The Libertarian pledge, a statement individuals must sign in order to join the Libertarian Party of the United States, declares, "I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals." Libertarian Party founder David Nolan created the pledge in 1971. His goal was to convince government authorities that the LP was inherently not a violent organization, during a time when many political groups were using terroristic tactics.

The pledge is required by Section 5.1 of the national bylaws and many state affiliates of the Libertarian Party also have bylaw provisions requiring it. At the 2006 Libertarian National Convention, the Libertarian Reform Caucus

Libertarian Reform Caucus

The Libertarian Reform Caucus is a coalition of American Libertarians operating as an internal caucus of the Libertarian party. Their aim is to gear the party toward winning elections in the near term, a goal they believe to be incompatible with preserving a rigid doctrinal purity...

 attempted to repeal the pledge but failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote. There have been many proposals to change or eliminate the pledge.

A reference to the pledge was made on April 17, 2001 when, in response to Timothy McVeigh

Timothy McVeigh

Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...

's description of himself as a libertarian, Libertarian Party national director Steve Dasbach

Steve Dasbach

Steve Dasbach was the national director of the Libertarian Party of the United States from 1998 to 2002. He was chair of the Libertarian National Committee from 1993 to 1998 and national executive director from 1998-2002. In 1986, he was the Libertarian Party of Indiana candidate for Indiana's 4th...

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