News » Libertarian Party of Colorado

Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Rally April 9th, Boulder

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Apr 022013

For Libertarians the campaign for freedom doesn’t end with the election. See Governor Gary Johnson at his Our America Initiative presentation April 9th, at the Math 100 building in Boulder (map). Last time he packed the place with over 500 attendees. Gary Johnson’s speech starts at 7:00 pm. Afterwards there is a fund raiser meet and greet at Rincon del Sol (map) starting at 9pm. Your $50 admission ($25 students) supports the Our America Initiative, and gives you a chance to speak with Governor Gary Johnson in person. Books, t-shirts and other items will be available for purchase and signing.

Statement on Sandy Hook tragedy, Gun Free Areas, and Gun Control

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Dec 262012

Out of respect for the grieving process families in Connecticut are going through we have remained quiet on the gun control debate. This debate started with the statists howling about reinstating an assault weapons ban before these poor souls remains were even cold. We considered this a cowardly and despicable act. To leverage such a tragedy for political gain was tasteless and immoral which is ironic since the statists claim a ban would be moral. Now that congress has introduced a new assault weapons ban we believe that we must now speak on this issue.

We will first say that an assault weapons ban, the gun free areas, and disarmament of the American people are all against our principles. There has been an extreme amount of disinformation which seems somewhat intentional. Here are some key facts about this tragedy in Connecticut that seem to be largely ignored.

This evil person had to shoot his way through the security entryway glass to gain admittance to the school.
Connecticut has a current assault weapons ban and many firearm laws on their books that make purchasing, owning, and carrying any kind of gun fairly difficult.
An evil person will perpetrate his damage upon the least likely to resist.
Media sensationalism is assuring us of another similar tragedy through their nearly constant sensationalism of this tragedy.
Magazine size has no bearing upon whether an evil person has the capacity and capability to kill scores of innocent people.
There is dispute in the media as to whether or not the rifle was left in the trunk or even at the scene of the crime.
This tragedy is a prime example of how an assault weapons ban was completely useless.

With this latest tragedy and others like it we have a common thread. These mass shootings are happening intentionally within Gun Free Areas. There is simply no valid rationalization why we should continue to support or enforce these criminal empowerment zones. If anything, we should be asking ourselves why in areas so sensitive that more people are not armed. We suggest we perform a complete reversal of attitude and create Armament Encouragement Zones where all individuals legally allowed to possess a firearm are encouraged to do so openly at all times within this designated area.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The greater the risk is to ones self in order to commit a crime the less likely that crime will become. We have seen this play out multiple times throughout our nations history. As gun control laws have relaxed we have decreased crime, we have less aggravated crime, and we have fewer murders. When we enter cities and other areas that make it more difficult for the innocent to defend themselves we can quickly find demographics that demonstrate an increase in crime, aggravated crime, and murders.

People are and need to be responsible for their own safety and welfare and not dependent upon the state for the common defense of their being. Any historian can quickly point out events in time where a people became dependent upon the state for their safety and the situation went horribly wrong with mass murders at a war crime level or above. To leave citizens defenseless in areas is to elevate the worth of a criminals life above that of an innocent and continuing this logical fallacy will only beget additional tragedy.

Minor Party State Chairs Object to Canvass Board Rule Changes

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Jul 202012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Democracy in peril at the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office

Denver, Colorado — The Colorado State Chairs of the American Constitution, Libertarian, and Green Parties have come together to protest rules that Scott Gessler, Colorado Secretary of State, is proposing that potentially undermine the integrity of our elections.

Very few people even know that county canvass boards exist or that they oversee the health of an election. Elections are administered by the county clerk, and each county’s canvass board acts as an auditor, verifying the processes and certifying the results.

Currently canvass boards are selected by the county chairs of major political parties. The new rules would allow the county clerk to pick canvass board members for the minor political parties, effectively “rubber stamping” the clerk’s agenda . The state chairs are united in their conviction that independently appointed canvass board members are critical to the integrity of elections.

Jeff Orrok, State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Colorado said, “As much as we would like to have representation on the canvass boards, to have the clerks pick canvass board members for us violates our First Amendment right of association and negates the primary reason for being a political party in the first place.”

