Introducing Kerry McKennon

Kerry McKennon is the Libertarian candidate for Texas Senate District 28, a special election being held on September 9th. 

"Liberty for all, period." That's what sealed the deal for Kerry McKennon to begin identifying as a Libertarian years ago. He's come a long way since then, starting out as Hale County Chair, finding himself as a delegate to the State Convention, and being elected to be a member of the State Executive Committee. This is his first bid for election and he has big goals when he wins. He will seek to repeal laws that inhibit liberties and introduce laws that secure them, but he feels the primary goal for the office he seeks is ending marijuana prohibition.

When asked what about the Libertarian Party empowers women and what should be attracting them to our party, he says "Liberty for all includes women.  Women are not put into a minority group based on sex to be a voting block to be fought over.  The 'All' is the individual and each women is an individual." I'm feeling empowered already!

He goes on to express the beauties of the non-aggression principle in a way that anyone can understand, "It is not acceptable to hurt someone using force.  Force is hitting someone until they do what you want.  Force is taking away something from you to make it fair.  It is better to share because you choose to do so." 

In a nutshell, Kerry wants to serve Texans by holding our elected officials accountable and both ensuring and regaining our freedoms. 

You can find more information on Kerry at his website and on Facebook.

Women and Guns

I respect the Second Amendment. I love firearms and I'm not ashamed to say it!  This, however, wasn't always the case.  As a child I was blissfully unaware of the dangers of life and my only concern was Barbie, doll houses and who would play "tea time" with me.  In high school my perspective of guns was somewhat negative, probably due to my only exposure being TV, Movies and the occasional D.A.R.E. program.  This all changed however, after I met my loving husband.  Guns were never thought of but when he started working night shifts, my safety became a concern.  Of course, calling 911 was an option, but how would I survive the response time if an intruder was at the foot of my bed?  Next thing I know my husband is walking through the door with a Mossberg 500 Shotgun.  I was speechless.  A few days later my husband and I headed to the local gun range.  We had ammo, protection gear and some targets, and he went over the safety rules for handling a gun.  He then gets behind me and hands me this huge gun trying to show me how to aim.  Once I fired that very first shot, I was hooked.   "Love at first shot."   The power I felt behind this gun was empowering, especially for a little 120lb woman.  This is what opened the door for me in regards to firearms.   I then started doing some research on guns and what the true meaning is behind them.  A few months later I ran across an online group called Open Carry Texas (OCT). Shortly after that I started studying up on our U.S. Constitution and our Bill Of Rights.  I started falling in love with everything this group was trying to accomplish, so the next step was to become a full blown member and join the movement.  The more involved I got, the more I began to learn about our government, gun control and Moms Demand Action (MDA).

This is why I believe more women should stand up and fight for gun rights.  Open Carry Texas is mostly men, however if more women got involved people might understand the movement better.Not all people trust a bunch of men walking around with guns but if you have women out there as well, people would look at it differently. Women have a certain sense about things, we can feel danger in our gut a mile away.  The Second Amendment will stand or fall depending on the way women vote.  FACT: Women make-up about 52% of the population.  If women are not encouraged to support firearms and instead rely on the stigma that guns are bad, they will vote against the second amendment and they will not be protected.  It is much more important to teach girls how to use guns than boys because girls will grow up to be women and are more likely to be victims of crime.  If someone is going to be raped, mugged or robbed, it will more likely be a women and the attacker will more likely be a man.  A woman needs a firearm to make her equal and more powerful than her attacker.  Our Second Amendment is our greatest freedom, the one that makes all other freedoms possible since nothing else matters if you're dead.  Yet when it comes to guns and the second amendment, you're more likely to see a campaign against guns than one for guns.  Pick up a magazine, any magazine and you're more likely to see anti-gun propaganda from Cease Fire or the Ad Council telling you to use a gun lock than beautiful full-page ads from Smith &Wesson.  Gun Manufacturers themselves only place ads in gun magazines, there's little help for someone who's never owned a gun or who doesn't understand that "assault weapon" is just a scary term for "semi-automatic" and who might consider owning a gun but has never been lucky enough to meet a pro-gun friend.  The future for the second amendment depends on increasing the number of gun owners, but mainly women gun owners.  They say too many people have guns in this country.  I say we need 150 Million more gun owners. We need so many gun owners that it becomes political suicide for any party to propose gun control.  For people to embrace the second amendment, they must be given a personal reason.  For me it was not wanting to be home at night alone, and later on, not wanting to be a slave of the State. Free men bear arms, slaves don't, yet does the mainstream media care?  We cannot rely on them to promote the second amendment, instead it is our duty to share pro-gun stories on Facebook and social media.  The fact remains that they still oppose concealed carry, which means they're perfectly okay with women being unarmed and defenseless.  It's ironic that these so-called "feminists," these "war on women" folks, are actually waging a war against all women who want to defend themselves from rape or other crimes.  (FACT: The University of Colorado's response to rape-prevention tips- 1. Urinate 2. Claim you're menstruating 3. Vomit 4. Faint 5. Blow a whistle.)

