Party Platform

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I. Statement of Principles

We, the members of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual. We hold 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.

Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.

We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely, (1) the right to life — accordingly we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action — accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property — accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.

Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by governments in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.

II. Preface

What does the Libertarian Party stand for?

Positions taken by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota are based on the inviolate principle that your life is your own. This means that you may provide for and enjoy your life in any way you wish as long as you do not forcibly interfere with anyone else’s equal right to do the same.

Members of the Libertarian Party do not necessarily advocate or approve of any of the practices our policies would make legal. Our exclusion of moral approval and disapproval is deliberate. Individual rights must be recognized; the wisdom of any course of peaceful action is a matter for the acting individual(s) to decide. Personal responsibility is discouraged by government when people are denied the opportunity to exercise it. Libertarian policies will create a society in which people are free to make, and learn from, their own decisions.

Throughout history, governments have operated on the opposite principle: that the State may dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all non-libertarian political parties and organizations assume that government bodies and agencies may initiate force against you and seize what you have produced without your consent through taxation and regulation.

Your primary right is your right to your own life. In order for this to be realized, you must have the final say over how your life is to be lived. No other person or group of persons can justify forcibly interfering with your life.

From this basic right derives all others, such as:

Your right to property; that is, what you produce or trade for.

Your right to pursue happiness; that is, the reason you choose to live, what makes life worthwhile for you.

This means, for example, you have the right:

to make arrangements with anyone else to exchange services and property, and to carry out those exchanges free from outside interference;

to save your property for future enjoyment or trade;

to be free from invasions of your privacy; and

to defend yourself and your property; but only as long as you do not forcibly interfere with another person’s equal right to do the same.

III. Platform

A. Individual Rights

1. Property Rights

We hold that the basis of all rights begins with property rights, and property rights begin with self-ownership. From an individual’s non-aggressive actions, private property is established as an extension of self-ownership. The non-consensual enforcement of regulation, taxation, or transfer of property is a violation of property rights.

We support:

• Full restitution to rightful owners when property has been unjustly taken through force, fraud, or government action in violation of individual rights.
• Free-market methods of land-use control, such as voluntary private land-use covenants and agreements among property owners.
• The unrestricted right of property owners to control, use, enjoy, manage, profit from, and dispose of their property, so long as they do not initiate force or fraud against others.

We oppose:

• All non-consensual government interventions against property rights, including regulation, taxation, or forced transfer of property.
• Zoning laws, building codes, urban renewal, regional planning, subdivision laws, rent controls, and similar restrictions on owners’ rights to plan and use their land.
• Eminent domain or condemnation proceedings by state or local governments, regardless of any claimed compensation, as these constitute theft of private property.

2. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

In recognition of the fact that arms are property, and acknowledging that individuals are their own last line of self-defense, we support the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. We oppose compulsory arms registration and regulation. Minnesota is one of only six states whose Constitution does not contain the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. We call for an amendment guaranteeing this right.

3. Protection of Privacy

As an extension of self-ownership, individuals have a right to prevent others from obtaining or divulging their property or data without their consent. Neither the government nor corporations has a role in acquiring information about peaceful individuals without their explicit consent.

4. Freedom of Expression

Freedom to express one’s ideas is paramount to individual rights. We oppose government restrictions on the expression of ideas via speech, art, media, or any other means. We defend the absolute right of individuals to express any beliefs on their own property, however offensive, while prohibiting only expression that trespasses on or damages the property of others. In a free society, people bear full responsibility for their reactions to speech; no one has a right to be shielded from ideas by force.

5. Freedom of Association

We support the right of private individuals, communities, and businesses to determine who they will and will not associate with. This includes the peaceful act of secession.

6. Freedom of Religion

We defend the right of individuals to hold personal religious beliefs and to engage in or abstain from any religious activities, provided they do not violate the rights of others. To safeguard this freedom, we advocate strict separation of church and state and oppose all government actions that aid or attack any religion. We oppose taxation of religious property for the same reason we oppose all taxation.

