Libertarian announces candidacy for First District seat

Lawrence to challenge Wicker in November election

Oxford, Mississippi (January 12)---Chris Lawrence, a graduate student in Political Science at the University of Mississippi and a developer of software for the Linux operating system, today announced his candidacy on the Libertarian Party ticket for the First Congressional District seat currently held by Roger Wicker of Tupelo.

``I look forward to giving North Mississippians a real choice for Congress this year. Roger Wicker and his fellow Republicans promised us smaller government in 1994, but all they did was continue the failed tax-and-spend and pork-barrel policies that created a $4 trillion debt,'' said Lawrence. ``Even worse, the Republicans have stepped up the government's attacks on our fundamental freedoms, by sponsoring legislation calling for the censorship of the Internet and rolling back the due-process rights of citizens in court. Between the Republicans and Democrats, no part of the Constitution is safe.''

Lawrence believes Mississippi is ready for a real alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties. ``Any observer of Mississippi politics knows that the Republican Party has peaked in this state,'' commented Lawrence. ``The proof is in the pudding: the only viable candidate Republicans could find for governor in 1999 was a man who just five years earlier regularly voted for the tax-and-spend Democratic agenda in Congress. No wonder neither candidate could get the support of a majority of the electorate---the voters couldn't tell what party they were from, and Musgrove and Parker didn't seem very clear on what they stood for either. Both parties in this state are literally bankrupt when it comes to having new ideas; the Democrats have just been at it a lot longer.''

Lawrence's campaign will stress three major goals:

• The return of the federal government to its obligations to protect the life, liberty, property and fundamental rights of citizens, as required by the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution. According to Lawrence, ``the most important thing our federal government does is ensure that citizens' rights aren't violated by other citizens or by state governments. We need to return the government to its role of protecting individuals, black and white, from the excesses of majority rule.''
• The abolition of government agencies and laws that prosecute ``victimless crimes,'' such as consensual sexual activity, the mere possession of certain types of weapons, and substance abuse by adults. ``People have a fundamental right to behave however they like,'' says Lawrence, ``provided nobody else is directly harmed by their actions without their consent. However, people who hurt others---through crimes like rape and murder---should be punished to the full extent of the law.''
• The ending of all government-owned businesses in the private sector, including the United States Postal Service, the National Flood Insurance Program, Amtrak, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. ``These agencies are an albatross around the government's neck; they either offer woefully overpriced services or are a massive drain on the taxpayer's wallet,'' said Lawrence. ``More often than not, they're both.''

Lawrence will also emphasize the importance of a ``hands-off'' approach to the Internet in his campaign. ``Despite the hysterical headlines on the news, existing laws are more than sufficient for protecting our children from real harm on the Internet.'' Lawrence instead emphasizes the importance of parents in keeping an eye on what their children see and hear in cyberspace. ``After thirty years of a failing War on Drugs, our government finally recognized that `Parents are the Anti-Drug.' Well, parents are also the `Anti-Porn.' Congress needs to get a grip on reality before we embark on another crusade against an overblown bogeyman.'' He also supports a permanent ban on taxes on Internet commerce, to encourage states to lower their highly regressive sales and use taxes.

The First Congressional District includes all of Alcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, DeSoto, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Marshall, Monroe, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Webster, and Yalobusha counties, and portions of Grenada, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, and Panola counties in northern Mississippi.

The Libertarian Party, founded in Colorado in 1971, is the only party truly devoted to the principles of the founders of the United States. America's third largest political party, the Libertarians expect to field candidates for at least 218 House seats in 2000, a feat never accomplished by any third party in American history.

Lawrence's campaign web site is at http://www.lordsutch.com/ms-one/. For more information on the Libertarian Party, visit http://www.lp.org/ or call 1-800-ELECT-US.