United States Pirate Party
CaptainDrew Bingaman (PA)
FoundedJune 6, 2006 (2006-06-06)
Youth wingYoung Pirates USA
Ideology
Political positionSyncretic
International affiliationPirate Parties International
ColorsPurple, Red, Blue
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper Houses
0 / 1,921
State Lower Houses
0 / 5,410
Other elected officials2[2]
Website
uspirates.org

The United States Pirate Party[3] (USPP) is an American political party founded in 2006 by Brent Allison and Alex English.[4] The party's platform is aligned with the global Pirate movement, and supports reform of copyright laws to reflect open source and free culture values, government transparency, protection of privacy and civil liberties. The United States Pirate Party also advocates for evidence-based policy, egalitarianism, meritocracy and the hacker ethic as well as the rolling back of corporate personhood and corporate welfare. The USPP has also made a priority to advocate for changes in the copyright laws and removal of patents. It is the belief of the party that these restrictions greatly hinder the sharing and expansion of knowledge and resources.[5]

The party's national organization has existed in multiple incarnations since its 2006 founding. Its most recent is the Pirate National Committee (PNC), formed in 2012 as a coalition of state parties. The PNC officially recognizes Pirate parties from 10 states,[3] and tracks and assists in the growth of more state parties throughout the United States. The board of the USPP is the board of the PNC. The chair of the Pirate National Committee is known as the "Captain". The current Captain is Drew Bingaman.[6]

History

The Pirate Party was founded in June 2006 by University of Georgia graduate student Brent Allison in response to the success of the Swedish Pirate Party. Its platform was focused primarily on copyright reform and freedom from Internet censorship. The party first attempted to register in Utah during the 2007/2008 election cycle and failed to collect the required number of Statements of Support.[7][8] In 2011, the Massachusetts Pirate Party became the first legally recognized Pirate Party in the US.[9] By 2011, the Pirate Party reported over 3,000 members nationwide.[10]

In 2012, a coalition of state Pirate parties formed the Pirate National Committee (PNC).[11] By July of that year, the PNC drafted and adopted a new constitution, which outlined a broader ideology inspired by Rick Falkvinge's Pirate Wheel.[12]

In 2015, Massachusetts Pirate Party Quartermaster Steve Revilak became the first pirate in the United States to be elected to office, elected to Arlington town meeting.[13]

On July 2, 2022, the United States Pirate Party became a member of the Pirate Parties International, an umbrella organization, comprising 31 parties all over the world at the time of the USPP's admission.[14]

Ethan Osborne, captain of the Kentucky Pirate Party, ran for Congress in Kentucky's 4th congressional district during the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections, finishing in 3rd place with over 10,000 votes or 3.9%.[15] This is the largest number of votes for a Pirate candidate in US history as of 2022.

Name

The Pirate Party defends their oft-criticized name[16] in the preamble of the PNC's constitution:[5]

For our values, we have been derided as "pirates". For our hope that every person may be free to access all of human knowledge, we have been called "pirates". For our belief that one need not ask permission to participate in governance, industry, culture, and other aspects of society, we have been called "pirates". For our insistence that citizens should not be surveilled and distrusted as if they are criminals, we have been called "pirates". For our rejection of authority and profit-seeking when it does not serve the common good of all people, we have been called "pirates". We reclaim this label of "pirate" and abjure its derogatory, incendiary implication. We are Pirates. We stand for the liberty, equality, and solidarity of all human beings, and against all threats they may face.

Ideology

Members of the Massachusetts branch of the United States Pirate Party at a pride parade showing support for Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning

Factions within the Pirate Party include left-libertarians, classical liberals, anarchists, progressives, and radical centrists. Many Pirates explicitly decline to identify with any particular political ideology or philosophy. They are driven to "do what works" rather than being driven by a particular ideology.[17]

The Pirate Party's platform originally centered on issues of copyright. "Like its international counterparts, the USPP's main practical concerns are digital intellectual property and privacy laws—specifically, the abolition of a 1998 digital U.S. copyright law, the reduction of copyrights to 14 years (from 95 years after publication, or 70 years after the author's death), and the expiration of patents that don't result in significant progress within four years (as opposed to 20 years)."[10]

