Platform
PLATFORM OF THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF KANSAS
As amended April 20, 2024, in Overland Park, KS
Preamble
The Libertarian Party of Kansas is part of the worldwide movement for liberty. It is an affiliate of the Libertarian Party of the United States. The Libertarian Party of Kansas supports and endorses the National Libertarian Party Platform. However, the following platform, created and adopted by the Libertarian Party of Kansas, addresses issues and positions as they apply to Kansas.
ARTICLE I – PERSONAL PROPERTY, RIGHTS and DUTIES
Libertarians hold that inviolable individual sovereignty and personal property rights are central to a free society. Kansans should work to strengthen the ownership of all forms of personal property. Government control of property is not conducive to conservation or good stewardship.
1. We stand opposed to government seizure and sales of property under the guise of law enforcement, environmental protection, tax collection, or economic development. No one should be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
2. We oppose the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortion, family planning, birth control, or the provision of contraceptive devices. The right to privacy and the obligation for responsibility in reproductive matters rests with the individual and their families.
3. We believe children are the responsibility of their parents until such time as they have reached the age of majority. We deny the State’s right to remove a child from the family or either parent except in cases of gross, verifiable, documented abuse or neglect. This state of facts must be determined under due process of law including trial by jury.
4. The education of a child is the personal and financial responsibility of their parent(s) or guardian(s) alone. Education gives best results when provided by the free market, achieving greater quality, accountability, and variety. We advocate voluntary methods of education with no interference from government. Such methods include home-educating, private schooling, educational cooperatives, and a variety of other online or in-person resources.
ARTICLE II – TAXES and ECONOMICS
Libertarians support spending- and tax-limiting measures because economic growth occurs when productivity and investments are not penalized.
1. We support a state constitutional amendment ending the legislature’s power to tax without limit. We propose keying taxes to specific projects and purposes with sunset clauses attached to taxes wherever possible. We support voter approval as a requirement for all new and incremental taxes.
2. We believe sales taxes should be eliminated, at all levels (state, county, and city), on all items, not just on food and medicines. The property; intangibles; and state personal and corporate income tax should be reduced immediately as an interim step towards their elimination.
We oppose any increase in existing tax rates and the imposition of any new taxes.
We call for the dissolution of the Kansas Department of Revenue.
3. We believe that government has no business in business. Employers and entrepreneurs should not be burdened with excessive regulations, quotas, and licensing requirements.
4. We support the free market system. Businesses and individuals must assume responsibility for their financial affairs and reap the rewards or suffer the consequences of their choices. We oppose both corporate and individual welfare. We oppose the use of public funds for financing private endeavors of any sort.
5. Kansas Libertarians call for the dismantling of the Federal Reserve. We oppose any government monopolized monetary system and the legal tender laws by which such systems are enforced. We oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency or state backed “digital dollar”. We advocate the use of barter; non-governmental cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and other distributed ledger technology; gold; silver; along with any other voluntary means of exchange.
ARTICLE III – GOVERNMENT and ELECTIONS
The Libertarians of Kansas believe in the people of Kansas. We are very pro-individual and pro-community. We believe in treating Kansans like adults capable of deciding what is best for themselves, their families and their communities. This belief system naturally leads to maximized individual and local power and limited government powers.
1. We oppose the use of tax funds to pay lobbyists.
2. We support sunset provisions for all laws and State agencies thus requiring the state to reassess the effects of existing laws and activities on a continuing basis.
3. The Libertarians of Kansas will fight to assure that solutions are found and implemented on the most local possible level where those solutions can be more efficient, effective and compassionate.
4. We support the elimination of all government activities that would be better performed by the private sector.
5. We oppose unfunded federal or state mandates. Libertarians favor individual and state sovereignty as protected by the Ninth and Tenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Federal meddling in state and individual affairs must be firmly rejected.
6. We oppose the use of taxpayers’ money to fund primary elections and create matching campaign funds. The various political parties should bear the cost of nominating and running their candidates at their own expense.
7. Initiative and Referendum, the process whereby citizens can petition to put proposals up to a public vote must be expanded to apply to the state of Kansas as a whole. This process is currently in use for city and county governments.
