The Libertarian Party believes in the equal rights of same-sex couples. We believe that support for the equal protection of law and for the neutrality of government are fundamental to building a free society.

Back in 1998, our Libertarian candidates stood virtually alone among office seekers in support of the gay community in its efforts to defeat the anti-same sex marriage amendment. All 14 Libertarian candidates in Hawaii that year opposed the amendment. That year only three Democratic and one Republican office seeker took the same principled stance. The remaining candidates, including many Democrats who call themselves "gay friendly", supported the amendment.

At the Libertarian National Convention in 2012 our presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, declared same-sex marriage to be a constitutional right. Two days later, President Barack Obama decided it was time to agree. The relationship between these two statements, based on their timing, may lead one to conclude that Obama would not have been so quick to change his mind had Johnson not made his statement.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have muddied the waters with parenting issues. They suggest that the government’s role in marriage licensing is to promote better family life, a view the puts bureaucrats squarely in the middle of people’s most personal decisions. Libertarians believe government should stick to governing. Basic functions of protection of our lives and property and the being a neutral arbitration of disputes are its job, not the managing of people’s lives.

Perhaps the anti-same sex marriage group would like to see the government license parenting. Would they assign a bureaucrat to every maternity ward to see that no mother leaves with her infant before jumping through their hoops?

If the government of the state of Hawaii cannot handle so simple a task as the issuance of marriage licenses without discrimination, based on some views of religion or morality, then it may be time to adopt the advice that many libertarians have been giving for years and get out of the marriage licensing business altogether. Why should the government license marriage at all? If one swears in a ceremony to a marriage before God, isn’t that more important than a government license sitting in the drawer? If there is a legal contract between spouses, shouldn’t that be the guide for handling issues that might arise through divorce, death, property ownership, etc.?

The government’s only role in all this should be in the adjudication of disputes that may arise, not in judging what two consenting adults choose to agree to.

The Libertarian Party is based on principles. We oppose the initiation of force or fraud to achieve political or social goals. We do not endorse any specific lifestyle or behavior, but only desire people to stop attacking others so that we may build a respectful and voluntary society. Our opposition to the initiation of force doesn’t imply that we take issue with the goals that government may have in improving the quality of life. We are only concerned with the methods of compulsion, aggression, and all too often, the violence that may be chosen to achieve those goals.

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Tracy Ryan is chairperson of the Hawaii Libertarian Party.