to protect all from Invasion from without and to maintain republican government in our own territory.

 

International Relations
We jealously guard our national and state sovereignty against any attempt to institute a supranational government, organization, or instrument designed towards such ends. International relations should be conducted on a case by case basis only with relevant nations. We will not subordinate public money to foreign interests, nor interfere with the governing of, or initiate the use of force against, sovereign peoples. We encourage limited, legal immigration, for our general benefit.

 

Militias
Louisiana is responsible for maintaining the general militia for the protection of itself, the Union, and to execute the laws. Each able individual has the responsibility to be knowledgeable and safe in the proper use of force so that he may provide for the defense of himself, his family, and the People. To these ends, the individual right of each to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Laissez Faire Markets
All markets should be free of regulation and interference by government, using an honest weight and measure as a medium of exchange. All markets shall be kept free of any fraud and coercion. The free flow of goods, services and information among the several States should not be hindered.

 

Taxes
Taxation should be limited in its scope and light in its impact. Congress should be held to the constitutional restrictions on taxation in both form and purpose. Direct, apportioned taxes are preferred for both state and national revenue. Louisiana must ensure that the tax laws are not misapplied or improperly enforced to the detriment of the citizen. All taxation should be approved by a three-fourths majority of the legislature and three-fourths of the people. No tax passed for any purpose shall last longer than five years.

 

National Party Platform
We adopt, affirm, and agree with the planks of the Libertarian Party Platform insofar as they are consistent with and supportive of the concepts of limited republican government as espoused in the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution for the United States of America.

 

Justice

Citizenship
We hold that all Men born in Louisiana, or in any one of the several United States, now domiciled in Louisiana, regardless of race or gender, are Citizens of Louisiana, and enjoy all of the benefits, rights, powers, authorities, prerogatives, and privileges of a sovereign. At no time is any Citizen of Louisiana in any way subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, while within the territory of Louisiana.

 

Individual Rights
We affirm the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence - that all Men are created equal, with inalienable rights; that the sole purpose of government is to protect these rights; that it is the responsibility of the People to alter or abolish their form of government whenever it becomes destructive of this purpose, instituting new government more conducive to their liberty.

 

Contracts
We uphold the right to freely contract with others outside of interference or coercion. Government has the obligation to enforce performance of private contracts, when requested by a counter-party, without regard to public policy.

 

Corporations
Corporations are chartered by government for the benefit of the People generally and no one specially. Corporations do not enjoy, nor should they be bestowed, the same individual and inalienable rights of Men. No Man should ever be deemed to be, or be treated as, a corporation.

 

Public Resources
Those resources, natural or otherwise, held in the public trust, are held so for the benefit of all the People generally and none specially. The holding of public resources in trust by government does not confer any power to government to restrict or otherwise regulate the use or enjoyment of those resources by any one of the people except so as to preserve its future use for all. Any Man or Corporation deriving profit from use of public resources shall owe a royalty to the Treasury, to be used for the benefit of the People generally.

 

Juries
All jurors have the power to decide both the Law and the Facts in every case. It is the responsibility of all jurors to serve as a check against overreaching government and find for acquittal if in their opinion the law or its enforcement is unjust. Juries must be given all evidence relevant to their decision, and they should be present for all proceedings affecting the defendant.

 

Confidence

Elections
All elections should be secure and free from tampering or fraud. All votes should have a permanent paper record, and a publicly accessible electronic record, and should be counted in each precinct in full public view. The process, machines, or software used to count votes, be they manual, mechanical, or electronic, shall be open to the public.

 

Accountability
All public officials, elected or otherwise are fully and personally, legally and financially accountable to the people. Non elected positions should be bonded, and All Officials should be subject to a Grand Jury of the People, assembled for the purpose, should they be deemed to have violated their oath of office, the law, or enjoy personal benefit while acting under color of law. All proceedings of government, in any form or fashion whatsoever, should be open to the public, either at the time of their occurrence or by publishing of their activities.

 

Preparedness
Government officials have the duty to maintain civil defense procedures and emergency supplies or supply networks, held in trust for the People. All due diligence should be exercised in anticipating contingencies and relief needs. In No case should the government ever hinder or prevent the People or any one of Them from securing their own personal Safety and Security or that of their family or neighbors.

 

Constitutions
Our Federal and State Constitutions are the supreme law of the land. They should be maintained as general, yet absolute temporary delegations from the people, of powers to various institutions of government. They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.

 

Budgets
Government has the duty and obligation to spend within the means of the Treasury. Debt should not be incurred unless in dire emergency as invasion or rebellion or natural disaster as shall not admit of any other remedy. A full cash and accrual basis accounting of all Public resources and Monies shall be issued to the People no less than once per calendar year. Louisiana shall not accept or cause to be accepted, any Thing except Gold or Silver coin as a tender in the payment of debt as required by the United States Constitution.

 

Initiatives
We recognize the imperfection of vesting all power in government. We support the People in reserving their right of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Initiative, and of Legislative Referenda. We also hold that our state constitution should reflect this right of the People, and outline a structure and guidelines for the People to properly exercise their power.
 

 

 

The National Platform of the Libertarian Party

 

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.  |Read More|