ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE LIBERTRIAN PARTY OF KANSAS

April 20, 2013

Held at Emporia State University in Emporia Kansas

Call to Order at 10:01 AM

Chairman’s report discussed our progress during the past year including our increase in registration numbers and affiliate groups including the new program of county chairs

Individual reports by the Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary plus the district 1, 2 and 3 coordinators.  District 4 was vacant at the beginning of the convention.

This was followed by a discussion by the chair of our strategy to continued success.

Barry Albin, chair of the constitutional revision committee took the floor and we proceeded through several suggested changes.

Proposal 1

This concerned giving the right to amend the by-laws to a super majority of the executive committee.

There was a motion to replace the amendment with a substitute which passed 13 for/2 against

There was then a vote on the motion as amended (2/3 required) and it was 19 for/1 against PASSED

Proposal 2

This concerned the Chair’s right to vote on the Excom.

There was a motion to replace the amendment with a substitute which passed 16 for/6 against

The committee chair rules that the amendment was now moot as it did not have any substantive change left in it. There was a motion to appeal the decision of the chair which passed 5 for and 0 against.

There was then a vote on the motion as amended (2/3 required) and it was 0 for/15 against FAILS

Proposal 3

This concerned the situation where one person held 2 offices on the Excom.

There was a motion to replace the amendment with a substitute which passed 15 for/4 against There was then a vote on the motion as amended (2/3 required) and it was 10 for/10 against FAILS

Proposal 4

This concerned adding NOTA as a ballot choice for public office nominations.

There was a vote on the motion (2/3) and it passed 22 for/2 against

PASSES

Proposal 5

This concerned adding NOTA for elections of executive committee officers.  It was pointed out that some of those officer positions cannot remain unfilled per state law.

There was a vote on the motion (2/3) and it failed 0 for/23 against

FAILS

Proposal 6

This concerned adding NOTA to ballots for District coordinators.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it passed 12 for/5 against

PASSES

Proposal 7

This concerned allowing each District Coordinator to initiate his own Deputy appointments rather than the chair.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it passed 18 for/0 against

PASSES

Proposal 8

This concerned cleaning up different wording for the same concept in several places. The committee voted it down.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it failed 2 for/10 against

FAILS

Proposal 9

This concerned replacing the paragraph that discussed the various auxiliary officers.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it passed 17 for/0 against

PASSES

Proposal 10

This concerned the need for a pledge for endorsement for public office.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it passed 15 for/3 against

PASSES

The remaining proposals where considered as a consent agenda and voted on in bulk.

A vote was taken (2/3) and it passed 17 for/0 against

PASSES

LUNCH BREAK that included a presentation of some web survey results by Webb Garlinghouse.

Resume after lunch at 1:34 PM

The following speakers made presentations to the body:

• Andrew Gray
• Mike Ogle
• Norm Olsen (Representative to the Libertarian National Committee)
• Earl McIntosh
• Lucas Thompson

Election of officers

Chair

One nomination for Chair, Al Terwelp

Elected by acclamation

Vice Chair

Two Candidates nominated        paper ballots used

Rob Hodgkinson               20 votes

Steve Rosile                       5 votes

Note that 1 vote was ignored as unreadable

Treasurer

One nomination for Treasurer, Mike Ogle

Elected by acclamation

Secretary

One candidate, Michael Kerner

Elected by acclamation

District coordinators were selected  only by members residing in that district

District 1               4 members selected Barry Albin

District 2               10 members selected Rob Garrard

District 3               6 members selected Jeff Caldwell

District 4               5 members selected Steve Rosile

Awards

Seth Warren Award goes to Earl McIntosh

Maike Warren Award to Sharon DuBois

Light of Liberty Award to Lucas Thompson

There were closing comments by the Chair followed by adjournment at 3:17 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Michael Kerner, Secretary.

April 22, 2013

Reference documents

Minutes PDF

2013 Party Constitution with changes in red

2103 Party By Laws with changes in red

2013-proposed changes to the constitution

Proposed Amendments to the proposed changes to the constitution by Rosile

April 21^st, 2013

REF: OPEN CARRY LAWSUIT

The Libertarian Party of Kansas strongly disagrees with the Honorable David W. Hauber’s decision to dismiss our open-carry lawsuit against the municipalities of Leawood and Prairie Village.  Obviously, we are disappointed, but our resolve has not wavered.  It is a shame that these cities have been able to abuse their power to this degree.  We will continue to move on this issue until the abridgment of Kansans’ civil rights to open-carry firearms has ended.

