A Personal Note to my Fellow Activists

by Steve Kubby

I've recently been asked a number of times -- by friends, fellow
Libertarians, supporters of other candidates and even my own campaign
volunteers -- if my personal legal situation has any bearing on my
presidential candidacy.

More pointedly, I've been asked if the fact that I'm on probation in
the state of California might not disqualify me as a candidate, if
for no other reason than that it might limit my ability to travel.

I'd like to turn these questions into an opportunity: An opportunity
to explain my situation, and to explain why it's not only not a
problem, but a positive factor in my campaign.

Yes, I'm on probation. Those who have followed my story have all the
details. For those who haven't, I'll keep it brief:

After helping to write and pass Proposition 215 in 1996 and running
for governor of California in 1998, I was targeted by "the
authorities." They wanted to put a clamp on the growing medical
marijuana movement. They wanted a high-profile arrest, a high-profile
trial, a sure conviction and a lengthy sentence. They hadn't been
able to scare the voters into keeping medical marijuana illegal, but
they hoped to scare the patients who depend on it out of standing up
for their newly recognized right to use it.

"The authorities" lost, and they lost big-time. I was acquitted by a
jury of my peers. Proposition 215 was upheld -- and federal laws
conflicting with it were effectively nullified. If Proposition 215
was a "shot heard 'round the world," my trial was the bullet hitting
its target. I'm proud of the part I played in this win for freedom,
although it cost me more than I could ever convey in nearly every
aspect of my life.

Part of that cost was that "the authorities" kept gunning for me, on
unrelated (and, in fact, bogus) charges. I obtained permission from
the court to move to British Columbia, only to be betrayed by the
court and designated as a fugitive, facing what amounted to a death
sentence. Thanks to my many friends and supporters, I was eventually
able to return and, at the cost of some damage to my health but not
the loss of my life, to negotiate a deal that resulted in probation
rather than additional jail time.

And that's where I'm at right now. I have to get permission to leave
the state of California. I don't think that that will normally
represent a problem when the presidential campaign requires me to
travel, but there were special circumstances involved earlier this
month when I was unable to attend the Nevada Libertarian Party's
convention. I recently moved from Placer County to Mendocino County
-- and during the time it took the paperwork to get from one county
to the other, there was nobody to give me permission to travel out of
the state. Placer County said I wasn't their problem any more;
Mendocino County said I wasn't their problem yet.

I could have risked it -- and had I done so, I could have gone back
to jail for it. So, I telephoned my regrets to the Nevada LP, and
literally "phoned in" my performance at their presidential candidate
debate.

That's fixed now ... but I'd like to discuss this further.

Is a criminal record inherently a bar to seeking the presidency? I
don't think so.

What if, for some reason, I'm imprisoned again? Will that be a
problem? I don't expect it to happen, but I'm still happy to answer
the question.

I'm proud of what I've done for freedom, and I'm in distinguished
company:

Martin Luther King wrote "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." He won the
Nobel Peace Prize.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a South African cell. He won the
Nobel Peace Prize, too -- and served as president of his country.

Mahatma Gandhi went to jail in South Africa as well, fighting for the
rights of that country's Indian population. Then he returned home to
India and went to jail there, fighting for his nation's independence.
He never won the Nobel Prize ... but he was nominated for it five
times and likely would have received it had he not been assassinated.

In 1920, Eugene Debs ran for President of the United States from a
prison cell in Atlanta. He polled nearly a million votes. Another
Nobel Prize nominee who didn't win.

No, I'm not trying to tell you that I'm the next Martin Luther King,
Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi or Eugene Debs -- but their lives are
proof positive that it's possible to be politically effective after,
or even during, imprisonment for one's political activities.

I don't wear my experiences with the criminal justice system (and let
me emphasize that America's justice system is, indeed, criminal these
days) as a badge of shame. I wear them as a badge of honor. I'd do it
all again, and if the situation warrants, I WILL do it all again.

In seeking the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, I offer
those experiences and that commitment not with excuses, but AS
CREDENTIALS. Those experiences prove that I'm willing to stand up and
be counted. They prove that I'm willing to fight for my rights and
the rights of my fellow Americans, no matter the cost. And now, I'm
asking for the opportunity to do so as your candidate for President
of the United States.