Sangamon County Libertarians

GOT GUNS? GUNS and the STATE.

Last century the greatest threat to humanity was the centralized state. Think Mao's China, Communist Russia, Nazi Germany, The massacre of Armenia, the killing fields of Cambodia etc. etc. etc.

One thing these events had in common was a well armed centralized state along with a disarmed population. The disarmament of the individual allows for governments to become arrogant and abusive if not outright deadly. That is why we support guns. An armed population means less death, less tyranny and more peace. That is right, more guns, more peace.

 Did you know that over a recent three month period the American People bought enough guns to outfit the Chinese and Indian Armies? Two of the largest armies on Earth. They also purchased over a billion rounds of ammunition. They did it peacefully.

We think that the proper role of government is to protect our rights, not to infringe upon them. Gun rights like speech rights and property rights ought to be sacred. If a government wishes to take them, that government has become a threat to liberty.

The Libertarian Party does not believe Americans need permission from the government to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. The Libertarian Party stated in court, that the same level of scrutiny used on laws impacting free speech should be applied to laws that impact gun rights.

Gun owning Americans know that an armed nation has a better chance of staying a free nation.  

Gun owning  Americans sensed that liberty is in danger and they voted with their money. They supported gun rights and the Constitution. The freedom movement is growing. They said yes to a Constitutional Republic. They said yes to peace and yes to guns. Maybe that is why we still have the liberty that we do?

We ask that you read the war on drugs article on this page. You might be surprised that the war on drugs poses a direct threat to your ability to own a gun. It has a direct link to the war on guns. In large cities the politicians always use the argument of gang violence and drugs to create gun bans and more gun laws. Unfortunately, many gun owners and traditional Americans fall for this. Please keep an open mind when reading the article.

We also encourage you to check out Gun Owners of America or Jews for the Preservation of Firearms for more on the second amendment.

Enemies foreign and domestic:

Which government currently should you fear most?

A foreign government across the ocean, or the government here at home?  The one that taxes your income? The one that can take away your right to free speech? The one that is taking away your right to bear arms? The one that has signed you into debt slavery? The one that can draft you against your will? The one that has seized and is in the process of seizing a substantial part of the economy? The one that can take your home? The one that regulates your business? The one that licenses you? The one that fines and fees you? The one that can wiretap and monitor you? The one that investigates you for your thoughts and political beliefs? The one that can audit you? The one that will entangle itself into military alliances all over the planet? The one that educates you? The one that is willing to tell you what portion of your income it will allow you to keep? The one that will tell you what Doctor, what treatment, what food, what idea, what drug, what school, what show, what party, what speech zone, what vehicle etc. etc etc. etc.

What Can I Do to Aid Freedom?

Say yes to peace, commerce and prosperity as the Founders intended. Support people and businesses that value The Bill of Rights. Vote out the Republicrats.
Call up the main stream media and challenge their assumptions. Engage others in conversation, they are probably thinking the same way. Write pamphlets. Encourage others who are trying to bring about freedom. Give a kind word to liberty and its defenders. Give time. Give intellect. Give reasons. Give effort. Give prayer. Do what you can for liberty. Write the editor of your local paper or blog. You can make a difference. Be a modern Paul Revere. 

 Only the people can stop 1984!

"Poor, wretched, and stupid peoples, nations determined on your own misfortune and blind to your own good! You let yourselves be deprived before your own eyes of the best part of your revenues; your fields are plundered, your homes robbed, your family heirlooms taken away. You live in such a way that you cannot claim a single thing as your own; and it would seem that you consider yourselves lucky to be loaned your property, your families, and your very lives. All this havoc, this misfortune, this ruin, descends upon you not from alien foes, but from the one enemy whom you yourselves render as powerful as he is, for whom you go bravely to war, for whose greatness you do not refuse to offer your own bodies unto death. 

Where has he acquired enough eyes to spy upon you, if you do not provide them yourselves? How can he have so many arms to beat you with, if he does not borrow them from you? The feet that trample down your cities, where does he get them if they are not your own? How does he have any power over you except through you?"

Etienne de le Boetie

Are you a political wanderer?

Most of us have been political wanderers in search of a political home. They have become disenchanted with both the Republican and Democratic parties. They recognized that both parties voted to take money from the people to give it to wall street in the recent Bankster bailout. Not very Constitutional but what is anymore? Both parties have been in power. Both parties need to lose power or we the people will be left without any power. 

 Do you believe in?

