LPradicals co-censor Marc Montoni (aka Archimedes aka amcambassador) wrote <http://lpbylaws.blogspot.com/2007/09/libertarian-party-purpose.html> on the LP Bylaws blog:
MM) a Libertarian Party that fails to be *explicitly* ideological will become just another party that fronts candidates who believe in gun control: http://www.gunowners.org/vgca06.htm (MM Marc, you're speaking from ignorance. I'm the lowest-scoring LP candidate cited on that page, and it's quite inaccurate to say I "believe in gun control". What I believe in is A-bomb control, mustard gas control, grenade control, Stinger missile control, smallpox bullet control, and yes, machine gun control. I fully defend the right of peaceful law-abiding citizens to possess any weapon whatsoever that will kill as many people as they can individually point and click at, and I didn't say anything different on the candidate survey that got me my C-. I explained this way back in 2004 at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marketliberal/message/424. The survey asked stupidly-phrased questions designed to sniff out handgun- and magazine-snatching nanny-staters, and was not designed to distinguish mainstream RTKBA advocates from private-nukes nutjobs. The gun rights language I currently support for the Platform says: "We affirm the right to keep and bear arms. Individuals have the right to possess any weapon except those so powerful that their mere possession puts the surrounding community at risk. Thus, individuals have the right to possess any weapon not designed to kill multiple persons at once." If you think the LP Platform should advocate the right to possess weapons of mass destruction, then you should say so. MM) There is little point in supporting an LP that fails to maintain a consistent message of less government in every area. (MM I agree. That's why I proposed this alternative LP purpose: "The Party's purpose is to implement and give voice to the Statement of Principles by uniting voters who want more liberty behind the electoral choices that will most move public policy in a libertarian direction." And for radicals who are truly serious about not associating themselves with force initiation in their political activism, I challenge them to take the No 1st Force Pledge: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/knowinghumans?p=488
