Dear editor,

The census is an incredible invasion of privacy. I received the long form, and I was offended and appalled. Americans should never be forced by law to answer such intimate, personal questions about race, religious affiliation, housing, plumbing, and so on. It is not only intrusive, it is indecent.

I was pleased that you quoted the libertarian Cato Institute in your article about census objectors. Libertarians have been at the forefront of objections to this invasive census.

For the past year, the Libertarian Party has issued a series of press releases attacking the census and encouraging non-compliance.

The leading candidate for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, Harry Browne, has strongly denounced the census.

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) – the only libertarian in Congress and 1988 Libertarian Party presidential candidate – has introduced legislation, HR 4085, to prohibit the Census Bureau from
collecting any information from citizens except for name, address, and the number of people per residence.

Citizens who are rightfully angry over this monstrous census should remember that it was Democrats and Republicans in Congress who gave it to us. And it is Libertarians – ever vigilant about protecting civil liberties and defending privacy -- who were the first and loudest voices objecting to it.

James W. Harris

Published in Cartersville Daily Tribune, April 2000