We have yet to fully examine our options moving forward on the case.  These options may include an appeal or a new filing on behalf of one or more individuals who have come forward, since our case began, to tell us of how they have been directly injured by these ordinances.

We also renew our call for Attorney General Schmidt to take on this issue, support his Opinions with action, and defend the Constitution of this great State.

Our fight for justice has clearly exposed Leawood and Prairie Village as defiantly denying their citizens’ legal, Second Amendment rights in the face of clear State law.  The cities engaging in this blatant disregard for the law have admitted publically and privately that they are violating the law with their ordinances, but they continue to refuse to remedy this activity.  They WILL NOT change without someone standing up for what is right, fair, and legal.

Libertarians and freedom loving people in Kansas will not let this stand.  The LPKS will not stop pressing until Kansans are allowed to exercise their clear, constitutional rights.

CONTACTS:

Earl McIntosh, Second Amendment Chair

etmcintosh@cox.net

785-213-1715

Al Terwelp, State Chairman

bigalkansas@gmail.com

785-665-7581

The Libertarian Party of Kansas

Individual Liberty, Personal Responsibility

P.O. Box 2456

Wichita, KS 67201

1-800-335-1776

www.lpks.org

This issue shares issues regarding Libertarian Candidates, Liberty issues, and more.

The Libertarian Party of Kansas is experiencing tremendous growth as we continue to be the fastest growing political party in Kansas. To help guide policies and communications, we have designed a survey to find out what Libertarians and our supporters across the state believe are the most important issues.

This has been carefully crafted to elicit valuable information from both long-time supporters as well as our new converts. We need to hear from EVERYONE. We would even like to hear from non-Libertarians.

Except for questions asking demographic information at the end (all of which are voluntary), none of the questions gather any particularly personal information. We just need to know where our supporters stand on various issues. We will use this issue information to guide policy decisions. The demographic information will be used to guide strategies to continue to grow our party and to elect liberty minded individuals to public office. We are at the opening gate of a two year race to become a major force in Kansas politics, and this data will greatly empower our political party.

This is a comprehensive survey. You should expect it will require about 15-20 minutes of your time. So, please take time to tell us what you think.

Results of the survey will be tabulated and considered by the LPKS Executive Committee.  There will be a report of the data presented at the State Convention in Emporia the weekend of April 20. We want to include your thoughts in all of these reports.

The 2013 LPKS State Convention will be held on April 20th 2013 in Emporia Kansas.

We will have a social mixer on Friday night starting at 7 pm at Bruff’s Steak House located at 2640 W 18 th Emporia, KS 66801.  Bruff’s is a sports bar/steakhouse. During this informal social gathering, attendees can network, chat, have a drink, and dinner if they like.

Lodging options in Emporia include:

• Holiday Inn Express 2921 W 18th Ave     (620) 341-9393
• Candlewood Suites 2602 Candlewood Dr     (620) 343-7756
• Fairfield Inn 2930 Eaglecrest Dr     (620) 342-4445

The convention is 10 am to 3:30 pm at the Memorial Union in Webb Hall #2 located on Emporia State campus.  There is a map of the campus available HERE, and the union is directly to the South of Wooster Lake (the smaller lake in the center of campus).

The state convention is free to the public, however only registered Libertarians can vote on business.

There will be catered box lunches available at noon. Registration for box lunches must be made by April 12th.  You will need to pay for the box lunch at the convention.  You can register for a box lunch HERE.

Libertarian Party of Kansas (LPKS) 2013 Convention Agenda:

• Call to Order / Welcome 10 – 10:15
• State Party Success Reports – ExCom members 10:15 – 11
• State Party Vision and Goals for 2013/14 – by chairman 11 – 11:30
• Business meeting – Amendments to State Constitution/Bylaws (If no amendments their may be a Guest Speaker) 11:30 – 12:30 (time length subject to change)
• Lunch / Socializing 12:30 – 1:30
• Featured Speaker -TBD 1:30 – 2:30
• Elections of State Party Officers 2:30 – 3
• Volunteer Awards Celebration 3 – 3:30

Nominations for state party officers

Nominations for the state officers or if you are interested in serving as an officer of the Libertarian Party please contact the Candidate Committee Chair, Steven A. Rosile, at vice-chair@lpks.org or by calling 316 618-1339.

