Libertarian perspectives on gay rights
Encyclopedia
The libertarian perspective on LGBT rights illustrates how libertarian
individuals and Libertarian Parties have applied the libertarian philosophy to the subject of lesbian
, gay
, bisexual
, and transgender
/transsexual
– collectively LGBT
– rights.
rights has remained unchanged since it was created in 1972. In 1975, Ralph Raico
, helped to create the "Libertarian For Gay Rights" caucus within the party, and subsequently published "Gay Rights: A Libertarian Approach".
The second LGBT
rights organization to operate from a libertarian
perspective was the Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns. The organization held its first national convention in 1985, and sought to promote libertarianism to LGBT Americans.
During the 1980s, the organization was affiliated with the Libertarian Party
of the United States
. One of its activities was the production of a lavender
pamphlet, to distribute at gay pride
events, that explained the libertarian perspective on LGBT
rights. Some of the libertarian views mentioned in the brochure are the following:
The brochure then went onto explain that libertarians opposed efforts to prohibit private sector discrimination because people have the right to be wrong, and that peaceful persuasion was the better method to deal with prejudice than civil rights
legislation.
In the 1990s this organization was joined by the classical liberal-libertarian
LGBT
rights organization called the Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty.
As of 2007, the LGLC have a mailing address and the GLIL web page has not been updated since 2003.
The active LGBT
Libertarian
organization is the Outright Libertarians
. Founded in 1998, the organization is also affiliated with the Libertarian Party
of the United States
and takes many of the same position that the Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns did in the 1980s.
of the United States
takes the following positions relevant to LGBT
rights:
rights. GOProud
, the Log Cabin Republicans
and the Independent Gay Forum
often advocate for LGBT
issues in a way that illustrates some common ground between American conservatives and libertarians.
For example, writers at the Independent Gay Forum endorsed the Libertarian Party and LGBT Libertarian organization's position that the Boy Scouts of America
should be free to exclude gay men as scouts and scoutmasters on the grounds that the government has no right to interfere with private organizations' views on homosexuality.
Likewise, the Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed the libertarian perspective in opposing federal hate crime legislation.
Yet, such conservative LGBT
organizations also differ with the libertarian perspective. One example is The Log Cabin Republicans' support of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. GOProud, however, takes no stance on ENDA and opposes hate-crime legislation.
and free speech.
There is a libertarian organization within the Democratic Party, called the Democratic Freedom Caucus. The blog, The Daily Kos, launched a "libertarian Democrat" movement, an effort by liberal Democrats to reach out to libertarians (and Libertarian Party members) on areas of perceived common ground, including support of civil liberties and support for equal treatment for LGBT people under the law.
placed Amendment 2 on a statewide ballot. The amendment would have prohibited the local or state government from passing civil rights legislation, including laws regarding gays and lesbians. As this amendment would have included the private and public sector, the Colorado Libertarian Party did not take a position on the amendment because the party does not believe the government has the right to dictate what a private organization can and can not do in regards to views on sexual orientation. The amendment was struck down by the United States Supreme Court in 1996.
In 2000 the Vermont
Supreme Court ordered the state to provide civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to the legalization of gay marriage. The court ruling prompted the lone Libertarian legislator in Vermont, Neil Randall, to side with the conservatives that made an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the justices for their ruling. The Vermont Libertarian Party endorsed civil unions and revoked its previous endorsement of the state legislator who went on to be elected as a Republican.
In 2001 California
voters passed a ballot measure that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The California Libertarian Party officially opposed the ballot initiative, and supports both homosexual and heterosexual marriage.
party states: "We wish to make marriage a private affair, whether religious or not, composed simply of two consenting adults, without regard for sex, and with no further obligation beyond going to the local magistrate/city hall to notify the state about the union. This form of civil union would replace the PACS
symbolically. Recognition of marriage is, of course, possible."
state in their platform that the party "fully supports the concept of a civil union and would also support allowing marriages between same sex couples, and indeed polygamous marriages or marriages between people who are already related—in all cases as long as all parties are adults and consenting."