7. Right to Die

Individuals have full authority over their own lives, including the right to determine the time, manner, and conditions of their death—especially when terminally ill or suffering. We support living wills to specify treatment preferences and disposition of remains. In cases of incapacity, decisions default to family or designated proxies, guided by the individual’s prior wishes. No one may be coerced to continue or terminate life-sustaining care.

B. Criminal and Civil Justice

1. Victimless Crimes

Actions that do not infringe on others’ rights are not crimes. We call for repeal of all such laws.

We support:

• Repeal of laws prohibiting gambling.
• Repeal of laws prohibiting prostitution and consensual sexual acts between adults.
• Repeal of laws prohibiting use, possession, or sale of drugs (including paraphernalia), for medicinal or recreational purposes.
• Immediate access to pain-relieving drugs like marijuana and heroin for those suffering, pending full repeal.
• Repeal of juvenile status offenses.
• End to the War on Drugs as a violation of personal freedom.

We oppose:

• Any criminalization of consensual adult activities or lifestyle choices.
• Denial of pain-relieving substances to the suffering.
• Government regulation of mandatory safety equipment (seat belts, helmets).
• Prohibition on vitamins, medicines, or firearms possession/use without victims.
• State interference in freely chosen personal behaviors.

2. Due Process for the Accused

Every individual is innocent until proven guilty, with the burden of proof solely on the accuser. We oppose no-knock warrants, pretrial detention, civil asset forfeiture, and any deprivation of liberty or property without conviction. Repeal all laws enabling these violations of rights.

3. Restitution for Victims and the Falsely Accused

We support full restitution for crime victims at the wrongdoer’s expense, opposing no-fault insurance that denies recovery. For the falsely accused—those arrested, indicted, or imprisoned without conviction or with overturned verdicts—provide compensation for all losses, funded by initiators if proven intentionally false. Because wrongful execution is irreversible, we oppose the death penalty entirely.

4. Restoration of Liberty and Equal Protection

Upon completing their sentence, individuals should regain full liberty and rights with no lingering abridgment. No one’s freedom should be denied based on selective laws; ensure equal protection under the law for all, without violation by state or local governments.

C. Social

1. Freedom of Marriage

We hold that unions between adults are a private matter, and should not be the subject of government licensing, regardless of sex. We call for the State of Minnesota to not restrict or give preferential treatment to private contracts between adults.

2. Health and Medicine

We advocate for a fully free-market healthcare system, rejecting government intervention that inflates costs, limits supply, and violates individual rights through mandates, subsidies, and regulatory capture.

We support:

• Complete deregulation of healthcare, including elimination of licenses, restrictions, and mandates on providers, facilities, drugs, treatments, and insurance.
• Individuals’ absolute right to choose their providers, treatments (including alternative and natural options), and end-of-life decisions without government interference.
• Voluntary, private, mutual aid, and charity-based alternatives to replace all compulsory or tax-funded plans (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, ACA mandates).
• Purchasing health insurance across state lines and customizing coverage freely.
• Ending the American Medical Association’s government-granted monopoly on medical licensing, which restricts supply, raises costs, and limits competition.

We oppose:

• Government coercion, mandates, subsidies, or tax-funded healthcare programs.
• Restrictions or prohibitions on voluntary access to treatments, drugs, or providers (including vaccines).
• Regulatory barriers to entry, especially those influenced by special interests like the AMA.
• Protectionist policies limiting healthcare professionals, facilities, or insurance options.

3. Mental Health

We uphold the absolute right of individuals to self-ownership, including full control over their own minds, rejecting all forms of government coercion in mental health as violations of liberty.

We support:

• Every individual’s unrestricted right to control their own mind, thoughts, and mental health decisions, including seeking, refusing, or stopping any psychological or psychiatric intervention.
• Complete repeal of laws allowing involuntary commitment, forced treatment, or medication for anyone, in any setting.
• Elimination of all tax-funded mental health programs, research, facilities, centers, or propaganda campaigns.
• Voluntary, private, and market-based mental health support without government involvement.

