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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2021 CONTACT: Chairperson, Karl Dickey Phone: 202-683-8056 | Email: [email protected] The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) is encouraging the Board of Palm Beach County Commissioners to end the county’s mandate on forcing residents and tourists to wear masks in public. The mandate was imposed last year in response to COVID-19 and has been continually renewed, ending on April 2, 2021. Over 30 percent of Palm Beach County residents have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, which has been responsible for the deaths of 0.15 percent of the state’s population according to government numbers. LP Palm Beach is urging county leaders to follow the science. There is a growing number of states which do not have mask mandates, currently standing at 18, including Florida. Chairperson of LP Palm Beach, Karl Dickey, said, “COVID-19 is a serious virus which our nation has taken seriously and taken unprecedented measures to combat. While any death to Floridians or visitors to the state is tragic, it is time to end the mask mandate in our county and let our residents breathe. We ask the county elected officials follow the science and lift the mask mandate. Last year the federal government told us repeatedly that if we comply with mask mandates and wash our hands, we could ‘flatten the curve’ in 15 days and get back to our normal lives. It is now over one year later, the curve was flattened, now give us our freedom back.” As Harry Browne famously said, “The government is good at one thing. It knows how to break your legs and then hand you a crutch and say, ‘See if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk.’” After reviewing multiple studies on lockdowns and mask mandates, the science is clear that the government’s force on Americans during COVID-19 has been wrong. Libertarians believe individuals own their bodies and have rights over them that other individuals, groups, and governments may not violate. Individuals have the freedom and responsibility to decide what they knowingly and voluntarily consume, and what risks they accept to their own health, finances, safety, or life. Unintended consequences are par for the course with expanded government action. While we have continued to track the effects of COVID-19, what is harder to track is the effects of lockdowns for Americans. Recent studies have shown at least a 30% increase in depression and anxiety in adults, and over 1 in 2 young adults now show symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder. We have found children who were under the strictest quarantines to be four times more likely to experience PTSD. Long after the vaccine has brought us much closer to herd immunity, we will still feel the devastating mental effects from mostly honest attempts to solve a problem that could never have been solved. In a related matter, the national Libertarian Party resolved yesterday that the Party is against any future attempts to mandate vaccine passports. #####
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Boynton Beach, Fla - June 21, 2020 - The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) stands opposed to the Palm Beach County instituting mandatory facial covering being worn in public in favor of voluntary cooperation Palm Beach County citizens. The issue will be presented at the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday (Item 3.A.). And while LP Palm Beach finds county commissioners’ heart in the right place, public health emergencies do not give local government unlimited power. The county government should provide unadulterated information to the public and respect its citizens and businesses to decide for themselves in how best to act.
LP Palm Beach finds the proposed ordinance contrary to state statute and an obvious violation of the U.S. Constitution as supported under Jacobson v. Massachusetts. In Jacobson, the Court said governments can temporarily impose certain restrictions on individuals; however, also stated, "real liberty for all could not exist under the operation of a principle which recognizes the right of each individual person to use his own, whether in respect of his person or his property, regardless of the injury that may be done to others." If county commissioners implement this proposed ordinance, it opens the county government to unnecessary lawsuits, expending more taxpayer dollars when expenses for the county are already rising and tax income for the coming year is unknown. LP Palm Beach implores the Board of Commissioners to withdraw this agenda item or if it comes up for a vote, then to vote against it. A vote for it would violate a commissioner’s Oath of Office and would be cause for their removal from public office. Upon taking office, commissioners promise to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution while doing the same for Florida Statutes - a "YES" vote to force all in Palm Beach County to wear a facial covering in public would violate both. Boynton Beach, Fla - June 20, 2020 - The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) has long been the political party of freedom, and yesterday’s continued State of Emergency Declaration continues to take away basic freedoms for Palm Beach County citizens. The State of Emergency should have ended weeks ago and there is evidence showing it should have never existed. The rules concerning Palm Beach County’s State of Emergency is wrought with hypocrisy, making zero sense in science.