Amending the LPKS Constitution and By Laws

Proposed Amendments to the LPKS Constitution and By Laws.

This year we will be proposing and making Amendments to the LPKS Constitution and By Laws. All registered members of the Libertarian Party of Kansas can participate in this by going to these documents on the LPKS website HERE.

After reading and studying these documents, if you have ideas on how they can be improved or made more complete please send your proposals to Constitution and By Laws Committee Chair Barry Albin at albinlaw@tctelco.net or dist1@lpks.org for the Committee to consider them. All proposed amendments must be received by Barry no later than March 20, 2013 to be brought to the floor of the Annual Meeting/Convention April 20.

Proposed amendments will be posted on the LPKS.org website in early April so that our members can make themselves familiar with the proposals and also see the recommendations of the Committee before the meeting.

LPKS Volunteer Award.

The former tradition of appreciating the hard work of our volunteer members will be resumed this year. Three volunteers will be recognized with awards. (Cannot be one of the eight voting ExCom officers.)

• Most valuable MALE activist of the year gets the Seth Warren Award.
• Most valuable FEMALE activist of the year gets the Maike Warren Award.
• Most valuable non-Libertarian member of the year who has partnered with us and made a significant contribution to our efforts gets the Light of Liberty Award.

With many pressing issues to address, members of the Kansas House have taken much time to consider a way to curtail our freedom by tightly regulating ‘adult entertainment’. They seem to be struggling to find an adequate definition to subject to their new regulations. Under one draft we saw, exposing a woman’s nipples to a minor would be included. This, of course, would make breast feeding a criminal activity.

Advocates for greater regulation claim these businesses destroy the family; erode morals; breed criminal activity; help spread STDs, and become a festering sore in the center of more desirable commercial activity. They have made sweeping generalizations about the ‘secondary negative effects’ such businesses cause, although we are unaware of any scientific study conducted to support such accusations.

Opponents reject these claims by pointing to generally tight security within such establishments, low incidence of reported crime, and general acceptance by surrounding businesses. They even paid for their own study. It actually gathered facts that refute all of the so-called negative effects claimed.

It would seem the advocates for less freedom believe they have the ‘moral’ high ground. Opponents have the actual facts and information. It will be interesting to see if facts can beat out prejudice.

Customers, we presume, favor the liberty to choose which entertainment venues to support. We wonder if our elected representatives actually care about this group.

While we, as Libertarians, take no position of the propriety of ‘adult entertainment’, we do believe it is a matter best left to each individual citizen. If they choose to support such venues, the clubs will provide jobs; if the individual citizen chooses to not support these businesses, they will close.

The Kansas House of Representatives is very close to a vote on this issue. The Libertarian Party of Kansas will be testifying on this issue. It is critical for Libertarians across the state to support the State Party by making their position known to their elected representative. If you have provided us with the name of your representative, his/her name, email address, and phone number are listed below.

Do not hesitate on this. If you want your opinion to weigh on your representative’s vote, you must contact him/her soon. When you call or email your representative, be respectful. Be specific. Identify the issue and the bill number(s). Explain your position and your reasons clearly. House members are extremely busy now, so be concise.

There are at least three bills that address this issue. Ask your representative to vote against HB2054, HB2107, and HB2165. Ask them to oppose any bills that limit personal freedom in Kansas. We believe any imposition of a moral code by one group over another is bad for society and we believe it is bad for the general business atmosphere.

Above all, be respectful. This may be a tough one for us to win in the House, but we must try. However, we do not want to burn any bridges in the process. There will be other issues in the future we will want to take a position on. We must be prepared to fight again.

Please help. Contact your representative today. If appropriate, ask your friends to join you in opposing this kind of restrictive legislation.

Newsletters like this are not easy to produce.  It takes volunteers to research articles, volunteers to write articles, volunteers to edit those articles, volunteers to put the newsletter together, money to purchase stamps to contact those Libertarians without email, volunteers to compile the newsletter email list, and volunteers to spread this newsletter on the LPKS website, facebook page, and more.  Like I said, it’s not easy.

