Support from Other Parties
CAAN has been reaching out to others in an attempt to find support outside of the BDSM and fetish communities. One group that has similar views is the Scottish Libertarians. Representatives from CAAN met with members of the Scottish Libertarian Party and were pleased to find that they too feel that the government should stay out of people's bedrooms. As the UK Libertarian Party webpage states:
"Libertarians believe that everyone has the right to ownership of their own bodies, thoughts and beliefs, and honestly acquired property, be those goods, land, or money. Owning these aspects of yourself means that you should be free to do with them what you choose. Libertarians believe that coercive actions by individuals, or groups of individuals—for example, the State—against others can never be justified. Such actions can rightly be seen as acts of aggression, and are simply an inappropriate way of behaving towards other people."
The laws that CAAN is opposing in Scotland -- the extreme pornography (Section 34), the control of lap dancing (Amendment 516) and the recently rejected amendments relating to prostitution -- are against the Libertarian values and are seen as acts of aggression from the state. If you would like to learn more about the Scottish Libertarian Party, please visit http://scottishlibertarians.blogspot.com/ CAAN hopes to be doing more work with the Scottish Libertarians in the future.
Among the major political parties, CAAN is hopeful that the appointment of Lib-Dem Lord
Wallace of Tankerness to position of Attorney General will assist in rejecting the extreme
porn bill in Scotland. Here were his thoughts on the matter in 2008:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2008-03-03a.903.0