By Don McKee
Columnist
Bob Barr's marriage of convenience to the Libertarian Party gained him the group's nomination for president and prompted the former Republican congressman to declare he will work to repeal one of his biggest legislative victories, the Defense of Marriage Act.
In his speech accepting the little party's nomination in Denver last weekend, Barr roundly denounced the law he once championed.
Barr was the sponsor of the 1996 act that (1) says no state is required to give effect to or recognize a same-sex union law of another state, and (2) defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" and declares "the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."
Barr's reversal marks the repudiation of key conservative "family values" positions he once embraced. He also now favors legalizing "medical marijuana," and his new party's platform calls for repeal "of all laws creating 'crimes' without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes." He also opposes the 2001 Patriot Act he originally supported to expand intelligence-gathering powers in fighting terrorism.
Before the convention, Barr declared support for the California Supreme Court's mid-May decision striking down state laws banning same-sex marriages.
Barr said the question of recognizing marriages should be left to the states and claimed "the primary reason" he authored the Defense of Marriage Act "was to ensure that each state remained free to determine for its citizens the basis on which marriage would be recognized within its borders."
His new position aligns him with his new party's platform: "Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships."
Leading up to the convention, Libertarian online columnist George Dance wrote: "Some of the strongest opposition to Barr comes from the sizeable gay bloc in the Libertarian Party, due to his authorship of the Defense of Marriage Act."
Barr moved to get right with that constituency.
Outright Libertarians, "an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other self-identified 'queer' (LGBTQ) Libertarian Party activists and supporters," according to its web site, quoted Barr as saying the Defense of Marriage Act was a mistake and said he "decried how it is used to 'club down the rights of law abiding citizens.'"
And despite Barr's assertion that his candidacy will not be a spoiler for Republican John McCain, the executive committee of Outright Libertarians disagreed outright in a pre-convention news release:
"Further, we note that regardless of who is nominated, the Libertarian Party will perform an invaluable service to the queer community in this election cycle - even if the delegates ignore Outright's endorsement of George Phillies and instead choose Bob Barr as the Libertarian Party's nominee, the silver lining for the LGBT community will be that a Barr candidacy will almost certainly spoil any possible victory by John McCain."
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I never thought I'd see the day when Bob Barr would more-or-less jump ship. Not so much that he left the Republicans, but that he seems to be leaving the conservative movement entirely. I'm sure Neal Boortz is proud of him today. I truly hope that his running for president won't be a spoiler (unless it's a spoiler for the democrats!).
"His new position aligns him with his new party's platform..." In fact, it does not. His 'new position'(which he claims is not new) is that the state governments, not the federal government, should regulate and define marriage. The Libertarian Party's platform clearly states that "Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships." Barr is off the LP's message on this issue.