We oppose:

• All involuntary commitment or psychiatric treatment, including civil commitment, forced hospitalization, psycho-surgery, drug therapy, aversion therapy, or outpatient mandates.
• Use of taxpayer funds for any psychiatric or psychological programs, research, or propaganda.
• Government definitions, diagnoses, or interventions in “mental illness” as pretexts for depriving liberty without criminal conviction.
• Policies blurring criminal justice and mental health, or pressuring parents/guardians to obtain counseling or drugs for dependents.

4. Family Planning and Population Control

We oppose all government actions that compel, prohibit, regulate, or subsidize sterilization, any form of birth control, or population control. We do not take a position on personal decisions regarding family planning, and we oppose government laws and policies that seek to influence the decisions regarding family planning.

5. Education

In order to achieve the best possible opportunity of education we advocate bringing the positive benefits of competition to the monopolistic government schools. Therefore we call for the privatization and deregulation of schools. Also we call for the repeal of compulsory education laws, truancy laws, school and teacher certification and licensing laws, and taxpayer financing of education.

6. Children’s and Dependents’ Rights

Children and others who are dependent have the same right to be free of coercion as all other people. We accordingly call for the repeal of all juvenile status offenses such as truancy, under age smoking, curfews, etc. We support the efforts of parents or guardians to protect their dependents from force or fraud. Parents, or other guardians, have the right to raise their children according to their own standards and beliefs, provided that the rights of children to be free from abuse and neglect are also protected.

D. Economy

1. Taxation

Taxation, the taking of people’s wealth by force and threat of force, is an act of theft and extortion. We support spending reductions in all areas of government and eliminating all tax withholding.

2. Subsidies

In order to achieve a free economy in which government victimizes no one for the benefit of anyone else, we oppose all government subsidies, special interest laws, tariffs or quotas for anyone for any reason.

3. Money and Inflation

A truly free society depends on a monetary system that is not manipulated by the state. Government‑mandated legal tender, a monopolistic central bank, and an ever‑expanding web of banking and securities regulations distort prices, fuel inflation, and create cycles of boom and bust. By returning the power to set money to individuals and voluntary markets, we can achieve lasting economic stability and protect personal liberty.

We support:

• Repealing legal‑tender laws and ending the federal monopoly on currency issuance.
• Abolishing the Federal Reserve and all other government‑controlled central banks.
• Removing banking, monetary, and securities regulations that impede competition.
• Allowing voluntary use of sound money such as gold, silver, or other commodity‑backed assets for trade.
• Encouraging the development and adoption of decentralized cryptocurrencies that enable peer‑to‑peer transactions without state interference.

We oppose:

• Any legislation that forces businesses or citizens to accept a government‑issued currency.
• The continued operation of a centralized monetary authority that can create money out of thin air.
• Over‑regulation of financial services that stifles innovation and limits consumer choice.
• Inflationary fiscal policies that erode purchasing power and punish savers.
• Restrictions on the free exchange of digital assets, including bans or taxation of cryptocurrencies.

4. Employment and Licensing

We seek the elimination of protectionist occupation licensing and mandatory certification laws, which prevent individuals from working in whatever trade they wish. We advocate privatizing the current government licensing bureaucracies, removing their monopoly status, and letting them compete in the free market.

5. Welfare, Poverty, and Unemployment

We recognize that government welfare, unemployment programs, and related interventions create dependency, trap people in poverty, and suppress opportunity, while free markets and voluntary charity foster independence, abundance, and genuine help for those in need.