We believe that the Governments role is to protect us from force and fraud not to inflict it. From Corporate looting to the Social Security debacle, one thing is for sure, Americans have been fleeced. If you think aiding the criminal political class is wrong, than join us. Fill out the application, it will cost you nothing but time. However, if you like what they have done, reward them with silence or even lend them your active support and wait for their encore, I'm sure we ain't seen nothing yet.

 Silence gives consent. - Pope Boniface VIII

How did our Government get this way?

"Just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own. All the power it has is what society gives it, plus what it confiscates from time to time on one pretext or another; there is no other source from which State power can be drawn. Therefore, every assumption of State power, whether by gift or by seizure, leaves society with so much less power."

Albert Jay Nock

Here are some founding father quotes and try to square them with the government policies of the Democrats or Republicans

 Peace and prosperity with all nations; Entangling alliances with none. - Thomas Jefferson

It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world. -George Washington

Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises the germ of every other. - James Madison

No nation could wish to preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. - James Madison

The Constitution vests the power of declaring war with Congress. - George Washington

Now who is right? George Bush 1 and 2, Bill Clinton, Obama, or the Founding Fathers? End the wars and bring our troops home. Quit the nation building, the debt enslaving and the life ruining ways.

 Can you name all the wars, police actions and military conflicts we have been in since the beginning of the 20th century? Look them up and be amazed.

Can you name all the countries we have troops and bases in? Get an Atlas.

Can you name all the countries we have given entangling military alliances to? Can you say international conflict waiting to happen?

The SCLP thinks a foreign policy of non-intervention is the only policy that will produce peace and prosperity. This was the advice from the Founding Fathers. Non-Intervention does not mean isolationism. We think trade and travel brings people together. If commerce crosses borders armies won't.

To add on to the hot wars, police actions and conflicts that cost us blood, treasure and freedom; look at the results of some of the other wars the government has declared:

The war on poverty has increased poverty.

The war on drugs has increased drugs.

"A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

These wars and rumors of wars has greatly increased the size, scope and power of the federal government. Homeland Security would not happen under the guidance of the founding fathers. However, ignorance and fear allowed America to surrender freedom for security. Now ask yourself, are you more free and more secure?  How can they monitor your finances, your travels, your political thoughts except by fear. Be not afraid.

The Founding Fathers were right and the modern politicians are wrong. The results of following the Democrats and the Republicans have led to less freedom, less prosperity and less safety. Give peace and prosperity a chance and support freedom. Vote 1776.

1. War has all the characteristics of socialism most conservatives hate: Centralized power, state planning, false rationalism, restricted liberties, foolish optimism about intended results, and blindness to unintended secondary results. – Joseph Sobran (1991)

    

2. There never was a good war or a bad peace. – Benjamin Franklin (1773

Who will pay the deficit?

 The money will be plundered from the people born and unborn. They will be forced to pay at the threat of violence and prison. Be it the warfare state or the welfare state, the Republicans and Democrats have engineered a soft slavery. They make us labor for their ideology through taxes and inflation. This was not the intent of the Declaration of Independence.

A  basic fundamental right has been denied to those yet unable to vote. They have been taxed without representation. It should not be their debt. Why do they have to pay for wars or entitlements or any other governmental expenditure? Generational warfare has been enacted. One generation exploits another generation before they could vote. By using debt to supplement their lifestyle, the older generation advantaged itself against the younger.

Congress should pay as it goes. Inflation and debt trick the people into thinking they don't have to pay for government programs. The politician gains in power due to government growth. The first generation profits the most from this set up. But as time goes on, only big government wins and the people become poorer.

The politician votes yes to government growth and places the burden on the generation not yet able to vote. They vote yes to making debt slaves of future generations.

The government should go to the people at the time and propose ways to pay for the government action they wish to enact. They should propose the tax for their scheme.  Debt and inflation should not be an option. That way people immediately see where, when, why and how their money has been spent.

Imagine going to an optional war if gasoline would be taxed more to pay for it. The people would not be so quick to war. People would see a direct link to government action and the loss of their private money.

It will be extremely hard for government to waste money and grow in power. They should not enable generational theft by a cunning use of debt. By ending deficit spending we will expand liberty and prosperity.

