Political Party: Libertarian

Office you are running for: U.S. Representative to Congress

State: California

County: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Napa, Sonoma (partial), Yolo (partial)

District: 1

1) Do you believe that the Second Amendment confirms the individual right of every American citizen to possess and use (update of keep and bear) militia/military weapons for individual self-defense, as well as for the defense of the State / National defense?

Absolutely!

10 Points
 

2) If elected would you support legislation for the removal of firearm laws and regulations? If your answer is yes, and if you are elected, what specific legislation would you propose/support to ensure that this individual right is protected?  Which current laws which infringe upon this individual right would you seek to repeal?

Absolutely!

If elected, I'd consult with many groups such as NRA, GOA, Pink Pistols, law enforcement, and others to gather ideas for specific legislation. My own starting point, however, would be a Constitutional Amendment that would replace the Second Amendment with wording that made it 100% clear that gun ownership was a right of every person in the U.S., not just those in a government militia, e.g., the National Guard, and that neither Congress nor the states have any right whatsoever to regulate, register, or restrict firearm production, sale, ownership, or possession. In other words, I'd make sure that we got the best constitutional lawyers to eliminate the ambiguity that "revisionists" have introduced into the Second Amendment and not leave one iota of doubt that no government at any level has any authority to interfere in firearm ownership, sales, etc.

10 Points
 

3) What do you consider are "legitimate" reasons to own a firearm?
Check as many as apply:
    [ ] Personal Defense
    [ ] Home Defense
    [ ] Defense of your country (Unorganized Militia)
    [ ] Hunting
    [ ] Farm Use
    [ ] Competitive Shooting
    [ ] Informal Sport Shooting
    [ ] Informal Target Practice and/or Plinking
    [ ] Collecting
    [ ] Constitutional Rights
    [ ] Other __________________________________
    [x] All of the above
    [ ] None of the above

10 Points
 

4) Would you support the banning of some firearms or ammunition? (IE: Saturday night specials, "assault weapons", Hollow points, and "Safety Slugs") Why and to what extent?

No. I'd prefer my neighbors not own nuclear weapons, but I don't think that's likely, nor do I think a law banning them would have any effect except to give government an excuse for invading our privacy and trampling our rights. So my answer is an unequivocal NO!

10 Points
 

5) Do you believe that firearms and/or firearm owners should be registered? Which ones and why?

No! Only law-abiding citizens would register them anyway. Criminals would ignore registration laws. And look what the Nazis did in WW II; when they conquered a region, they went to the city halls and police stations, got the gun registration lists, then went to the homes where people owned guns and simply shot everyone. Gun registration is likely to be abused by government; it's only a question of when and how. The government should assume that everyone is armed and leave it at that.

10 Points
 

6) Do you support equal rights for all citizens of the United States regardless of the person's sexuality / orientation and / or gender identity/expression?

Of course!

10 Points
 

7) Which of the following would you be willing to support in regards to same-gender and/or polyamorous marriages and/or civil unions?
  Check as many as apply:
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for opposite-sex couples
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for polyamorous (more than two consenting adults)
    [ ] Same-sex marriages
    [ ] Opposite sex marriages (What we have now)
    [ ] Polyamarous marriages (between more than two consenting adults)
    [ ] All of the above. Everyone should have equal rights under the law.
    [ ] None of the above. Government has no role in defining a marriage.  Leave it to the church.
    [x] None of the above. Government has no role in defining a marriage.
    [ ] Other_________________________________________________________________________

That is up to the individuals involved, regardless of who they are, how they choose to live, or what arrangements--legal or otherwise--they choose to make among themselves.

10 Points
 

8) Do you support the right for people to act as they wish in a private setting, with other consenting adults?

Absolutely. I completely believe in the Libertarian Party's principles: That all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.

10 Points
 

9) In July 2000 the Police Dept. of Attleboro Massachusetts entered a private party without a search warrant. The party was not open to the public or in the business to make a profit. Any donations given were used to pay rent. When the police entered, they arrested two people.  The first person who was arrested organized the event. The second person arrested was
arrested because she spanked her consenting adult partner with a wooden spoon. Do you support the actions of  the Attleboro police as given in this example? Why?

Of course not -- I don't support their actions. Although all I know about the situation is what you've described above, it sounds like the police had no right to enter the home without a search warrant. I don't support their actions in any way. However, I understand they may have been enforcing laws that are on the books. Rather than focus on the actions of the police, I
believe the solution here is to repeal all laws that pertain to consensual acts between adults. Then we won't have to worry about police judgment, nor will the police be put in the position of having to make judgment calls. We need to make all laws consistent with the Libertarian Party's principles (see my answer to previous question). If our laws supported those
principles, we wouldn't have problems such as the Attleboro incident.

10 Points
 

10) Do you support equal immigration rights for partners of US residents, regardless of their sexuality / orientation and / or gender identity/expression?

Sure. None of those factors should be issues.

10 Points
 

Do you have an additional statement to make that is not covered by this questionnaire?  Use as much space as you wish.

Keep up the good work. Support the Libertarian Party and Libertarian candidates. We're the only ones who are "pro choice on everything."

Thanks for conducting this candidate survey!

Regards,
Kevin Bastian
Eureka, California
2002 Libertarian Party candidate
U.S. Representative to Congress
California District 1
kevin@curiousheart.com