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.
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The Libertarian Party's position on LGBT 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.[1]
During the 1980s, the organization was affiliated with the Libertarian Party of the United States.[2] 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.[3] As of 2007, the LGLC have a mailing address[4] and the GLIL web page has not been updated since 2003.[3]
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.
The Libertarian Party of the United States takes the following positions relevant to LGBT rights:[5]
Several gay Republicans or conservatives will often make libertarian arguments when writing about LGBT 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.[6] Likewise, the Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed the libertarian perspective in opposing federal hate crime legislation.[7]
Yet, such conservative LGBT organizations also differ with the libertarian perspective. One example is The Log Cabin Republicans' support of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.[8] GOProud, however, takes no stance on ENDA and opposes hate-crime legislation.[9][10]
The Libertarian Party and LGBT Libertarian organizations have common ground with Democrats on issues such as separation of church and state and free speech.[5]
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.[11]
In 1992 conservative activists in Colorado 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.[12] 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[13] and revoked its previous endorsement of the state legislator who went on to be elected as a Republican.[14]
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.[15]
The Liberal Alternative 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."[16]
Libertarianz 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."[17]