Today provided an excellent example of why Outright Libertarians endorses George Phillies.
It's one thing to "have" the right policies. It's another to fight for them, as Dr. Phillies has, for years.
Of the serious Libertarians running for nomination, only two sent out press releases about the marriage ruling in California today.
One of them was by Dr. Phillies. The other was by former Congressman Bob Barr. I present them here for comparison's sake.
Phillies on the ruling:
"It is wonderful to hear that once again our Courts have defended our Constitutional rights," Phillies said. "Once again, our courts have agreed that separate is not and cannot be equal. To to the people of California I say: Thank you for taking another step toward liberty and equality for all. To my civil-union supporting Democratic opponents I have a shorter message: Civil unions are major-party apartheid for GLBTQ people."
Barr on the ruling:
Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions or not ought to be a power each state exercises on its own
Phillies on DOMA:
"Voters should remember that conservative bigotry can be bipartisan," Phillies continued. "The depraved Defense of Marriage Act was authored by a Republican and passed with bipartisan support."
...
"Americans should cheer the good news that conservative bigotry has been driven back. You can tell when it is losing at the Federal level," Phillies noted, "because conservative bigots start bleating about 'Federalism' and their Jim Crow 'states rights' doctrine. Patriotic Americans know the truth: States have no right to take away your liberties."
Barr on DOMA:
Indeed, the primary reason for which I authored the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 was to ensure that each state remained free to determine for its citizens the basis on which marriage would be recognized within its borders, and not be forced to adopt a definition of marriage contrary to its views by another state.
As a lobby for fully equal and uniform treatment by government for LGBT people (and ALL people) under the law, Outright Libertarians has a duty to its membership and the Libertarian Party to support the candidates who best fight for that principle at a local, state and federal level.
Only two Libertarians saw fit to release presidential press releases on this topic -- effectively getting into the fight. And only one of those candidates embraced the proposition that equal protection of the law is not a discretionary thing to be implemented or revoked by pluralities, but an uncompromising and fundamental principle of the Constitution of our republic.
Not coincidentally, that candidate is also the one who earned our endorsement several months ago.
