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.

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

 Posted by at 10:29 pm
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/

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