Florida Liberty!

Kira Gilson is congratulated by board chair for her draft fundraising guide to help privately support public trails.

While conservative extremists and party sad sacks claim Libertarians can barely get into public office, Florida Libertarians at their latest convention applauded one who is in not only one post, but two, and applying for a third.

Namely the youngest Libertarian in public office, teenager Kira Gilson, whose father Michael co-founded the modern movement and the movement in Florida in 1970.

The bright 15 year old is on appointive youth advisory boards dealing with public libraries and trails in Pinellas, Florida, along with her older brother, Kennon. She applied as soon as she was legally able, was accepted, and is now working on a project to help private funding of public amenities.

This is not her first foray into community affairs. The home-schooled politician , who wants to be a biologist and ecologist, wrote a paper on Social Security privatization that got an award from the Libertarian Party of Florida when she was 12 , plus word it was praised from Milton Friedman. While she has taken the Libertarian pledge, she is technically ineligible for LP membership but is a member of the local Libertarian Citizen! Club.

She says she has no patience for people who claim Libertarianism needs to be watered down or who say getting in office is too difficult or involves a lot of money.

"Some 90% of public offices in the US are appointive. The Presidency and many judgeships are technically appointive. Plus more Libertarians get elected every day. If one in 10 Libertarians got busy, we would have maybe 4000 people in office. I think people who say you can't get Libertarianism across are losers. I don't know everything, but I think you can figure out what you can say comfortably then say it, " she says.

Young people in government is a trend pioneered by Libertarians that has spread worldwide. In the UK, a teenager was elected mayor of his city.

Does she intend to run for President someday? Not exactly.

"Why? I'm probably doing more here," she says.