As many of you know I am a Libertarian. For the non U.S. readers the Libertarian party is the third largest political party in the U.S. Don’t let that lofty (but accurate) claim fool you. The Democrat and Republican Party dwarf Libertarians, it’s like comparing Jupiter to the other planets. None the less it’s a viable 3rd party and I have been a part of it for nearly 20 years now.
This post isn’t going to be a political piece. I’m not going to rail against dems, republicans etc. The purpose of this post is I was witness to a discussion on discord (yes I am a gamer) about how this individual wanted to adopt but was unable to get support from their family as they identify as Trans gender. It’s complicated, but it struck me as troubling. So I want to take the opportunity to give an alternative point of view, in my small platform.
Here is a link to the Libertarian Party. Here is a key part of the platform
1.4 Personal Relationships
“Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the government’s treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration, or military service laws. Government does not have the authority to define, promote, license, or restrict personal relationships, regardless of the number of participants. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Until such time as the government stops its illegitimate practice of marriage licensing, such licenses must be granted to all consenting adults who apply.”
“Consenting adults who observe the law and conduct themselves in a manner that is not harmful to others should be able to enjoy all the trappings of society. There should be no limitations on what consenting adults chose to do, assuming there are not underlying cognitive issues. Marriage licenses, adoption criteria… it’s all arbitrary based on assumed best practices and it unfairly denies others their pursuit of happiness.”
We need laws to help govern and nurture desired social constructs. We don’t need laws that prohibit accesses to classes of citizens. It’s a very similar argument to homosexuals in the military. If you are a U.S. citizen and want to serve your country you should be afforded that privilege. “But that can cause problems in the ranks for hetro-sexual military members” that’s a fair observation but I would put forth that it is they who have the problem. Meaning if the homosexual is not using or making their sexuality an issue what’s the problem?
Libertarians aren’t perfect. We assume, sometimes foolishly that the rights of the individual are paramount as we assume individuals are equipped to make behavior choices that don’t negatively impact other people. If someone is uncomfortable with a transgender parent that’s a separate issue entirely. We simply can’t be held accountable for every emotion someone else has based on our conduct. Egregious and ridiculous conduct? Okay fine.
Is raising a child as a transgender egregious conduct? I guess it would depend on your point of view. The issue here isn’t that the transgender is behaving poorly or not, it’s the notion that they are given obstacles to get by PRIOR to having the opportunity to display a good or bad outcome. Essentially that’s what libertarianism is, you aren’t penalized for what you might do, or how you make other people feel. You are penalized, or rewarded based on how you act and those actions outcomes.
Interested in more posts like this? Click here.