Bruce Guthrie

Strongly Agree

It is immoral to force opponents of abortion to pay for the abortions of others. Private non-profits should be free to fund abortions for those who can't afford one.

1) In the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Victims of rape or incest should have abortions in the first 14 weeks if they want one. 2) In the case of significantly elevated risk to the life of the mother at any time in the pregnancy. 3) When serious developmental problems are detected in the fetus at any time in the pregnancy. 4) When the mother and abortion doctor agree to do an abortion. No doctor should be forced to do one.

Agree

A murderer, who kills a pregnant woman, should be found guilty of two homicides, except if the mother intended to get an abortion before 14 weeks. Government should not fund or encourage assisted suicide. But no one should be prosecuted for assisting in a suicide if the person who wants to die signs a legal document indicating their desire to commit suicide. Doctors should not be required to assist in suicide. No taxpayer money should be used to fund elective suicide.

Agree

They should be treated as property and may only be destroyed if both the genetic mother and the genetic father agree to the destruction. Embryos that are not needed should be offered to those who want to buy them.

Strongly Disagree

I believe in free trade and a free market in health care. People have a right to purchase such drugs from willing sellers in any state or nation.

The ideal minimum wage is zero. Setting a minimum wage violates the right to freedom of contract between people. It also tends to destroy low-skill jobs and this hurts the poor. Entry level jobs are the first rung on the ladder of success.

Strongly Agree

Free markets are our right. They are a natural result of our rights to liberty and property. High taxes and over-regulation violate our rights. And they hurt the poor by destroying their jobs, creating inflation, and reducing their wages. The money generated by taxation results in less benefit to the poor through government programs, than would have been available in a free market to provide jobs and private charity. Government programs hurt the poor.

After spending Billions of dollars on the homeless, we now have thousands more homeless. We are literally creating more homelessness by subsidizing it. Washington is falling in the rankings of educational quality, despite more spending on education. But private schools have better outcomes at lower costs. School choice and a voucher system will reduce spending while improving education. Sound Transit is a decade late and hundreds of millions over budget. Health care fraud must be reduced.

Government may not give an advantage or disadvantage to any particular religion. We may not have an official religion in the US. But it is the separation of church and state that reduces the chances for the political sphere to be used as a battlefield for conflict between religious traditions. It is the separation of church and state that defends our freedom of religion. Also, government may not violate our religious liberty as long as we are peaceful. America works better with moral people.

Strongly Disagree

A transaction between a baker or florist is private. Either party may refuse a sale for any reason. We must never force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding, nor for any other reason. There are dozens of other bakers who will want the job. And if we object to that we are free to boycott the baker. But no such action must ever be prohibited by law. That would violate our liberty of contract. Churches must be free to refuse wedding ceremonies that don't match their views on marriage.

D). I advocate for a free market in health care. I believe that under the conditions of a free market, the poor would have BETTER access to health care. The economy would grow, and much more charitable money would be available to help them. Technology would improve faster, and costs of health care would come down due to competition. The free market and private charities work better to help everyone, especially the poor, than any government program.

Strongly Disagree

Such a database would violate our privacy and the 4th Amendment. If there were a free market in health care, the "economic burden of treatment" would be private, and not a burden on taxpayers. Private charity would do a better job of caring for the poor than any government programs would.

Strongly Agree

The CCP is the closest thing to an evil empire we have today. But freedom of trade is the best way to erode their power over their people. Creating entrepreneurs to counterbalance the communist Chinese politicians will produce the best outcomes for both the American and Chinese people. It never makes sense to attack a needed supplier or a good customer. Trade ties will lead to peace. But we do need to protect ourselves from cyber attacks and intellectual property theft.

Israel is the closest thing to a free country in the Middle East region. I think fondly of the Jewish people. I think Islam tends to produce very bad results, especially in Islamic theocracy. But America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. America is not supposed to be the police force of the world. I would end all foreign aid to Israel and all Islamic nations. I think that on balance, this policy would tend to favor the Israelis. We should sell arms to Israel.

