My Journy to the Libertarian Party

On our way home from an Indianapolis Libertarian Party Meetup on Feb. 25th, I was talking to my wife about what lead me to become a Libertarian. The truth is I grew up in a Republican household. My parents are both Republican. Both sets of grandparents are Republican. It’s only natural that I would be a Republican. Recently somebody asked me, “What changed?” as I mentioned my switch. The following is my story in the best way I know how to write it down.

A little over a year ago I was not a firearm enthusiast. With the increase in crime happening in Marion County, I started to worry about my family’s safety. It’s not that I believe the police do a bad job; in fact, it’s quite the contrary. I just came to the realization that if something bad is happening to me “RIGHT NOW” that there’s nothing the police are going to be able to do to protect me in that moment.

I’ve always been interested in firearms, but I had never pursued them in any way. When I had that “Light Bulb” moment, I started to look into what it would take to get a license to carry a handgun in the state of Indiana. During that research I came across a website that changed the way I think about a lot of things. INGO or IN Gun Owners has a “tactics & training” section, as well as a “carry issues & self defense” section. A post in one of those two sections opened my eyes to just how important solid, professional firearm handling training is.

This post however is supposed to be about my journey to the Libertarian Party and not about the Second Amendment. Quite simply, taking personal responsibility for my personal and my family’s safety clicked yet another light switch, one that made me realize I need to take responsibility for all aspects of my life. I should not rely on the government at any level to provide the things I need. I need to rely on myself. It is my responsibility, not yours, not the government’s, no one’s but mine.

I don’t know if I agree completely with all the political views of the Libertarian Party. However I believe as a whole the party is much closer to my ideals of a constitutional government. A discussion I heard a month ago was something to the effect of…. “The government is a train heading East. To the East is larger more intrusive government. To the West is less, more constitutional government. Democrats are taking the train to New York City. Republicans to Atlanta. Libertarians are heading to San Francisco. Too many Libertarian purists require you to be on board 100% of the way to San Francisco. The simple truth is this: if I want to get off at St. Louis, at least it’s west of where we’re headed now.”

I can’t quite put to words exactly what pushed me over the edge for the Libertarian party, but I would be happy to discuss it further.