In 2012, the party began an expansion of its platform, inspired by the Pirate Wheel.[12] The party emphasizes the cultural values of the hacker ethic, open source and free culture, strong protection of individual civil liberties, government transparency, participatory governance, and evidence-based policy. It solidified these tenets by publishing a series of essays in January 2012 where it voiced its values using quotations from historical figures, including Benjamin Franklin ("They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"), Mark Twain ("Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet"), Albert Camus ("The only way to deal with an un-free world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion") and Thomas Jefferson ("Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty") in order to highlight the timelessness, urgency, and consensual agreement on its positions related to free culture.[18]

PNC

Captain

Before 2012, the chairman of the party was elected every July by a membership vote, as established in the party constitution.[19] After the 2012 formation of the PNC, the role's name was changed to captain.[5]

Name From To
Brent Allison June 6, 2006 June 9, 2006
Joshua Cowles June 9, 2006 May 2007
Andrew Norton May 2007 September 2008a
Glenn Kerbein September 2008a July 2009
Ryan Martin July 2009 December 29, 2009b
Bradley Hallb December 29, 2009 January 28, 2010
Brittany Phelpsc January 28, 2010 July 15, 2011
Bradley Hall July 15, 2011 April, 2012
Travis McCrea April, 2012 November 14, 2012
Lindsay-Anne Brunner November 14, 2012 January 28, 2015
Andrew Nortond January 28, 2015 March 1, 2016
Joseph Klein March 1, 2016 May 15, 2017
Lindsay-Anne Gorski May 15, 2017 January 28, 2019
Meg Cochran January 28, 2019 October 21, 2019
Joseph Onoroski October 21, 2019 November 25, 2019
Lindsay-Anne Gorskie November 25, 2019 December 2, 2019
Joseph Klein December 2, 2019 June 6, 2021
Rose Klein June 6, 2021 June 5, 2022
Anthony Jay June 5, 2022 August 6, 2023
Drew Bingamanf August 6, 2023 Incumbent

^a Norton stepped down mid-term to head up Pirate Parties International. Kerbein, as operations officer, stepped into the position for the rest of the term.

^b Martin was removed via a vote of no confidence on December 29, 2009. Hall was selected as administrator pro tempore for a 30-day period until elections could be held.[20]

^c See Wikinews interview with Peter Coti.

^d Norton resigned in order to have more time to devote to other interests.[21]

^e Onoroski was removed via a vote of no confidence on November 25, 2019. Gorski was elected Captain pro tempore.

^f Porter resigned on August 6, 2023, elevating Vice Chair Drew Bingaman to acting Captain pro tempore. Elevated officially to Captain on September 3, 2023.

Officers

  • Chair – Drew Bingaman
  • Vice Chair – Ty Clifford
  • Treasurer – Joseph Onoroski
  • Secretary – Michael Cadwallader
  • Auditor – Ben Horlick
  • Swarmcare Manager – Rowan Tipping