The original intent of the second amendment was to protect the right of the states to form and maintain a state militia, free of the potential federal incursion created by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 16 of the U.S. Constitution.  Individuals should assert their rights and should NOT bow to an oppressive government.  The states should stand between their citizens and the federal government and halt any attempt by the federal government to interfere. Any interference in the right of the individual to possess, use and exchange firearms is an infringement of those natural rights and should be strongly resisted.  The second amendment of the U.S. Constitution was written to keep a balance of power, keep the prosperity, and the principles of life, liberty, and property in the forefront of society.  When looking at our basest nature, the threat of violence is one of the few things that keeps others civil.  Without this balance of power we are left without our last defense if the law fails us.  So, where are all the women on the front line?  We are involved in instructing men, women, and children in the safe use of firearms. In some cases they have their own blog/websites.  The fact is that the "front line" is everywhere.  We are in your towns and cities. The front lines are in the grocery stores and the schools. Women will determine the future of our right to bear arms.  We are raising the future generation of women gun owners and we can make the practice appear as normal as it is.  I am on the front line in this battle.  Are you??                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              BY: Houston Women For Gun Rights/Misty WittEMAIL: HoustonWomenForGunRights@outlook.com        TWITTER:  @WomenGunRights

Introducing Rebecca Paddock

Rebecca Paddock is the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate representing the whole of Texas. Even before realizing she was a Libertarian, she  lived her life by libertarian principles personally and in the workforce. After being disenchanted with the “control-centric” policies put forth by both Democrats and Republicans, she found herself politically homeless until a friend uttered two words that would change her political trajectory. “You’re Libertarian.” She did her research, and came to find she liked that the Libertarian platform is counter to what the two big parties espouse, that it centers on the same ideas as the Constitution.

She was inspired to run for the Senate by John Cornyn’s cloture vote for Obamacare. She decided it was time to put her money where he mouth is and try to do something to right the infringements on liberty imposed by Obamacare. Should she win, Rebecca intends to focus on “putting government back in the box defined for it by the Constitution,” including remedying the egregious attacks on both the second and fourth amendments. Additionally, she pledges that every bill put before her will be measured against the Constitution and turned down if it doesn’t make the grade, and every bill she authors will reference how that bill falls under the purview of government as set forth in the Constitution.

She notes that empowerment for everyone comes from the original design of our government in that its power is in the hands of the people and encourages everyone to become involved and informed in order to upright our country and to remember that living by the Libertarian principle of non-aggression is as simple as “don’t start fights; and don’t back down when a bully starts one.” If we live by this, then we can see liberty grow for our children and grandchildren.

Rebecca Paddock can be found at www.rebeccapaddock.com.

Introducing Irene Johnson

Irene Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for Texas House of Representatives District 52 covering part of Williamson County. After declaring herself an Independent and becoming vocal online about her political views, Irene was approached about a year ago by Pat Dixon, then state party chair, about becoming a Libertarian and running for office under the LP banner.

She felt like she had found her political home and decided the next logical step in her activism was to run for office.  Active in her community and seeing very specific issues that needed a Libertarian hand, she chose to run for State Rep in her district.  If she wins, she will focus on putting more money back in the pockets of taxpayers, building stronger family values to protect children, and defending property rights.

When asked what attracts women to the Libertarian Party, she cited that women can find a home with us in our shared desire to leave a better world for future generations where they can succeed by their own hard work instead of failing in spite of it. She also notes that due to the nature of the party, it is easy for not just women, but everyone, to have their opinions heard and respected. Irene feels that because of this voice, the future of our world will be influenced by libertarian philosophy.  Irene sees increased independence, self-ownership and personal responsibility leading to success as our children become leaders of their time.

To put the Libertarian principle of non-aggression simply, Irene says: “Non-aggression is the only productive, responsible way to get a point across.”

If you find yourself wondering where you fall in the political spectrum, she advises you take the world’s smallest political quiz which can be found at www.lptexas.org, and vote principle, not party. For more information on where Irene stands on the issues, you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/irene.r.johnson.9?fref=ts.

Introducing Whitney Bilyeu

Whitney Bilyeu is the Libertarian candidate for Texas Senate District 7 covering part of Harris County. She stumbled upon the Libertarian Party when she became frustrated with the candidates that both the Republicans and Democrats were putting forth and found her political home in the Harris County Libertarian Party in 2012. She began her party leadership by independently spreading the word of libertarianism and introducing people to the party through other organizations before attending the 2014 State Convention and being selected to represent Senate District 7 on the State Libertarian Executive Committee.

Even though this is her first bid for election, she has long had a desire to serve her community and the state Senate race seemed like the perfect choice. She notes her area is teeming with “anti-federal government sentiment” including many issues that are near and dear to our hearts as Libertarians. She sums up her goals, should she win the election into three powerful words: “LEGALIZE. NULLIFY. REPEAL.” If that doesn't get your blood pumping, I don’t know what will.

Whitney believes that the Libertarian party is unique in that rather than empowering any one group, it empowers everyone and her perspective as a teacher on how our principles influence the next generation of Libertarians is truly inspiring. She states that, “today’s youth is more libertarian than ever, though they may not totally relate to the Party.  I work with young people daily, even as young as five years old.  Libertarian principles are reflected in the way they deal with each other, as well as in how they negotiate the world around them.  The questions they ask and solutions they propose are starting to sound less and less like those of their parents.  Kids are seeing how aggressive, coercive, and oppressive society is as a result of the policies previous generations have put into place.  They want none of it.  They are going to be focused on peaceful and voluntary interactions with others, as well as personal responsibility and self-reliance.”

Lastly, when asked to explain the Libertarian principle of non-aggression to a child, her response is succinct. “Don’t hit people and don’t take their stuff.” Try explaining the other parties’ beliefs that easily.

Whitney Bilyeu can be contacted via whitney4tx@whitneybilyeu.com, www.whitneybilyeu.com, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whitney-Bilyeu-for-Texas-State-Senate/409376935840500