FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Aug. 9, 2019
Contact: Matthew Bughman
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Chair
(608) 571-2721
info@lpwi.org
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Stands Against Firearm Legislation
GREENFIELD, Wisconsin –– Following multiple U.S. mass shootings at the end of July and beginning of August, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called on state legislators to work toward implementing universal background checks for firearm purchases, and to pursue “Red Flag” legislation, which would authorize courts to issue a special protective order for law enforcement to confiscate firearms from individuals deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin stands firmly against such measures, which place unconstitutional restrictions on the acquisition of firearms and infringe on the individual’s natural rights to property and self defense. Additionally, Red Flag laws are a threat to privacy and due process. When these Red Flag laws are invoked, they are issued similarly to how warrants are granted. The accused party’s personal property is confiscated without a hearing, and the individual who has been petitioned against must prove their innocence after a penalty has already been enforced. This flies in the face of our nation’s most sacred judicial principle: that persons accused of wrongdoing must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“Time and time again Red Flag legislation has done more to harm the law-abiding citizen than it has to deter actual crime,” Matthew Bughman, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, said.
The Libertarian Party platform states:
“The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the individual right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. Private property owners should be free to establish their own conditions regarding the presence of personal defense weapons on their own property. We oppose all laws at any level of government restricting, registering, or monitoring the ownership, manufacture, or transfer of firearms or ammunition.”
Our platform further affirms an individual’s right to due process:
“The constitutional rights of the criminally accused, including due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty, must be preserved.”
“Clearly, when you take away people’s rights … that’s something we have to consider,” Evers said in a press conference on Monday. Rights are inherent, and can not justly be granted or revoked by any governing body; we reject the idea that the government may infringe on an individual’s rights to life, liberty, and property. Legislation of the acquisition and keeping of firearms is a threat to these inherent rights.
“In the wake of these tragic incidents I would urge lawmakers to stop and reflect prior to voting on hastily assembled legislation,” Bughman said.
For more information about the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, visit www.lpwi.org. For the party’s complete stance on property rights, self defense, and due process, visit www.lp.org/platform.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cX31reG45cAW4-LZvxSPs-eC0yaEFf7WB4NKTnnQRhE