Bill Bartlett, Chairman of the Colorado State Green Party, said, “The proposed rules threaten to undermine the impartiality of the canvas board, and its effectiveness as a tool to keep our democracy open and honest.”

Douglas Campbell, State Chairman of the American Constitution Party (now a major political party), said, “The purpose of rules is to implement statutes. Secretary Gessler’s proposals are an attempt to undermine legislative authority. Legislative principle states that legislation can only be modified by the level of government that created it.”

The three state chairs agree the elections belong to the people, not to the government. Bill Bartlett adds, “With a contentious election approaching, we feel it is our responsibility as leaders to maintain democratic, verifiable, elections… supervised by citizens, as intended by the founders.”

The rule-making hearing is July 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. The media , voters and candidates are encouraged to attend this public meeting to communicate the importance of independent citizen oversight in Colorado’s elections.

For more information, contact
Doug Campbell americonparty@gmail.com 720-936-5578
Jeff Orrok statechair@LPColorado.org 303-995-0138
Bill Bartlett billbartlett.gpco@gmail.com 970-515-9886

Governor Gary Johnson THIS SUNDAY in the Denver Pridefest Parade

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Jun 122012

The Libertarian Party of Colorado welcomes its presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, to Denver for the 37th annual Denver Pridefest.

Gov. Johnson will be walking in the Pridefest Parade Sunday, June 17 to let everyone know that when it comes to marriage equality, no other presidential candidate has a clearer message of unequivocal support. “I have always been in full support of marriage equality,” says Johnson. “While others may be resisting or “evolving”, I have always embraced the libertarian message of social tolerance and equal rights under the law.”

Gov. Johnson will also be available at the LPCO / Outright Libertarian booth (#K13) on Sunday from noon until 3:00pm. “I look forward to meeting the people of Colorado and hearing their concerns,” Gary says. “I want them to know that when I move in to the White House, they will all be coming to Washington with me!”

For more information about Gary’s campaign, please visit GaryJohnson2012.com, and to get involved locally, please visit Meetup.com/Colorado-for-Gary-Johnson-2012.

GET INVOLVED! http://www.meetup.com/lpcolorado/events/68908652/

Colorado Libertarians Ask Governor for Veto of Bill Impairing Election Transparency

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May 312012

Denver, CO May 31, 2012—The Libertarian Party of Colorado has called upon Governor John Hickenlooper to veto HB12-1036, that further threatens the state’s already vulnerable electoral processes. The Libertarians join public policy organizations such as Common Cause, the ACLU, Colorado Ethics Watch, and Citizen Center, as well as the Denver Post, Boulder Daily Camera and many diverse grassroots groups and voters in requesting that the governor prevent the flawed bill from becoming law.
“House Bill 12-1036 greatly restricts the rights of citizens, the press, and candidates – particularly those who are running as unaffiliated or do not have the backing of large party machinery – to oversee and verify the people’s elections,” says LP State Chair Jeff Orrok. “The most fundamental principle of our democracy is that we the people – not the government – should control and oversee our elections. A government is legitimate only with the assent of the governed. When government strips away the rights of the voters to verify their elections, the already vulnerable system will be subject to abuse by insiders.”
The bill has been repeatedly criticized by many across the entire political spectrum for creating a special class of insiders identified as ‘interested parties’ who will be given full access that the public will rarely, if ever achieve. Well-funded candidates and parties seeking to verify the election need only pay for an expensive recount for this full access. Shut out of such a recount, the average candidate, or newspaper or citizen watchdog group may have to wait months to access only partial records, although insider ‘interested parties’ are granted immediate and complete record access.
Orrok states that there are many troubling aspects of HB12-1036, including the last-minute passage of the bill without a meaningful opportunity for a public hearing in the House, just before it was merged with an unrelated bill to force its eleventh hour legislative approval without debate.
The Libertarian Party of Colorado urges its members and all citizens to personally write to the governor to ask for a veto though his website http://www.colorado.gov/govhdir/requests/opinion-leg.html

“Don’t Hurt Colorado” Myths and Lies On Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101

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Oct 162011

You’ve seen the signs. You’ve probably seen the multi-million dollar TV advertising campaign. By now, you’re probably asking yourself,would voting for 60, 61, and 101 “kill jobs?”