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
individuals and Libertarian Parties have applied the libertarian philosophy to the subject of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
/transsexual
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...
– collectively LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
– rights.
United States LGBT libertarians
The Libertarian Party's position on LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights has remained unchanged since it was created in 1972. In 1975, Ralph Raico
Ralph Raico
Ralph Raico is an American historian, libertarian, and specialist in European classical liberalism and Austrian Economics. He is currently a professor of history at Buffalo State College and a senior faculty member at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Raico was a student of Ludwig von Mises and...
, helped to create the "Libertarian For Gay Rights" caucus within the party, and subsequently published "Gay Rights: A Libertarian Approach".
The second LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights organization to operate from a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
perspective was the Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns. The organization held its first national convention in 1985, and sought to promote libertarianism to LGBT Americans.
During the 1980s, the organization was affiliated with the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. One of its activities was the production of a lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
pamphlet, to distribute at gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
events, that explained the libertarian perspective on LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights. Some of the libertarian views mentioned in the brochure are the following:
- Repeal of all laws regarding consensual sexual acts between adults (with the age of consent reasonably defined). This would include abolition of laws prohibiting prostitution and solicitation, whether gay or straight.
- Repeal of legislation prohibiting unions between members of the same sex, and the extension to such unions of all legal rights and privileges presently enjoyed by partners in heterosexual marriages.
- An end to the use of loitering statutes and entrapment procedures as a means of harassing gays and prostitutes.
- An end to the collection by government agencies of data on the sexual preferences of individuals.
- Elimination of regulations specifying homosexuality as a justification for denying or revoking state licenses (for doctors, lawyers, teachers, hairdressers, etc.).
- Repeal of laws prohibiting cross-dressing.
- Recognition of the right of a homosexual parent to be considered for custody of his or her natural child, and of the child to choose the homosexual parent as guardian.
- Elimination of laws specifying homosexuality as grounds for denying the right of adoption.
- Equality of treatment of gay people in regard to government service, including particularly membership in the armed forces.
- End the usage of zoning and loitering laws to harass gay people and gay-owned businesses.
- Equal treatment for gay immigrants.
- End government sanctioned closing of gay bathhouseGay bathhouseGay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
s.
The brochure then went onto explain that libertarians opposed efforts to prohibit private sector discrimination because people have the right to be wrong, and that peaceful persuasion was the better method to deal with prejudice than civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
legislation.
In the 1990s this organization was joined by the classical liberal-libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights organization called the Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty.
As of 2007, the LGLC have a mailing address and the GLIL web page has not been updated since 2003.
The active LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
organization is the Outright Libertarians
Outright Libertarians
Outright Libertarians is an association in the United States of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and other self-identified "queer" people who are active in the Libertarian Party...
. Founded in 1998, the organization is also affiliated with the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and takes many of the same position that the Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns did in the 1980s.
United States Libertarian Party
The Libertarian PartyLibertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
takes the following positions relevant to LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights:
- Section 1.3 "Personal Relationships":
- Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the government's treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships."
- Section 3.5 "Rights and Discrimination"
- We condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. Government should not deny or abridge any individual's rights based on sex, wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference or sexual orientation. Parents, or other guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their own standards and beliefs.
U.S. Republicans and libertarians
Several gay Republicans or conservatives will often make libertarian arguments when writing about LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights. GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
, the Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
and the Independent Gay Forum
Independent Gay Forum
The Independent Gay Forum is an organization that sponsors a website featuring free access to articles and opinions penned by gay conservative, center-right Independent and libertarian gay authors...
often advocate for LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
issues in a way that illustrates some common ground between American conservatives and libertarians.
For example, writers at the Independent Gay Forum endorsed the Libertarian Party and LGBT Libertarian organization's position that the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
should be free to exclude gay men as scouts and scoutmasters on the grounds that the government has no right to interfere with private organizations' views on homosexuality.
Likewise, the Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed the libertarian perspective in opposing federal hate crime legislation.