"The government, like a highwayman, says your money or your life. He does not pretend that he has a rightful claim to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit. He does not pretend to be anything but a robber. He does not persist in following you on the road, against your will; asserting to be your rightful sovereign, on account of the protection he affords you. He does not keep protecting you, by commanding you to bow down and serve him; by requiring you to do this or forbidding you to do that; by robbing you of more money as often as he finds it for his interest or pleasure to do so; and by branding you as a rebel, a traitor, and an enemy to your country, and shooting you down without mercy, if you dispute his authority, or resist his demands. He is to much a gentleman to be guilty of such impostures, and insults and villainies as these. In short he does not, in addition to robbing you, attempt to make you either his dupe or his slave." 

Lysander Spooner

Who owns your wages? Who owns your property? Who owns your children? Who owns your health? Who owns you? How would the Republicrats answer those questions? How would the Sangamon County Libertarians answer those questions? Got the freedom message yet? Join us in the peaceful R3volution.

Fill out your FREE Membership Form TODAY!!!

Here are some movie recommendations that will help you understand our philosophy:

Fall of the Republic

The Soviet Story

Freedom To Fascism

The Century of Self

Money Masters

Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz to see where you are politically!!!

Nothing will change if we change nothing!!

Stop the two party system!!

When will they feel safe enough? (Scanners, Cameras, wiretaps, Real ID, The Patriot Act, Homeland Insecurity) 

How many more Dictators will we war with?

They won't stop!! Enough is never Enough!!!

For a better understanding of the Libertarian outlook, please watch any of these short videos:

The Philosophy of Liberty

Cartoon about the housing crash featuring Wile Coyote

The National Debt and Your Freedom

The Money Sold Abroad Is You

Libertarians do it voluntarily!!!

Libertarians do it voluntarily. If your against smoking, drinking, religion, atheism, bad food, fast food or anything else that offends or endangers; feel free to preach against it. But please, do not use government force to make people behave as you want them to behave. 

Libertarians do it voluntarily. If you think people should think a certain way, spend a certain way, educate their children a certain way, contribute to a charity or  donate their time in service to their country, please convince them through persuasion. But please, do not use government force to mandate your views and your life choices upon others.

Many people fail to understand that government is force. Government is ultimately a gun. Most Americans do not understand that they use force to take either money or liberty from their fellow brothers and sisters when they expand government. We believe government should protect individual rights, as well as defend people from force and fraud. Government force should not be used to socially engineer. That is a form of slavery. Preach and convert through persuasion, not through government force.

Freedom unites people!!!

Most people enjoy neighbors who are friendly and polite. Most neighbors would not presume to force another neighbor to live a certain way, or force them to eat a certain food. They would not force religious or non-religious views upon their neighbors. However, our current government does all this and more through voting, taxing and passing bills.

They use government force to take choices from people through laws. They use government force to punish people for their choices through taxes. It may start with the war on drugs, morph into a war on guns and end with a war on obesity and fast food. That is how tyranny operates. All may be good intentions, but force equals slavery, even if it is for your safety. This ends with government in your kitchen, your bedroom and finally your body.

By insisting on a one size fits all approach, they create factions. Freedom unites people. Factions divide people. By forcing your views upon others through government, you have given the government the control to force other peoples views upon you. This ends in the factional fighting that creates civil war and discord. It is then followed by dictatorship. History is full of such examples.That is why we support a limited government that protects us against force and fraud. The rest should be left up to individual persuasion and individual free will.

Few people care that religious schools teach religion. Because the choice is made by private individuals grouped together voluntarily. Compare that with the factional fighting in public schools where a one size fits all approach is used. Where viewpoints that parents may not agree with are forced on their children. This leads to a fight for power to control people's views. Collective groups combine together to impose their beliefs on the whole body. A free society is a voluntary society. Join if you want to, leave if you want to. 

Imagine having a collective vote for pizza. Imagine the free market vote for pizza. Which one would bring you the pizza you want? Which would make the most people happy? Freedom works!!!

We think that people own their own lives. We disagree with a government that wants to control others. We disagree with a government that seeks to socially  engineer and control the People. We oppose a government that destroys individual liberty.

We do not think nation building and entangling alliances makes us safer. We think all these things cost us money and freedom. Live and let live is our general motto. We do not condone  the initiation of force or fraud. Force should only be used in defense of life or property. 

  Are you one of us?

Your probably one of us. We have people in our membership with wide ranging views that all have one similar theme in common. That theme is freedom. Maybe your one of them.

  Are you a Home School mom?

Maybe your a home school mom worried that a well meaning but freedom stealing politician will think that Mommy does not know whats best? Or that same politician thinks that what may be best for the individual is not always whats best for the collective. We put individuals first while they prefer the village.

Are you a veteran or active member of the military?

