Libertarian stops paintball guns for sale law

Benjamin Rivard-Rapoza received his first taste of politics on Thursday as he led the opposition to a proposed town bylaw regulating the use of paintball guns. At 18 years old, Libertarian Party member Rivard-Rapoza recently became the youngest elected town meeting member in Dartmouth.

Sponsored by the Dartmouth Police Department, Article 43 would have imposed fines of up to $300 for the use and possession of paintball guns by minors without a permit or parental supervision.

"When people elect Libertarians to office they know they will have powerful advocates for the protection of their liberties. In fact, it is a goal of Libertarians to make the repeal of bad laws as commonplace as the passage of good ones," noted Rivard-Rapoza.

In his maiden speech at town meeting, Rivard-Rapoza emphasized that the proposed law would not prevent crime but would constitute an unjust restriction on the rights of parents and their children. Rivard-Rapoza also explained his reasoning and position in fliers he distributed to town meeting members,

"I was afraid the law would provoke undue hostility between our town"s teenagers and police," said Rivard-Rapoza. "It could have been used against responsible teenagers who wouldn't hurt anyone.

As one of ten Libertarian officeholders in the state, Rivard-Rapoza said his Libertarian principles were the cause of his protest. "I don't use paintball guns, but I opposed this law because it was an infringement of people's rights", he said.

Numerous town meeting members took the floor to agree with Rivard-Rapoza. He also presented a petition opposing the article signed by 358 Dartmouth area students. With broad based opposition, Artilce 43 ultimately went down to a resounding defeat.

Rivard-Rapoza is currently meeting with other Dartmouth Libertarians to form a Dartmouth Libertarian Town Committee which will have its first meeting later in the month.

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