North Carolina Libertarians opened their annual state convention by remembering and honoring Tom Howe, anarchist theorizer and parent of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina.

By Susan Hogarth

Every fortunate state party has a set of "parents," a couple united in both personal and liberty goals. The influence of these couples in guiding and supporting new libertarians cannot be overvalued. They provide a sense of family and continuity in the organizations they join and foster.

In North Carolina, the state party had Barbara and Tom Howe.

Shortly after the formation of the LPNC in the '70s, one of its founders, Craig Springer, made a UPS delivery of books from Laissez Faire Books to Tom and Barbara and invited them to the discussions held in his home.

They became cornerstones of the state party, as well as supporters of the national party. They attended state and national conventions, tabled at events, led discussion groups, served in party positions, ran for public office, led petition drives, and gave significantly and often to both state and national parties, as well as several local parties.

North Carolina Libertarians called on the state legislature to prohibit releasing the state National Guard into federal service unless the U.S. Congress “has declared war pursuant to … the U.S. Constitution, and only for the express and explicit purposes enumerated in the Constitution, to execute the laws of the union, repel an invasion, or suppress an insurrection.”

In a resolution passed unanimously at their annual state convention, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina said, “in spite of the clear language of the U.S. Constitution, vesting the power to declare war exclusively in the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Executive Branch has unconstitutionally assumed that power while the Congress has abdicated its constitutional duty.”

The party also added a Defend the Guard plank to their platform. It reads:

For too long, government has refused to show justice and compassion for our homeless population. Please join the Libertarian Party of North Carolina and Pastor Moses Colbert for a joint rally in Gastonia to demand the release of police body camera footage related to the assault and arrest of homeless Army veteran Joshua Rohrer. During the assault, the police also tased Joshua’s service dog Sunshine, who died while Joshua was in police custody.

We also demand that the city of Gastonia stops blocking Pastor Colbert’s compassionate efforts to provide shelter for the homeless of Gastonia at his Faith Hope & Love Enrichment Ministries.

Former 2020 Vice Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party Spike Cohen will be a guest speaker. We demonstrate outside city hall. Some of us (including Spike) will be speaking at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. 

If you are on Facebook, please follow this link https://fb.me/e/3yMMCR6JR and click on interested or going. 

Commentary by Brad Hessel

Well, ok, maybe not quite yet. But the hosts are clearly cranky, and the guests are leaving in droves. In fact, three decades of consistently faster growth in the ranks of non-party-going independents in North Carolina will soon culminate in a significant milestone: they will become the largest block of registered voters. No one currently alive can remember when the Democrats weren't No. 1 in North Carolina.

This marks a sea change.