Maybe your a veteran, or currently active member of the military/National Guard Etc.  who is concerned about unending nation building and illegal unconstitutional wars? Fighting wars for U.N. mandates. You may be sensing that the military may be used in America on America (like gun grabbing after Hurricane Katrina) which is not part of the oath you swore to protect. Click here for more information: Oath Keepers

 Are you of draft age?

 Maybe your an 18 year old that sees constant war, may mean a draft? A government confiscation of your life against your will. That is either indentured servitude or it is slavery, either way it is wrong. You also hate the enormous debt that you have been saddled with, again, without consent. Never being able to vote on that debt, is taxation without representation. 

Are you a property owner?

Maybe your a property owner who may face eminent domain because some group lobbied Washington? Or a bar owner whose business will suffer due to mandates on no-smoking laws. Whose business is it anyhow? Perhaps regulations, taxes, fees and other government intrusion is making your business suffer. We hope to help!

Do you want a health alternative?

Maybe you desire alternative health medicine that the medical industrial complex is in competition with? We will fight for your freedom to gain access to the care that you think is best. After all, it is your life. By the same token, there may be a day when big pharma may get big government money and government legal protection with mandated vaccines. Not to mention the willing media that will share the loot in advertising and fear mongering. By the way, have you ever heard of vaccine court?

Are you concerned about the cost of medicine?

Maybe you have seen relatives almost ruined by the high price of medicine? You know that multiple party systems have ruined the market system that drives down price and increases quality. Doctors used to make house calls and insurance was once affordable. Maybe, government had something to do with the changes in the market?

In elective surgeries where the government is not involved, costs have gone down and quality has gone up. Think of elective eye surgery and/or breast augmentation. The free market works!!

Let us have a look at another industry that involves high technology that is always advancing. That industry is cell phones. The prices go down as technology advances. What would happen to the medical industry if competition and free markets were given an opportunity? 

Are you concerned about your money?

Maybe you are interested in the Federal Reserve and sound money? You have learned that inflation is a hidden tax and that the Federal Reserve doesn't work for the people.

Are you in police work?

Maybe your in Police Work and your worried about an encroaching police state? Where a booming military industrial complex wishes to expand its domestic market share in all sorts of innovative and intrusive ways that you never thought of, but unfortunately they have. Papers please. No, this is the 21st century with state of the art computer data bases, scanners and license plate reading cameras seeking out revenue.

No longer home of the brave but home of the fined. Your local peace officer may become tethered to federal mandates such as quota/contacts in exchange for federal funding.

The community loses an American institution which was the  local peace officer and is given big brother. We will fight for local control not federal mandates. Where a peace officer answers to the Constitution and his communities customs not arbitrary federal mandates.

We will fight against the encroaching military industrial complex. We hope the presumption of innocence remains in America. With new technologies, all will be searched, scanned and vetted for the mere act of living. This should be stopped. We can stop it now, locally!!! Click here for more information: Oath Keepers

Are you concerned about the environment?

Private property owners protect their land much better than the government. Think of the environmental catastrophe in the former communist nations. With the additional wealth in free nations, prosperous and productive people can dedicate their time to such causes.

Governments last century decimated the environment. Think of the numerous nuclear detonations set off in unneeded experiments. What individual or company would have had the ability financially or legally to do that?

The U.S. Government is the single largest polluter in America. The government officials in charge of this environmental damage are often protected from any law suits. They should be held to the same standards as individuals or private companies.

In a Libertarian Society such experiments would be impossible. Companies motivated by profit would not find a customer insane enough to want to do such ignorant things. Only a warfare/welfare economy would waste money, time and natural treasures on such destructive pursuits. Yes, only large antiquated governments would spend money and energy on such unproductive and detrimental ideas.

Besides, did you notice the poor soldiers in some of those experiments being subjected to the radiation blast? In  Hollywood productions safety guarantees are posted. You have probably seen the guarantee of no harm to any animal at the end of movies. I did not see any such guarantee posted for those soldiers in the government atomic bomb experiments.

Are you concerned about the drug war?

When was the last time you saw the Miller man gun down the Budweiser guy in a turf war? Does that question sound ridiculous? Think of Al Capone and the St. Valentine's Day massacre. The war on alcohol funded the gangs of that time. When Alcohol was re-legalized the mafia gangs lost huge money and a powerful recruiting tool. The public gained responsible law abiding businesses. Bloody alcohol turf wars became a thing of the past. Any disputes became the domain of the courts who were now free of the rampant corruption of gang money. Millions of Americans were now at liberty to partake in freedom. They were decriminalized by ending prohibition. 

