Stephen L. Knipper
Republican | Kentucky
Candidate Profile*
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Stephen L. Knipper
Party
Republican
Election Year
2023
Election
Primary
Race
Sec. of State
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, B.A., 1995
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
City Gospel Missions, Contributor, Love without Boundaries
Member, Fairhaven Rescue Mission, Contributor
Lakeside Christian Church, Member, Lt. Governor Military/Veterans Council
Member, Project Management Institute, Member
Frankfort Capital Planning Board, Member, Kenton County Board of Adjustments
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Erlanger City Council, 2010-2012
Chief of Staff for Kentucky Lieutenant Governor, 2015-2019
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Secretary of State, 2019
ENDORSEMENTS*
CONSERVATIVE (2)
Freedoms Heritage Forum
*KY Forum PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (3)
Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton
Dr. Douglas Frank
Mike Lindell
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (12)
Adrienne Southworth (2017)
Bill Polyniak (2017)
Diane St. Onge (2017)
Hal Heiner (2015)
Jenean M. Hampton (2017)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Kentucky Canna PAC (2019)
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I am 100% pro-life and to be consistent with my words and actions. My wife and I were faced with the choice to either abort our first child or trust in God's promise. We chose life and today, our son has none of the issues that "professionals" said he would have, and my wife is healthy and working with others to aid in improving their lives as a trauma counselor.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Abortion is murder. Funding it is Genocide.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
Life is a gift from God. It can be confusing why bad things happen to good people but that is indicative of the fallen world we live in and doesn't grant us the right to take a life. We don't know what God's plans are for that person.
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
The Tax Code is totally mixed up. We should move to a consumption tax and that would be more representative and easier to track. Take the IRS out of everything which just adds an additional Federal level of bureaucracy which I am not convinced was ever Constitutional in the first place.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Every study and grant given for whim sickle projects and pork projects each Congressman and Senator uses to keep themselves in office. Also, foreign aid, which like Ukraine, has been shown not to go to the country in need but to be used to buy material that will make groups, businesses and politicians money on the back of the taxpayer.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
Universities are not for everyone. College Education is a good thing when you are taught a hard or soft skill that will enhance your ability to work. But that is a personal choice and if College tuition continues to climb, we will find less and less people spending their lives working to pay off the debt that they acquired years before they even had a job.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Wrong. If you're a private business you have the right from GOD, not Government to hold to those beliefs.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
NEVER. The Church has leadership that is very capable of making the decisions for itself without some politician trying to act like they know better.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
I will say that we created a class of people that are dependent on certain healthcare options like Medicare/Medicaid. If people paid into those programs then we need to honor the dependency that was created so we are being respectful of life. However, able bodied people should pay for their own insurance like we used to do for every other service. The federal government's intrusion into yet another free market business had cause unbelievable high prices and lower quality of services. If Obamacare was ripped out of the system and the AMA would be limited in their power over physicians we would see the free market work and Doctors would start to have individual charges for services. Hospitals that are protected by Government laws like Certificate of Need should be abolished and allow for competition to come into an area.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
NEVER. Nuremburg trials after WW2 proved that at one point the world saw the dangers of a dictatorship with group think using people as human experiments.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
Look in our own backyard first. What have we been responsible for by jumping to war so quickly every time someone said there is an enemy? We should not be the world's policeman. It doesn't serve our interest or fulfill anything to have us involved in every single conflict in the world. When we are attacked without provocation then we should retaliate and actually eliminate the threat.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Strongly Disagree
Israel is our only ally in a region of enemies. They are people and they are not perfect, but they have also been the victim of many unwarranted aggressions. My main support of Israel comes from the scriptures to bless Israel.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
Bad things cross an open border. Drugs, human trafficking, other horrendous things like the spread and influence of drug cartels to run large portions of our land because we never built an obstacle to them.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Anyone who goes through the legal process of immigration, seeking asylum or the freedoms God intended all of us to have.
EDUCATION
Do you support a constitutional amendment that would allow Kentucky’s educational dollars to follow children to the school of their choice?
Yes
YES. Definitely. This should be the family's choice not a group of bureaucrats who make sure their structure is in place first and foremost before looking out for the needs of children. Many great teachers caught in a bad system.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
Ten Commandments are the backbone of legal reasons why we as created beings appeal to a higher system of morality that supersedes individual physical and emotional intelligence or ability.
I support adding gender identity and sexual orientation as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Confusion of gender has its roots in an external influence with the agenda that is self serving and destructive to impressionable children. We should NEVER discriminate against anyone for any reason.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Operating from a base that everyone is a victim doesn't produce a healthy society anymore than a person who believes an entire group of people are responsible for the actions done to them by one person of that group. It makes no logical or moral sense to operate from that mindset, it only separates, never unites.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian who has been all around the world and has experienced the wonderful people who make up the countries of China, Middle East and other places but who also understands it is governments that are focused on elevating conflicts between people. My world view is to let people see my Christianity.
Parental rights are a fundamental right. Stronger legal protections are needed to ensure that parents are empowered to protect their right to direct their children’s upbringing, education, and healthcare.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
Again. Redefining marriage and changing the old rules and customs lead to confusion, chaos, and sin.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Photo ID but I would take it one step further. I would make it mandatory that license or photo ID was based on a legitimate verified birth certificate,
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
I would make it the options of the counties in my state to decide how they want to vote. We have no choice in KY. We have to use voting machines and many people, including myself, believe these machines to be loaded with fraud. Allow counties to choose if they want hand counted paper ballots? This movement is growing as more information comes out about what really happened in national and local elections over the last years.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Any thing that divides us is domestic insecurity. We should focus on moving forward than always trying to live in the past.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Where do we begin to give compensation to people who suffered? The history of mankind on this fallen planet is suffering, usually at the hands of a leftist tyrant who loves to divide and conquer people and drive permanant wedges between people so they can stay in power.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
A) I think there are very responsible practices that both can achieve employment and be responsible. I believe the media enhances the real dangers to push their agenda.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Strongly Agree
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
Serve the public, protect the public.
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Various sources are available with a name search.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
I believe America to be the best country with the best potential for mankind. I will defend America and never quit fighting for people to be free. I adopted 5 special needs children from Communist China because they had no chance at life in that so called Socialist Paradise. They are prospering and thriving greater than anywhere else in the world and that is worth it to me.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Did not answer
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Did not answer
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
My belief is clear. The Amendment says, "SHALL NOT INFRINGE..." end of story. I am a responsible gun owner and have trained my children how to handle and shoot firearms responsibly,.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
People shoot people. A gun is just a tool. That's like saying mechanics should be able to sue tool companies for busted knuckles.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Do you support the expansion of gambling in Kentucky?
No
It comes more from the fact that I don't gamble. I don't see the point in giving your money to something designed against you. I understand the entertainment that some get from it and we already have the horse race gambling. I don't know if government is the moral compass to be deciding issues of people's private transactions.
The LGBTQ+ agenda’s advocacy for puberty blockers, biological males competing on girls’ sports teams, and allowing biological males into girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, and showers threatens the wellbeing of our children.
Strongly Agree
Again. A group designed to sow division, confusion and push a political agenda to divide and conquer,