But you can help.  If you want to volunteer, contact the Free Kansan Editor HERE.  If you want to donate financially to the LPKS Newsletter you can do that HERE.  Regardless, please share the newsletter and invite others who share our principles of Liberty to join the Libertarian Party of Kansas.

To receive LSOCK NEWS and LSOCK NEWS Alerts! via email please contact Steven Rosile at sarasile@att.net or call 316 618-1339.

Contact LSOCK at:

LPKS / LSOCK
P.O. Box 2456
Wichita, Kansas 67201

Ph. (800) 335-1776

The LSOCK Blog is available at:  www.libertariansofsouthcentralkansas.blogspot.com

REF: OPEN CARRY LAWSUITS PETITIONS FILED AGAINST UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF KCK, LEAWOOD, and PRAIRIE VILLAGE.

In February, 2012, the Libertarian Party of Kansas began publicly challenging the unconstitutional bans of the open-carry of firearms in Overland Park, KCK, and other municipalities in Kansas. Some communities, like Overland Park, Gardner, and Wichita have already acted by amending their ordinances to comply with state and federal law. Some communities, like KCK, Leawood, and Prairie Village have indicated they have no intention of complying with the law unless they are forced to do so by the Courts.

Therefore, the LPKS has taken the step of requesting the Johnson and Wyandotte County Courts to review the ordinances, find them illegal and violative of fundamental constitutional rights, and force these communities to comply with state and federal law.

The LPKS has prepared a Petition against Lenexa, KS, as well, but has decided to hold off legal action because Lenexa has recently notified the LPKS that they would like to discuss a path toward compromise.

We believe our Petitions lay out our positions very well and we believe we have a compelling case, which will be successful in preventing governing bodies from illegally restricting fundamental liberties.

With the passage of the constitutional amendment to the Kansas Bill of Rights in 2010, every person who is a resident of Kansas has an unquestionable right to bear arms. The Kansas constitution states – ‘A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose’. In addition to the amendment, Kansas open carry law 12-16, 124 is clear that counties and cities may regulate open carry but not institute a complete ban.

This denial of inherent truth will not stand! Our efforts will continue until all law abiding citizens in Kansas have freedom from persecution to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms by open carry.

The Libertarian Party openly and activity fights daily for individual rights/liberties of the citizens of Kansas. The legal right to personal security of life and property at all times are paramount.

CONTACTS:

Al Terwelp
State Chairman
bigalkansas@gmail.com
785-665-7581

Earl McIntosh
Second Amendment Chair
etmcintosh@cox.net
785-213-1715

As Libertarians, we recognize our constitutional right to bear firearms for any lawful personal reason, including self-defense. To help support freedom in Kansas, LPKS will be sponsoring KS Concealed Carry Handgun (CCH) licensing classes at a significantly reduced cost throughout the state during 2013.

These KS CCH courses meet the requirements of the Kansas Attorney General’s office for the Weapons Safety and Training portion of the licensing process. Course attendees are responsible for reviewing the ag.ks.gov web site concerning concealed carry prior to registering for a course, and for meeting all other requirements to receive a CCH license. Upon successful completion of the class, including the shooting requirements, qualified participants will receive the Certificate required to apply for the KS CCH License.

The first LPKS sponsored KS CCHL class will be held on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 from 10 am until 6 pm at The Bullet Hole located at 6201 Robinson Street in Overland Park, KS. The charge for the class will be only $60 for Bullet Hole members (about 50% off the normal course charge). This fee includes all class handouts, materials, and targets. Attendees are required to be Bullet Hole members.

The lead instructor for the sponsored LPKS classes will be Michael Dann. Mike is approved by the Kansas Attorney General as an instructor for the Kansas Concealed Carry Licensing course, and is also an NRA Certified Instructor and Training Counselor in numerous shooting disciplines.

Please contact Mike Dann at mikedann1@aol.com or at (785) 830-0854 for information on an upcoming course, or to request an application for the February class in Overland Park. If you would like to have a KS CCHL course offered in your area of the state, please contact Mike as well.

We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your right to defend yourself while outside of your home.

Additional Note: The successful candidate for a KS CCH License will also need to pay a potential fingerprinting fee, a $32.50 separate charge for the Sheriff, and a $100 Application Fee for the KSAG. These charges are payable at the time of license application.

A CCH license applicant will also need a passport quality photo to apply. These additional fees and charges are not included in the CCH class charges.

12/2012