LP Palm Beach contends all citizens’ jobs are essential, if they were not essential then they would not exist. It should be up to individuals and individual businesses to decide how best to protect themselves from any contagion and the largest role the Palm Beach County government should have is to provide information. LP Palm Beach Chair, Karl Dickey, said this morning, “It is outrageous our county mayor has chosen to step up enforcement of the county’s unconstitutional emergency order. This is a power grab by our local government and we call for the elimination of the position of Mayor for the county. Our mayor is clearly on a Draconian power trip. He and the county government are in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment (amongst others) by depriving us of making a living by limiting our right to property without due process of law. And yet, our county mayor took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, so he is in violation of that oath and should be removed from office. Telling us they allow which businesses to operate and how they may operate, and then telling us they will step up enforcement of their arbitrary orders is outrageous. We and many others in the county will defy the county orders and operate our business and live our lives as we see fit. We will thwart attempts by the county government to violate the rights of business owners with legal action and revolt at the ballot box.” The lesson for Palm Beach County citizens is simple — while regulations are sold by big government politicians as a way to protect the public, they end up having unintended consequences that hurt the very people they mean to help. The county commission has a long history of this type of action and it must end. LP Palm Beach calls for a lifting of all restrictions on county businesses and individual citizens. Let freedom reign. Dickey concluded, “The three leading preventable causes of death in Palm Beach County are overwhelmingly unrelated to COVID-19. Why isn’t the county government doing something about them? Answer: It is not politically wise. If COVID-19 is the public health crisis is as serious as our county officials contend and they want to save lives, then they would end the sale and service of all products and foods that cause heart disease and cancer. They will not do so as all voters would run them out of office. This is not a serious effort to save lives but an unconstitutional violation of human rights.” Boynton Beach, Fla - May 26, 2020 - The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) has found the government enforced shutdown of county private businesses dehumanizing to not only business owners but to all county residents. “To suggest anyone working in Palm Beach County is ‘non-essential’ is demoralizing and arbitrary,” said LP Palm Beach Chair Karl Dickey.
LP Palm Beach suggests the shutdown of public parks and beaches as well as selective private businesses was unwarranted. When it came to private businesses, it should have been up to individual business owners how best to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some businesses would have decided for themselves whether remain open or close, whether to have patrons wear masks, etc. Instead, elected officials arbitrarily would “allow” some crowded stores open while not allowing residents or visitors to practice social distancing on the state, county, and city beaches and parks. Such government force has been haphazard and has instilled unwarranted fear in county residents. What has become clear throughout the pandemic, county and Florida’s governor overstepped their constitutional authority. Elected officials take an oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution and instead trampled over it by violating the constitutional rights of its citizens. “We know elected officials have been wrong on the science throughout this pandemic. In the late ‘60s we didn’t use government force to shut down the economy, restrict movements of Americans, end social gatherings for the H3N2 pandemic. We should not be doing so today,” Dickey added. “You don’t need to have draconian measures from the government if people are accurately informed about what is going on,” said Nicholas Sarwark, Libertarian Party National Chair. “We need to do what is necessary to keep people safe, but we also need to remember that we are Americans and we have made it through a lot of crises before, and our political system, our way of life, our Constitution can’t be let go just because there is a terrible illness spreading through the country.” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2019 CONTACT: Chairman, Karl Dickey Phone: 202-683-8056 | Email: [email protected] Boynton Beach, Fla - In 2017, the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) advised the City of Boca Raton not to enter into a ban of medical cannabis dispensaries within the city limits (see link). Since that time, the city has missed out on additional revenue and has angered Boca Raton voters who supported the legalization of medical cannabis in Florida. Now, the City has seen the error of its ways and has a proposal to lift the ban. While the LP Palm Beach feels these dispensaries should be able to open without prohibitions from state law or local ordinances, we look forward to the day Boca Raton residents can choose to buy their medication locally and not be forced to travel outside the city limits to do so. On February 11, 2020, the City of Boca Raton will conduct its second reading of their proposal which still handicaps any proposed business owner. For instance, the proposed ordinance would require minimum square footage of 5,000 for the business, though there has been discussion by council members to lower that requirement to 2,500 square feet. There is also talk of limiting the number of medical cannabis dispensaries within the city limits. Some of this proposal seems contrary to Florida statute, but we’ll leave that to the lawyers to figure out. The LP Palm Beach suggests the City of Boca Raton pass an ordinance with the simple language allowing the dispensaries so long as they are compliant with the State of Florida statute. Full stop. Libertarians believe that it is immoral for the government to dictate which substances a person is permitted to consume, whether it is alcohol, tobacco, herbal remedies, saturated fat, cannabis, etc. These decisions belong to individual people, not the government. Thereby, City leaders need to get out of the way of their constituents who voted to have close access to medical cannabis and abide by state law. ##### FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2017 CONTACT: Chairman, Karl Dickey Phone: 202-683-8056 [email protected] Palm Beach Libertarians Continue Opposition to Red Light Cameras Libertarians against Boynton Beach renewing camera program Boynton Beach, Fla -- The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LP Palm Beach) is renewing its opposition to Boynton Beach’s red light camera program. The City of Boynton Beach rightfully eliminated its red light camera program at the end of 2016 and is