Neutral

I like it when ICE deports illegal immigrants who are convicted of property or violent crimes. I would also deport all illegal immigrants who are on welfare. However, I would not deport illegal immigrants who have jobs, such as picking crops, washing dishes, or are starting or running a small business. Branches of government must sometimes serve as checks and balances on each others' power. Cities should not interfere with ICE. But they should not be forced to aid in ICE efforts.

Strongly Agree

There is no constitutional provision for the Federal Department of Education. It is therefore unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment. And it has had the effect of reducing educational outcomes in the states. Eliminate it.

Neutral

Education should be totally privatized. Government education is a failed social experiment. Private schools have better outcomes at lower costs. And homeschooling is even better. If education were privatized, there would be no problem with foreign governments subsidizing private schools in America. Competition and free markets would create a disadvantage for the attempt to propagandize the American people via education. Honestly, we have greater problems from domestic socialists in America.

Strongly Agree

Agree

I don't have a serious problem with social transitioning, as long as it comes from the parents and the child, and not from some pressure by schools or governments or psychologists. This is because parents have the "fundamental right and essential duty to direct their child's health and well-being." But chemical and surgical transitioning efforts should only be done on adults, and such procedures should never get taxpayer funding. They tend to be worse than ineffective at their stated goals.

Neutral

Marriage is that most beautiful of contracts concerning love. The right of informed adults to enter in to the marriage contract must not be infringed by governments. I defend the rights of church communities to define "marriage" within the scope of their communities, but I also defend the rights of consenting gay or lesbian adults to marry each other. Governments must defend liberty of marriage.

Neutral

I support a free market in gambling. I also support privatization of government gambling such as the State Lottery. Government should not engage in gambling, but should enforce laws against force or fraud in gambling. Gambling has horrible negative effects in our society. But government prohibition is not the way to work to make these problems better. Private charities and individual efforts are the best way to help each other.

Our lives are gifts to each of us. So we are the proper owners of our lives. Rights do not come from governments. They come BEFORE governments. They come from our self-ownership of our lives and our bodies. Our right to life comes from the ownership of our future, natural lives. This is why murder is immoral. Our right to Liberty comes from our ownership of our lives in the present. This is why slavery is immoral. And our right to property comes from our ownership of our lives in the past. What comes to us from our past labor is our property. Good governments defend our equal, individual rights to life, liberty and property. Bad governments don't. That is how we can tell the difference between good governments and bad ones.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

My only quibble is that if a sorority is hosting a party, they should be allowed to invite particular men. :)

Strongly Disagree

Nuclear, hydro and natural gas.

Choose not to answer

I'm a Libertarian. I do not exist on the linear, left-right political spectrum as above. This old model is too simple to describe the real, complex political landscape. I am more of a free market fan than most Republicans. I favor more strictly-limited government power than most Republicans. But I defend individual liberty and freedom of speech and thought more than most Democrats. And like neither R's nor D's, I favor a non-interventionist foreign policy, like that of Switzerland.

No.

No.

Deterrence to others who might be tempted to commit crime. The success of the criminal justice system should be measured in how well it defends the rights of the people to life, liberty and property, whether they are the accused or the victims of crime.

Neutral

Parents responsibility is far greater in this realm. Most of the efforts made by government to "protect the children" have would up violating our individual privacy and liberty. "Protecting the children" is far too often being used as an excuse to expand the Orwellian surveillance state.

Strongly Agree

Theocracy is a very bad idea. It is un-American. And Islamic theocracy tends to be the worst kind of theocracy. Individual Muslim communities in America may bind themselves to portions of Sharia law that do not contradict American law. But things like "honor killings" should not be legal.

There have to be background checks to discover if someone attempting to buy a gun has had their rights to own a gun restricted by court decision. But governments may not infringe on the individual rights to keep and bear arms by regular, peaceful adults. There should be no magazine size restrictions, and no assault rifle bans of any kind. Widespread gun ownership in the hands of regular Americans is one of the essential features securing our freedom.