ARTICLE IV – PERSONAL LIBERTIES
Libertarians believe that each individual has the right to choose how to live his or her life and reap the rewards or face the consequences of that chosen lifestyle.
1. We believe that the sacrosanct primary right, duty, and privilege of individual protection lies with the individual and cannot be performed by government. Citizens must have the right to carry concealed or unconcealed loaded firearms for self-protection. We strongly support the provision in the Kansas and US Constitutions preserving private ownership of personal firearms.
2. We believe that driving a motor vehicle is not a privilege as asserted by the State, but a right. We oppose removal of that right for any reason except the demonstrated inability to safely operate a motor vehicle on public thoroughfares. We also oppose mandatory motorcycle helmet and seat belt use laws for adults.
3. We believe the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ is a war on innocent people. We call for an end to the prohibition of any drug.
4. We support legalizing production of hemp as an alternate crop for farmers for use in agriculture and industry.
5. Government does not have the authority to define, promote, license, or restrict personal relationships between consenting adults; regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or number of participants. Until such time as the government stops its illegitimate practice of marriage licensing, such licenses must be granted to all consenting adults who apply.
ARTICLE V – JUDICIAL REFORM
Kansas Libertarians believe that the present state judiciary can be unresponsive to citizens’ concerns and can fail the very people it claims to protect and serve.
1. We believe that restoring a sound judicial system is critical to preserving our independence. An empowered jury system gives citizens direct involvement in and oversight of both legislature and judiciary. This concept is a crucial component of our system of government. Juries must be informed of their right to judge not only the facts of the case but the law itself without abrogation or restriction. This is a citizen’s last veto of an unfair law. We believe a Fully Informed Jury provision must be enacted as law in Kansas.
2. We strongly defend property rights and, in the case of crimes against property, advocate restitution for victims of crime to be paid for by the wrongdoer. The criminal justice system should concentrate upon crimes against people and property. It should not concern itself with private, consensual activity among adults. All laws pertaining to victimless crimes should be repealed.
3. We oppose the present plea-bargaining system which is regularly abused to further the records and careers of public officials, circumventing real justice.
4. We oppose mandatory minimum sentences, which usurp the power of the people and the judiciary to fit the punishment to the severity of the crime.
5. We support the right to trial by jury in all cases, criminal, civil, and administrative.
6. The right of juries to judge the law of the case, as well as the facts and circumstances surrounding it, is well settled law (commonly referred to as Jury Nullification). As the Pattern Instructions of Kansas do not reflect this fact and do not provide for jurors to be informed of their rights and powers, the Pattern Instructions of Kansas should be amended to provide clear instructions for juries of all their rights.
7. Probable Cause Affidavits for search warrants are currently not public record in Kansas. Our state is one of only four that do not release Probable Cause Affidavits for search warrants to public inspection. These records must be made open to public inspection. As arrest warrant affidavits are currently public record in Kansas, so should search warrant affidavits.
8. As men and women are fallible and imperfect, and can and do make mistakes, the death penalty should be abolished.
9. The right to habeas corpus is the most precious right which American citizens have. The party opposes any limits being placed on the right of habeas corpus including limits on KSA 60-1507.1
10. We support the restoration of all rights to felons, including the right to own and use a firearm, upon completion of the authorized sentence.
ARTICLE VI – HEALTH FREEDOM
Libertarians believe in separation of medicine (healthcare) and state.
1. We believe that the right to make medical (healthcare) and health choices lies with the individual and NOT the government. We oppose any form of mask mandate, vaccine passport, or medical requirement imposed by executive order or government at the local, state, or national level.
2. No government entity has the authority to interfere with how private households, businesses, or other organizations operate. Limits on hours of operation, number of occupants, masking and vaccinating policies should never be coerced nor bribed by incentives.
3. No taxpayer money should go toward paying for medical treatments, medications, or vaccines. Nor should it be used to fund advertising and media promoting any such use.
4. No companies, including vaccine manufacturers, should be exempt from liability for harm caused by their products.
5. We call for the dissolution of the FDA, CDC, and OSHA. They do more harm than good. Any legitimate services they claim to offer can be better provided through the free market and without coercion.22,