5. The Libertarian Party has been consistently pro-LGBT rights for far longer than either of the major parties.
Even those libertarians who say that they would rather have government out of marriage altogether will and do advocate that 14th Amendment means marriage should be equally recognized as long as it exists as a public contract in any form. So, if straight couples get a fancy document and legal benefits, so should gay couples.
Libertarians have been standing by this position since the 1970s, wherein LP candidate Roger MacBride was fighting for it when it wasn’t politically convenient to do so. Because libertarians stand by their principles for equal treatment before the law and freedom and liberty for all – even if and when it could cost them elections for standing true in these ways.
But what if this time, they could be rewarded for being strong in their conviction? What if liberals and Democrats, equally concerned about these social justice issues but whose own party’s policies have been found wanting, could take a chance and vote for something new this time around? Maybe it’s time to trust the party that has been on the right side of history for its entire four-decade existence since its founding in 1971, and that stands by principles that go back even further to 1776 and the Declaration. Maybe.
In the Libertarian Party’s vision of America, all men truly are created equal. With the choices we now have before us in 2016, perhaps it’s time to put down our mascots on both sides and finally start voting like we see our country that way, too.