considering renewing it at their city council meeting tomorrow evening. LP Palm Beach has been a strong and outspoken opponent to red light cameras for many years since such programs entered Palm Beach County. The organization of over 1,500 Palm Beach County residents has been proven right all the way to the Florida Supreme Court when such programs were ruled unconstitutional. It is also a strange time for city officials to bring up red light cameras as another case on the issue is still to be considered by the Florida Supreme Court. Chair of LP Palm Beach, Karl Dickey, said this morning, “It is sad that one of the Boynton Beach City Commissioners feels the need to bring the issue back up when it has already been decided. Residents do not like or want the cameras and as the city’s own study showed, once the cameras were installed, deaths at those intersections increased. These cameras do not increase safety but cause more accidents and deaths. We encourage city residents to reach out to their city commission elected officials and strongly voice their opposition to this revenue generating scheme. Any politician telling the public they want the cameras in the interest of safety is cherry-picking the data and is not being straightforward with the public.” Although there are a multitude of studies that show how red light cameras make intersections less safe, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles provides more evidence that deaths increase and crashes increase at such intersections across the State of Florida. Their study concurred with dozens of other studies that fatalities increase when red light cameras were installed while also finding a near 30 percent increase of incapacitating injuries and an overall increase in crashes by almost 15 percent. For Boynton Beach, the study found a 206.25 percent increase in crashes after the cameras were installed. Red light camera companies and governments have a sordid history of corruption from around the country. Whereas, LP Palm Beach has no knowledge of any corruption by any Boynton Beach official, many public officials across the country have gone to prison after accepting bribes from red light camera companies. Boynton Beach residents can contact their elected officials to voice their opposition to renewing the red light camera program through the following contact information: Mayor Steven Grant [email protected] (561) 742-6010 Vice Mayor Justin Katz [email protected] (561) 827-0407 Mack McCray [email protected] (561) 702-5419 Christina Romelus [email protected] (561) 436-2826 Joe Casello [email protected] (561) 602-6400 ### FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2017 CONTACT: Chairman, Karl Dickey Phone: 202-683-8056 | Email: [email protected] Lake Worth, Fla – Last night, January 10, 2016, the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County, an official affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Florida, conducted their annual business meeting and convention in Lake Worth, Florida. During the meeting, it was voted that the local organization support the 2018 Florida Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative. The measure would restore the right to vote for most people with past felony convictions upon completion of their sentences. It would not restore voting rights for those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense. Additionally, members at the meeting voted Karl Dickey to be their next Chairman and Artie Lurie as their At-Large Director. Dickey was the local party's previous Chairman from 2005 through 2007 and is a former Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida. Lurie ran for Florida House in 2016 against incumbent Lori Berman. Speaking about the restoration of voting rights to felons, Dickey said last night, “Once a citizen has served their time for their offence, they should automatically restored all of their Constitutional rights.” Speaking about what he plans to accomplish as the incoming Chair for the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County, Dickey said, “I look forward to the challenge of growing our local affiliate to become a stronger political force in the county. You can expect to see us increase our registered voter count from the current 1,466 dramatically over the next two years while we increase the number and quality of those running for public office. We will also be more visible at county and municipal commission meetings, weighing in on proposed ordinances. I encourage all freedom-loving Palm Beachers to give us a look if you're dissatisfied with the two older political parties or if you are currently registered without a political party. I am also very thankful for Shane George, our former Chair, for doing such a great job during his tenure.” Also during the local party's meeting, members decided to honor fallen 2016 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Dr. Allan Feldman. Feldman passed away shortly after the nominating convention and becoming a favorite among many after seeing his rousing speech at the Libertarian Party's presidential debate. The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County resolved, “We posthumously give our sincerest thanks and appreciation to Dr. Marc Allan Feldman for all of the work he did for the Libertarian Party. Running for Ohio Attorney General and running for President of the United States were incredibly difficult and thankless feats. And his passion for liberty and self-empowerment, as demonstrated by his closing remarks at several state party convention debates calling out the powers that be, and of course his closing remarks at the national party convention talking about being 'That Libertarian,' was exciting and helped the party come together in spite of a hard fought and divisive primary. Not only was he passionate about liberty, but he truly cared about people. One of many examples of this was at the LP national convention, someone was hit by a car in the hotel parking lot and attendees ran inside and asked for a doctor; Marc was there and he rushed out to provide assistance. Shortly after the convention, when we found out he passed, several of us cried. He will be sorely missed." Lastly, at their annual convention, the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County resolved to honor Mises Institute senior fellow Dr. Tom Woods. The party made the following statement, "We give kudos to Thomas E. Woods for all of the incredible work he has done for the liberty movement. Between his five-day-a-week podcast, his writing, his creation of Liberty Classroom, his work for the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum, and his public speaking, he is truly a gem of the liberty movement. His overall positive, friendly, and receptive demeanor and his intellectual curiosity has brought us enjoyment and has driven many converts into the liberty movement for which we owe him a great deal of gratitude. We welcome his move from Kansas to Florida within the past year." |
AuthorLP Palm Beach County Archives
August 2024
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