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

According to public reports, Coloradans for Responsible Reform have raised close to $7 MILLION to oppose these measures. That’s quite a bit of cash. So the question becomes… just who is funding the opposition? Turns out that 99.9% of their funding is coming from large corporations and groups who use the state to further line their wallets. Only 0.1% of their donations have come from private individuals. Many of these groups have donated several hundred thousand dollars to protect their special interests.

True or False?

The following are the three soundbites from the homepage of the Coloradans for Responsible Reform website:

1) “Amendment 61 shuts down our ability to build or expand our roads, schools, water facilities… all of our infrastructure.”

FALSE – the current economic crisis was caused by reckless borrowing. Colorado state debt has TRIPLED in the last 10 years and debt repayment costs have doubled… all without voter approval. The state is already disallowed from borrowing per the state constitution, however politicians have used clever re-wording to skirt the law. This amendment restores the constitution and voter control by requiring a balanced budget – no deficit spending in any form. Further, the amendment only affects that state and does still allow some borrowing by local government entities. The great depression, the current economic crises, and indeed all major financial catastrophes were derived from irresponsible borrowing. Do your part to protect against this destruction and vote YES on 61!

2) “Amendment 60 cuts school funding by more than a billion dollars a year”

FALSE – and completely specious conjecture. In fact school funding is directly addressed in the amendment and BY LAW there could be no cuts in school funding! The state has raised property taxes 183% since 1992 and seniors have been severely impacted by recent tax hikes. These tax increases have been implemented without voter approval. This amendment gives power back to voters to decide on their property taxes directly.

3) “Proposition 101 eliminates a major funding source for road and bridge construction across the state.”

False – the ‘fees’ assessed are not used to pay for these services. Politicians have levied an accelerating range of “fees” on Coloradans so that they could circumvent the requirement to obtain voter approval for what amounts to a tax increase. If the state cannot divert other revenues to cover the costs of road and bridge construction, it should ask the voters to decide on a tax increase – per our constitution!

Do 60 61 and 101 Kill Jobs?

No. This is merely a clever marketing message… no one wants to vote to “kill jobs.” These ballot issues ensure the long term stability of the state by requiring the state to operate in a fiscally responsible manner. It is a difficult battle, as the corporations which comprise the opposition have raised millions of dollars to confuse voters, while the supporters have very limited funds (a mere few thousand dollars) and are generally volunteers and individuals who simply care about the long term health of our state. Keep politicians responsible. Keep voters in charge. Keep corporations off of government welfare. Protect local business and local jobs… Vote YES on 60, 61, and 101.

G. Edward Griffin on the Federal Reserve and U.S. Banking System

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Mar 282011

In This Episode Rob McNealy interviews G. Edward Griffin, author of the Creature From Jekyll Island, about the Federal Reserve and the U.S. banking system. Listen Now G. Edward Griffin’s Bio G. EDWARD GRIFFIN is a writer and documentary film producer with many successful titles to his credit. Listed in Who’s Who in America, he [...]

Kathleen Chippi with Cannabis Re-Legalization Legislative Updates

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Mar 252011

In This Episode Rob McNealy interviews cannabis re-legalization activist Kathleen Chippi about updates to Colorado Cannabis legislation. Listen Now Kathleen Chippi’s Bio Kathleen Chippi has been an advocate for the re-legalization of the cannabis hemp plant for all uses for the last 20 years. In 1993 she was the first person to process hemp seed [...]

Ryan Gaunt, Outreach Director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado

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Mar 252011

In this Episode Rob McNealy talks with Ryan Gaunt, the Outreach Director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado. Listen Now Ryan Gaunt’s Bio Ryan grew up working for his family’s crane rental and steel fabricating shop in the town of Concord which is in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. During Ryan’s [...]

Rob McNealy on the Libyan War Part 2

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Mar 242011

In this Episode Rob McNealy continues his talk about the Libyan war and the consequences for the United States. Listen Now Rob McNealy’s Bio Rob McNealy is a Libertarian activist working towards freeing the American people from political oppression. Learn More Rob McNealy’s Homepage Rob McNealy’s Twitter Rob McNealy’s Facebook

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