COLUMBUS—The Libertarian Party of Ohio is the first and only political party to endorse the Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment, a proposed 2012 ballot measure that would amend Ohio’s constitution to allow two adults the freedom to marry regardless of their sex.

The measure, which the LPO Executive Committee unanimously endorsed this week, would also allow religious institutions the freedom to determine what marriages to perform and the right to refuse to perform a marriage.

“The basic belief of the Libertarian Party is that the government should allow and recognize all voluntary agreements between adults, and that includes legal and family agreements based on relationships,” said LPO Chair Kevin Knedler. “We hope that Ohio voters will recognize that we fully support this measure while Ohio’s other two political parties do not.”

At several events around the state during the last few weeks, including Columbus Pride and Columbus ComFest, hundreds of Ohio voters have made contact with the Libertarian Party of Ohio and left with a positive impression of Ohio’s only pro-freedom party based on the LPO’s support for this measure, Knedler said.

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is the state’s third largest political party and has won three federal court cases dealing with ballot access in the last decade. More than 20 LPO candidates are on the ballot for U.S. Congress, the statehouse and county offices on Election Day 2012.

Gov. Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray are the Libertarian Party’s 2012 candidates for president and vice president and are polling between five and 10 percent in some state and national polls.

For more information:
Aaron Keith Harris
Libertarian Party of Ohio Communications Director
937-453-1776
aaron.harris@lpo.org

On the Web:
www.lpo.org
www.freedomohio.com