Yet, such conservative LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
organizations also differ with the libertarian perspective. One example is The Log Cabin Republicans' support of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. GOProud, however, takes no stance on ENDA and opposes hate-crime legislation.
U.S. Democrats and libertarians
The Libertarian Party and LGBT Libertarian organizations have common ground with Democrats on issues such as separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and free speech.
There is a libertarian organization within the Democratic Party, called the Democratic Freedom Caucus. The blog, The Daily Kos, launched a "libertarian Democrat" movement, an effort by liberal Democrats to reach out to libertarians (and Libertarian Party members) on areas of perceived common ground, including support of civil liberties and support for equal treatment for LGBT people under the law.
U.S. State Libertarian Party chapters
In 1992 conservative activists in ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
placed Amendment 2 on a statewide ballot. The amendment would have prohibited the local or state government from passing civil rights legislation, including laws regarding gays and lesbians. As this amendment would have included the private and public sector, the Colorado Libertarian Party did not take a position on the amendment because the party does not believe the government has the right to dictate what a private organization can and can not do in regards to views on sexual orientation. The amendment was struck down by the United States Supreme Court in 1996.
In 2000 the Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
Supreme Court ordered the state to provide civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to the legalization of gay marriage. The court ruling prompted the lone Libertarian legislator in Vermont, Neil Randall, to side with the conservatives that made an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the justices for their ruling. The Vermont Libertarian Party endorsed civil unions and revoked its previous endorsement of the state legislator who went on to be elected as a Republican.
In 2001 California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
voters passed a ballot measure that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The California Libertarian Party officially opposed the ballot initiative, and supports both homosexual and heterosexual marriage.
France
The Liberal AlternativeLiberal Alternative
The Liberal Alternative is a French political party created on March 1, 2006. They advocate classical liberalism against socialism or conservatism...
party states: "We wish to make marriage a private affair, whether religious or not, composed simply of two consenting adults, without regard for sex, and with no further obligation beyond going to the local magistrate/city hall to notify the state about the union. This form of civil union would replace the PACS
Pacte civil de solidarité
In France, a pacte civil de solidarité commonly known as a PACS /paks/ , is a form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage...
symbolically. Recognition of marriage is, of course, possible."
New Zealand
LibertarianzLibertarianz
Libertarianz is a political party in New Zealand that advocates libertarianism, favouring self-government and limiting the power of the government over the individual. Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is a major influence on the party...
state in their platform that the party "fully supports the concept of a civil union and would also support allowing marriages between same sex couples, and indeed polygamous marriages or marriages between people who are already related—in all cases as long as all parties are adults and consenting."
See also
- Liberalism worldwideLiberalism worldwideThis article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. It is an overview of parties that adhere more or less to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world....
- Outright LibertariansOutright LibertariansOutright Libertarians is an association in the United States of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and other self-identified "queer" people who are active in the Libertarian Party...
- Objectivism and homosexuality
External links
- Official Libertarian Party position on LGBT equality
- LBGT libertarians
- Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty http://www.glil.org
- Outright LibertariansOutright LibertariansOutright Libertarians is an association in the United States of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and other self-identified "queer" people who are active in the Libertarian Party...
http://www.outrightusa.org/ - Independent Gay Forum http://www.indegayforum.org/
- Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns 1981 - 1987 http://findaid.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf8j49n9nz
- Gay Republicans That Invoke Libertarian Principles
- Lavender But Not Pink http://lavenderbutnotpink.com/gclinks.html
- Gay Rights: A Libertarian Approach, PDF version of the 1975 pamphlet by Ralph RaicoRalph RaicoRalph Raico is an American historian, libertarian, and specialist in European classical liberalism and Austrian Economics. He is currently a professor of history at Buffalo State College and a senior faculty member at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Raico was a student of Ludwig von Mises and...
. - Outright Libertarians response to Wikipedia articles
- "Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Don't Go" by Justin Raimondo - argues GLBT people should oppose anyone joining the military, rather than campaigning for the right of GLBT people to enlist