Platform

Libertarian Party of North Dakota’s Platform

Preamble

1. As the Libertarian Party of North Dakota, we seek a world of liberty, a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their lives, and no individuals are forced to sacrifice their values for the benefit of others.
2. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that initiated force and fraud are intolerable, whether committed by offensive laws or by offensive actors. Offensive laws should be repealed; offensive actors punished; with defensive laws and defensive acts retained.
3. We understand that North Dakota alone cannot provide freedom for the rest of the world, but it can serve as a sanctuary within the laboratory of the states and provide an example of success.

Statement of Principles

4. We, the Libertarian Party of North Dakota (LPND) seek the maximum protection for the rights of all people against any violation of these rights by other people, other nations, or our own government. We oppose the initiation of force or fraud as a means of achieving personal, political, or social goals.
5. Every human is born sole owner of his or her body and mind, free to live and act as he or she sees fit. So long as a person does not violate the rights of others, he or she should be left free and unrestrained.

Crime and Justice

6. We support the total abolition of laws against victimless crimes.
7. We oppose criminalizing voluntary transaction between consenting adults.
8. Let the punishment fit the crime. For example, do not suspend drivers’ licenses for failure to pay child support, which is completely unrelated to driving ability and deprives the person affected of a means to earn a living.
9. LPND opposes the War on Drugs, which is a War on Individual’s Behavior. Consenting adults should not be restricted from activities that harm no one else. 
10. We call for the legalization of all recreational drugs and the pardon of individuals convicted solely on nonviolent drug charges.
11. As a first step, we call for immediate legalization of marijuana production, use and sales in North Dakota and expungement of the criminal records of those convicted solely of a marijuana offense.
12. We also support voluntary communities that may enforce rules of their own, such as substance-free dorms.
13. We oppose restrictions on direct sales of food and produce to consumers.
14. We call for the abolition of laws restricting alcohol sales to adults.
15. Individuals seeking or providing treatment for addiction should not be subject to prosecution. No medically assisted addiction treatment should be legally unavailable in North Dakota.
16. LPND supports the inherent right of individuals to end their lives with dignity. LPND opposes the prosecution of physicians and loved ones who participate in consensual assisted suicide.
17. We support full restitution by the accuser to those wrongfully arrested, indicted, tried, imprisoned, or otherwise injured in the course of criminal proceedings.
18. LPND calls for the elimination of civil asset forfeiture. We support criminal asset forfeiture where the assets are used for restitution to the victim of a crime.  Seized assets should never enrich courts or law enforcement.
19. Upon completion of sentence, parole, and probation conditions, all persons convicted of a crime should be automatically restored to full citizenship with all accompanying constitutional rights with no further government action required.
20. LPND supports a juror’s right to be fully informed of the potential sentence of a guilty verdict. Each juror should judge the facts in each case as well as the merits of the law itself.  We support the jury’s right and duty to nullify unjust laws.  We support requiring judges to inform juries of this right.
21. We demand elimination of mandatory sentencing.
22. We support requiring criminals to make restitution to their victims as a condition of parole or early release.

Medical Treatment

23. We support allowing people to make their own medical decisions for themselves and their families.
24. We oppose any restrictions on free access to herbs, vitamins, and other supplements such as kratom. We oppose involuntary medical treatment of any kind on any person.
25. We oppose punishing physicians or their patients because others have misused prescription drugs. Patients must have access to the necessary pain medication.
26. Government should not provide, control, or require medical treatment. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for someone else’s medical treatment. 

Elections

27. We propose the addition of “None of the Above” to the ballots for all statewide office. In the event that “None of the Above” wins, the elective office for that term will remain unfilled and unfunded.
28. Political parties are not government agencies. We call for an end to publicly financed and regulated party primaries.  Parties should be free to decide for themselves how to choose candidates.

Free Market

29. We support deregulation of business as quickly as possible. The free market has and will continue to provide better faster innovation and information than government ever can.  Services such as Uber and Angie’s List have provided faster and more useful services than any state agencies.
30. We oppose government interference in private businesses. We affirm the right of smokers and non-smokers alike to patronize those establishments that cater to their preferences.  We especially oppose restrictions on vaping in private businesses since vaping has not been shown to produce any harmful emissions.
31. LPND opposes any action by the state to subsidize the costs of private business.
32. We oppose the use of state funds to support arts, museums, libraries, sports, tourist attractions, arenas, and other special interests. These are not the proper function of government and act as a subsidy to the elite.
33. We oppose bailouts of failing businesses or farms. We support farmers’ rights to grow any crop they wish.

Legislation

34. We support sunset provisions on all state laws except those against real crimes, such as murder, rape, assault, battery, and fraud. Laws that have outlived their usefulness should be allowed to die peacefully without further legislative action.

Defense of Persons and Property

35. Defense of persons and property are inherent individual rights. The right to keep and bear arms should not be restricted.  We support the repeal of any such restrictions on peaceful citizens.

Personal Freedom

36. LPND absolutely supports the right to free speech. The right to free speech protects unpopular, profane, disgusting speech.  No law would be necessary to protect speech everyone agrees with.
37. LPND believes the right to work or travel is an inherent personal freedom. LPND encourages immigration of students, workers, and business owners willing to invest in ND.  We support free and fair trade among individuals of all nations.
38. We oppose any restriction on the peaceful exercise of religion in public institutions such as schools, prisons, and legislatures.

State Sovereignty

39. No official of ND should cooperate with or assist federal official in enforcing federal laws that infringe on the liberty of travel, residence, and employment of immigrants, such as mandatory identification papers and work permits.
40. In the absence of a declaration of war by the United States Congress, we oppose any use of North Dakota troops by the federal government for any purpose other than natural disaster relief.
41. We support the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, LPND supports nullification of unconstitutional federal acts by all sworn to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.  We support refusal of state authorities to enforce unconstitutional federal acts and decrees.

Welfare and Taxation

42. We call for an immediate end to taxation on Social Security payments. Income subject to Social Security was already taxed. 
43. As long as government welfare programs exist, we call for immediate taxation of such benefits. Other taxpayers fund those programs, and the recipients should also have some skin in the game.  Total welfare benefits to any individual such as SNAP, housing assistance, general assistance, should never exceed the value of a 40-hour per week minimum wage.  Excessive government handouts create a state of hopeless dependency.
44. We believe taxes and control over their use should be as local as possible. We oppose state takeovers of functions such as social services and schools and the associated state taxation.  This does not “save” any taxpayer money; it just confiscates taxes in a different distribution while eliminating local control.
45. We encourage the use of modern technology in services such as remote medicine and remote classrooms.
46. We oppose minimum wage laws, which interfere with the right of an employer and employee to negotiate. Minimum wage laws prevent the unskilled from ever obtaining their first job, prevent the previously incarcerated from becoming self-supporting, and prevent new immigrants from ever assimilating into the American melting pot.  Similarly, we oppose the government’s interference in overtime hours, rents, production, interest rates, all of which serve as a means to prevent people from climbing the fabled ladder to success.

Omissions

47. Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, or activity should not be construed to imply approval or disapproval.