We support:

• Elimination of all government welfare, unemployment benefits, and subsidies, replacing them with voluntary private charitable efforts by individuals, families, communities, and organizations.
• Individuals keeping the full fruits of their labor to build personal wealth and voluntarily assist others.
• Removal of barriers to opportunity, such as minimum wage laws, excessive regulations, licensing, and taxation that hinder job creation, mobility, and prosperity.
• Free markets that naturally generate more jobs than seekers through innovation, competition, and unrestricted voluntary exchange.

We oppose:

• All government welfare, relief, aid to the poor, and unemployment programs as inefficient, demeaning, dependency-creating, and counterproductive.
• Policies that oppress economic freedom, including minimum wage mandates, heavy taxation, inflation, and regulations that destroy jobs and hope.
• Using taxpayer funds to sustain or appease those harmed by government intervention, rather than allowing markets and charity to promote self-reliance.

6. Unions and Collective Bargaining

We support individuals’ voluntary right to form, join, or avoid labor unions, and employers’ right to recognize or refuse unions. We oppose government interference in bargaining (including compulsory arbitration and right-to-work laws) and call for repeal of the NLRA, Taft-Hartley Act, and similar laws. Strikes/boycotts never justify initiating violence.

7. Labor Laws and Equal Protection

No individual’s freedom of contract in employment should be abridged by Minnesota or local laws. Protective labor laws and other regulations that selectively violate rights should be repealed entirely, not extended to additional groups.

8. Business

We advocate freedom and responsibility for all with special interest laws for none. Therefore we call for the repeal of all laws which help or hinder business, such as corporation laws, corporate limited liability laws, corporation taxation, tariffs, quotas, anti-trust laws, bankruptcy laws, and all similar laws.

On principle, Libertarians call for the eventual complete separation of business and government.

9. Counter-Economics

We explicitly acknowledge the right of individuals to subvert state regulation, taxation, and executive orders through black and gray market activity, as defined by Samuel Edward Konkin, so long as such activity does not violate individual rights and liberties.

10. Consumer Protection

Individuals and organizations that engage in fraud or misrepresentation are obliged to provide restitution to victims of these actions. We oppose government interference in consumer choice and government price-fixing schemes.

11. Public Utilities and Energy

We call for privatization and deregulation of all government monopolies to bring free-market competition to utilities, including garbage collection, electricity, gas, communications, water, sewer, fire departments, the Public Utilities Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Price Anderson Act, Minnesota Energy Agency, and similar agencies.

E. Domestic Government

1. Nullification and Subsidiarity

We recognize the important role of state legislatures and local units of government, as long as they exist, to declare null and void any federal law which infringes upon the rights of the individual. We recognize the obligation of law enforcement officials and courts, in particular county sheriffs and district attorneys, to refuse enforcement of and conviction under any rights-violating legislation or regulation.

2. Native American Indians and the State

We deplore the federal and state governments’ ongoing paternalistic and exploitative policies toward Native Americans, which have undermined their independence, culture, and property rights through bureaucratic control and interference.

We support:

• The immediate abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has historically forced Native Americans into dependency as wards of the state while eroding their individuality and traditional culture.
• Full respect for Native American property rights and civil liberties, free from government interference at federal, state, or local levels.
• Government honoring of all current treaty obligations to Native American tribes as binding agreements.
• Voluntary self-determination for Native individuals and tribes, allowing them to manage their own affairs without coercive federal oversight or subsidies.

We oppose:

• All paternalistic government policies, programs, and bureaucracies that treat Native Americans as dependents rather than sovereign individuals.
• Federal, state, or local interference in Native American property rights, cultural practices, or personal freedoms.
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs and similar entities that perpetuate exploitation and dependency under the guise of assistance.
• Any failure to uphold existing treaty commitments, which constitute violations of voluntary agreements and individual rights.

3. Juries

We advocate replacing mandatory jury duty with voluntary juries and private arbitration. We support the Fully Informed Jury Amendment, which would require judges to inform juries of their traditional right to decide the rightness or wrongness of the law in the given case, as well as the guilt or innocence of a person relative to the law.

