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| Shawn Quinn (left) and Lorenzo Gaztanaga (right) of the Maryland Libertarian Party |
Shawn was asked for comment on the issue that Baltimore is currently facing among civil unrest and the uncertain future of the city. Thank you to Shawn for providing the following statement:
Statement from 2014 Libertarian candidate for Governor.
I would like to start by saying that my heart goes out to all the innocent citizens in Baltimore who are being affected by this state of unrest. While I am not surprised that things are boiling over, these folks have no justification for the destruction of property that is going on. I pray that the young people involved realize that what they are doing is wrong and return to their homes. I pray that parents get control of their children. I pray that there is no loss of life on top of the property destroyed last night. I commend the police for not pulling their weapons and making this worse. I am sure in the days that follow we will see many arrests.
Many people are going to come out in the weeks that follow to point fingers at the leadership in Baltimore, the Baltimore police and the Governor of our state for their handling of this situation. The two party agenda has never let a tragedy go by unused. I however am refraining from pointing fingers at this point and hope that these folks are getting the message people are sending. This has been building for years. I am not in support of the military being used as a police force, but due to the reactive nature of our government officials, they have little else they can do at this point.
Unemployment, homelessness, high taxes, over regulation, corruption, the drug war and a non responsive leadership have lead to this current situation. The answers are right in front of us. Our police need to live where they work. They must be involved with the community. People need to have a roof over their heads. They need to have jobs in order to take care of their families. They need to keep more of their earnings and not have the government steal for its own wasteful uses. We need to end the drug war. The city needs to become more friendly and attractive by lowering the tax rates, making it easier to start a business, getting control of the schools, and stop subsidizing programs that encourage dependency on the government. People with no hope have nothing to lose and will act accordingly. This is what is happening in Baltimore. Government needs to be proactive on behalf of its citizens, not just reactive.
In closing, I would like to reach out to the rioters and say that by destroying your community you will just make things worse. You can not get justice by treating others unjustly. I know you think you are venting, but you’re venting on people in the same situation as yourselves. You are giving government and police reasons to put their foot on your necks. You are making it easy for government to bring in troops. Listen to your community leaders and do this the right way. The peaceful way.
Shawn Quinn
2014 Libertarian candidate for Governor
I would like to start by saying that my heart goes out to all the innocent citizens in Baltimore who are being affected by this state of unrest. While I am not surprised that things are boiling over, these folks have no justification for the destruction of property that is going on. I pray that the young people involved realize that what they are doing is wrong and return to their homes. I pray that parents get control of their children. I pray that there is no loss of life on top of the property destroyed last night. I commend the police for not pulling their weapons and making this worse. I am sure in the days that follow we will see many arrests.
Many people are going to come out in the weeks that follow to point fingers at the leadership in Baltimore, the Baltimore police and the Governor of our state for their handling of this situation. The two party agenda has never let a tragedy go by unused. I however am refraining from pointing fingers at this point and hope that these folks are getting the message people are sending. This has been building for years. I am not in support of the military being used as a police force, but due to the reactive nature of our government officials, they have little else they can do at this point.
Unemployment, homelessness, high taxes, over regulation, corruption, the drug war and a non responsive leadership have lead to this current situation. The answers are right in front of us. Our police need to live where they work. They must be involved with the community. People need to have a roof over their heads. They need to have jobs in order to take care of their families. They need to keep more of their earnings and not have the government steal for its own wasteful uses. We need to end the drug war. The city needs to become more friendly and attractive by lowering the tax rates, making it easier to start a business, getting control of the schools, and stop subsidizing programs that encourage dependency on the government. People with no hope have nothing to lose and will act accordingly. This is what is happening in Baltimore. Government needs to be proactive on behalf of its citizens, not just reactive.
In closing, I would like to reach out to the rioters and say that by destroying your community you will just make things worse. You can not get justice by treating others unjustly. I know you think you are venting, but you’re venting on people in the same situation as yourselves. You are giving government and police reasons to put their foot on your necks. You are making it easy for government to bring in troops. Listen to your community leaders and do this the right way. The peaceful way.
Shawn Quinn
2014 Libertarian candidate for Governor