State parties

State[22]FoundedPNC Member[11]Notes
AlabamaNo
AlaskaNo
American SamoaNo
ArizonaObserver
ArkansasNo
CaliforniaAugust 1, 2020Yes
ChicagolandActive1
ColoradoObserver
ConnecticutObserver
DelawareActive1
District of ColumbiaActive1
FloridaObserverOfficially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
GeorgiaNoOfficially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
GuamNo
HawaiiNo
IdahoNo
Illinois2012[23]YesThe Illinois Pirate Party was founded in 2012, but by year's end was largely inactive and never received official recognition from the USPP and Pirate National Committee outside of observer status. The party reorganized in 2020 and became PNC members October 10, 2021.
Indiana2021YesBecame PNC members on October 17, 2021.
IowaObserver
KansasObserver
Kentucky2022NoBecame PNC members on March 3, 2022. Officially moved to probationary status on the February 5, 2023 meeting following Kentucky's announcement of their departure from the United States Pirate Party on February 2, 2023.
LouisianaNo
MaineNo
MarylandActive1
Massachusetts2010YesRan first pirate candidate in the United States history, JP Hollembaek, in 2012.[24] As of June 2021, the only state party to elect a pirate to office with the election of Steve Revilak.[25]
MichiganObserver
MinnesotaObserver
MississippiObserver
MissouriNo
MontanaNo
NebraskaObserver
NevadaObserver
New HampshireObserver
New JerseyActive1
New MexicoNo
New YorkAugust 25, 2010ObserverOfficially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
North CarolinaObserver
North DakotaNo
Northern Mariana IslandsNo
OhioObserver
OklahomaJanuary 18, 2010NoThe Pirate Party of Oklahoma was formed on January 18, 2010, with the signing of its constitution,[26] and the filing of a motion of intent to form a political party with the Oklahoma Election Board. The founding chairman was Marcus Kessler. The party was named an official state chapter of the United States Pirate Party on January 19, 2010.[27] The party mounted a signature drive to try to gain access to the Oklahoma ballot, but was unsuccessful. The party did not run any candidates for office in 2010. Officially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
OregonNovember 9, 2010ObserverThe Oregon Pirate Party was given official state party status on November 9, 2010. Officially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
Pennsylvania2022YesBecame PNC members on June 5, 2022.
Puerto RicoNo
Rhode IslandNo
South CarolinaObserver
South DakotaNo
TennesseeObserver
TejasYesBecame PNC members on November 26, 2023.
US Virgin IslandsNo
UtahNo
VermontObserver
VirginiaActive1
WashingtonObserverOfficially moved to probationary status on the January 30, 2022 meeting, and moved to inactive status on the March 6, 2022 meeting.
West VirginiaActive1State meets all PNC requirements except representative[28]
WisconsinJuly 4, 2012ObserverFormerly registered with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Officially moved to probationary status on the March 13, 2022 meeting, moved to inactive status on the February 5, 2023 meeting.
WyomingNo

1 ^ These states have active Pirate Parties, but are not PNC voting members. Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC are presently represented by one party, the DMV Pirate Party.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Platform – United States Pirate Party".
  2. ↑ "Current Office Holders – United States Pirate Party".
  3. 1 2 "About". United States Pirate Party. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Milchman, Eli "The Pirates Hold a Party", Wired Magazine, 2006-06-20. Retrieved on 2009-02-20,
  5. 1 2 3 "Platform | United States Pirate Party".
  6. ↑ "Leadership | United States Pirate Party".
  7. ↑ Cheng, Jacqui "US Pirate Party seeks legitimacy, starts in Utah", Ars Technica, 2007-08-09. Retrieved on 2009-02-20.
  8. ↑ Triplett, William (Aug 17, 2007). "Pirate party forms in Utah". Variety. Archived from the original on Nov 5, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  9. ↑ "Massachusetts voters can now register as 'Pirates'". 2011-03-07. Archived from the original on 2014-08-30. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 Downie, James (2011-01-24) Avast Network, The New Republic
  11. 1 2 "Pirate National Committee (PNC) - United States Pirate Party". Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Falkvinge, Rick "The Pirate Wheel", Falkvinge on Infopolicy. Retrieved on 2012-08-19.
  13. ↑ "Revilak is first elected Pirate".
  14. ↑ "United States Pirates become the newest addition to the PPI family!". pp-international.net. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  15. ↑ "Midterm Election Highlights and Takeaways". 10 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Lessig Questions Pirate Party's Existence - TorrentFreak". TorrentFreak. 2008-03-08. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "FAQ". US Pirates. Piratenkleider. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ Prinzing, Marlis (2012). "The Pirate Party – A new star on the horizon of media accountability or a blended, self-serving movement?". Studies in Communications Sciences. 12 (1): 41–48. doi:10.1016/j.scoms.2012.06.009.
  19. ↑ "Ppusa Constitution". scribd. Archived from the original on Nov 13, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Minutes of Meeting", 29 December 2009
  21. ↑ Andrew Norton Resigns as USPP Chair Archived 2016-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, 08 February 2016
  22. ↑ "United States Pirate Party". Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  23. ↑ "History". 27 August 2021.
  24. ↑ Koebler, Jason (May 1, 2012). "1st Pirate Candidate Out to Steal Spotlight in Massachusetts". U.S. News & World Report.
  25. ↑ "Election Summary Report". April 10, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Constitution of the Pirate Party of Oklahoma" Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine 2010-01-18. Retrieved on 2010-08-14.
  27. ↑ "Official Minutes of Meeting" 2010-01-19. Retrieved on 2010-08-14. Archived June 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ↑ "Pirate National Committee (PNC) - United States Pirate Party". wiki.uspirates.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
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