4. Sovereign Immunity

We call for an immediate end to the doctrine of “sovereign immunity,” which implies that the state can do no wrong and which holds that the state may not be held accountable without its permission.

5. Government Accounting Practices

We believe that, as long as government exists, its finances must be transparent and comprehensible to those it governs. As a result, we support requiring government to follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the elimination of off-budget items.

6. Sunset Laws

We advocate a constitutional amendment requiring an automatic end to all government offices, departments, bureaucracies, laws, regulations, and expenditures every year. And unless individually voted on they would cease to exist as such.

7. Campaign Laws

We call for the repeal of restrictive state laws that effectively prevent new parties and independent candidates from being on the ballot. We urge the repeal of federal and state campaign finance laws, which repress the voluntary support of candidates and parties, compel taxpayers to subsidize politicians and political views they do not wish to support, and entrench the two major political parties.

8. None of the Above

We propose the addition of the alternative “none of the above is acceptable” to all ballots. In the event that “none of the above” wins, the elective office for that term will remain unfilled and unfunded.

9. Transportation

We advocate a true free market in transportation; accordingly we support systematic privatization of all forms of transportation including, but not limited to: Amtrak, all airports, taxicab and bus services. We support elimination of all state and federal transportation regulations and regulatory agencies.

10. Postal Service

We propose the privatization of the monopolistic governmental Postal Service. Pending privatization we call for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.

11. Government-Influenced Organizations

We recognize that organizations funded by, directly answerable to, or cooperating with government entities (federal or state) are not truly private but extensions of the state, often enabling cronyism, censorship, and infringement on individual liberty.

We support:

• Strict separation of business and state, rejecting any government funding, charters, subsidies, or partnerships that blur lines between private entities and government.
• Full accountability for any organization acting as a government proxy, treating them as state actors subject to the same constitutional limits on coercion and rights violations.
• Voluntary, independent associations and enterprises free from government influence, funding, or regulatory capture.
• Protection of individual expression, privacy, and liberty from infringement by quasi-governmental entities.

We oppose:

• Any organization funded by, answerable to, or cooperating with government being considered “private,” including corporations, nonprofits, and institutions that serve as subsidiaries of the state.
• Attempts by such entities to censor speech, violate health or personal privacy, promote armed conflict, lobby for special privileges, or otherwise infringe on individual rights through corporate policy or regulatory capture.
• Government partnerships, grants, contracts, or influence that empower these entities to act against liberty without direct accountability.

12. Agriculture

The state has no authority, pursuant to natural rights and the Minnesota Constitution, article 13, section 7, to stand between the exchange of goods between two consenting adults with respect to agricultural and cottage food sales. Accordingly, the LPMN calls on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to cease all licensing and regulation of such sales.

F. Foreign Policy

1. Non-Intervention

We advocate a non-interventionist foreign policy based on non-initiation of force: avoiding entangling alliances, quarrels, and treaties; supporting unrestricted travel and trade; negotiating withdrawal from military commitment treaties; and rapidly resolving boundary disputes per existing treaty law.

2. Immigration

We hold that, as the welfare state fades, so should restrictions on immigration. We oppose government welfare incentives for immigration, while recognizing that peaceful people ought to be free to travel, interact, and live without fear of government interference.

3. Veterans Affairs

We call on the U.S. Government to uphold its commitment to veterans by privatizing healthcare, by compensating veterans for physical and mental injuries incurred, and by ending continuous foreign military actions which have led to veterans becoming disabled.

IV. Omissions

Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, restriction, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval.

V. Conclusion

It is disappointing that in the third century following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we find ourselves having to fight against those same things from which our forefathers declared their independence. Those principles of human freedom and dignity we support in this platform are similar to those our government was originally created to protect. Remembering what in fact constitutes a crime leads us to the inevitable and sad conclusion that presently government is the greatest criminal of all. The Libertarian Party’s goal is to gain recognition for that freedom and dignity to which each individual has a right.