Now transport the above thoughts to the war on drugs. If government is unable to keep drugs out of prisons, how will they ever be able to keep them out of the country? Even with the ability to perform strip searches, drugs still get through in our prisons.

MS-13, the Bloods, the Crips, the Gangster Disciples etc. get their funding from the war on drugs. They fight their turf war with guns not lawyers. The police seize some drugs, make an arrest and this results in drug prices going up. This price increase means better profits for the gangs in the process. In the meantime, the junkies steal from you to make up the price difference. The dealer may go to jail where he recruits and deals in the prison. The police in turn request more funding because crime is on the rise. This only continues the cycle. You end up taxed more, your property stolen and higher insurance rates.  But it does not end there.

More people get shot and more drugs come in. More arrests get made. More laws are passed and more freedom is lost. Finally, a new phenomenon is created. In order to stop the killing, politicians try to ban guns. That is right. Law abiding citizens right to self defense is threatened just as the government has made society more dangerous. The criminal does not care. He will continue to carry his gun and sell his drugs. The state grows in power. The criminal grows in power. The peaceful citizen loses power, wealth and freedom.

Than a Libertarian says all this is nonsense. He claims that drugs of all kinds were once legal in America. He claims that America was more free and more prosperous during those times. He also claims there was less drug abuse, less damage to property, less corruption and less gang activity and less government which means lower taxes and more liberty. He points to the failure of prohibition in an earlier time in our history. 

He is answered by his critics. The critic claims the libertarian is crazy because people will have access to drugs. The libertarian will say they already do. Instead of the Budweiser guy, you have MS-13. Re-legalize drugs and end the drug war.

Doctors are scared to prescribe all different types of pain medicines for fear of drug enforcement laws. Law enforcement is making end roads into private medical records. Buying cough medicine has the local pharmacy checking on you and reporting to the police. Innocent sick people suffer from fear.

Gun owners lose their rights. Financial privacy is endangered as well. Government has been given more ability to snoop, pry, register and audit.

Citizens lose value to their property and neighborhoods are destroyed. Privacy is threatened. Has America become safer? Have you become more free? Has gangs become more powerful? Has the state become more powerful? Has the Constitution been trampled? Who benefits?

Are you concerned about public education?

Imagine that a business gave you bad service and a lousy product. You complain to the employees and they are indifferent. You speak to the manager. The manager ignores your complaints and then raises your prices. You say I am not going to be treated like this. I am going to punish this business by not giving them my money. I am going to vote with my wallet. I will send them a message by going over to his competitor. 

You find that the competitor is cheaper. The competitor listens to your concerns. He provides you with a better product. You go home and you receive a letter in the mail from the bad business. You are thinking that it may be an apology or that they will do anything to regain you as a valued customer. You don't care what they offer, your still mad about the way they treated you. You hope they are suffering from the financial punishment that you have inflicted.

As you read the letter you find out otherwise. You find a bill of service. You call the bad business to complain. The manager says sorry, you still have to pay. Even if you don't use the product, you cannot fire us. You work for us. You are an employee that can't quit. Pay or else.

You claim slavery was abolished. They say they don't see it that way. It is a service. You say I can't afford to pay for their product as well as their competitors. The bad manager advises that their fee is compulsory so you have to fire the competitor. Don't worry, since you can't afford the competitors product as well as ours come back to ours. You are confused by the logic and state that his product is lousy. He claims that it is only lousy because he is not adequately funded.  He asks for a raise that you are not in direct control of.

This is the logic of our public school system. Only freedom and competition will work. Not to mention the various ideologies involved. Imagine trying to create the one car that all people would be satisfied with. Would it be big, small, fast or safe? What color would we choose? That is why so many fight over schools. That is why factions are created. The working poor are most harmed. We need the freedom to choose what kind of school we want our children to be in.

Please watch the short movie at the top of this page entitled:

The philosophy of Liberty

But is freedom more important than social safety nets?  

Yes it is!! Think of West Germany and East Germany in the recent past. The same people divided by a government imposed wall. West Germany had more freedom than East Germany. West Germany was more prosperous and more humane. Freedom produces wealth.  Freedom provides individuals with more safety and security in the long run. Freedom works. Please look at history. Look at a globe. The closer to freedom you get, the more healthier and prosperous society is. 

Still have questions? These people might have your answer. Click Here.