FBN’s John Stossel Hosts Libertarian Presidential Forum Featuring Johnson, McAfee & Petersen
Libertarian presidential candidates Gary Johnson, John McAfee and Austin Petersen discuss the top issues concerning voters in a Libertarian Presidential Forum moderated by FOX Business Network’s John Stossel.
While controversies surround the 2016 race for the White House in both America’s Democratic and Republican parties, voters who may not be interested have another option: the Libertarian Party, which promotes civil liberties and free markets.
Former Republican Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, ‘The Libertarian Republic’ founder Austin Petersen and anti-virus software developer John McAfee are among some of the top names representing the Libertarian Party in the 2016 race. The three joined moderator John Stossel on the FOX Business Network to discuss some of the major issues concerning voters in this year’s race, including the topic of religious liberty and discrimination.
“I think that if you discriminate on the basis of religion, I think that is a black hole,” Johnson said. “I think you should be able to discriminate for stink or you’re not wearing shoes or whatever. If we discriminate on the basis of religion, to me, that’s doing harm to a big class of people.”
When Austin Petersen, one of Johnson’s opponents in the forum, asked the former governor if a Jewish baker should be required to bake a Nazi wedding cake, he said: “That would be my contention, yes.”
John McAfee, another participant in the forum, added his thoughts to the conversation.
“If you’re the only baker in town, it may be a problem,” he said. “But no one is forcing you to buy anything or to choose one person over another. So why should I be forced to do anything if I am not harming you? It’s my choice to sell, your choice to buy.”
Petersen’s response to Johnson’s statement: “This portrays a fundamental lack of understanding of the free market. You have to allow the marketplace to work. The government cannot stamp out bigotry. The government is not supposed to make us into better people—that’s not what the United States was founded on.”
The Libertarian Presidential Forum will be moderated by John Stossel, and will air in two parts on April 1st and April 8th at 9 PM Eastern Time on the FOX Business Network.