Richard L. Weiss

Disagree

Neutral

I would support assisted suicide in certain cases such as advanced terminal illness, severe pain, and euthanasia if for instance there is brain death.

I support an unrestricted, no questions asked, right to a safe and prompt abortion up to the end of 20 weeks of pregnancy, calculated starting at 2 weeks after last menstruation. An embryo is composed of human cells but is not yet a human being. The soul enters after the body is formed. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7 This was also the position of the Catholic Church in the past: St. Thomas Aquinas stated that a fetus has finally a rational soul when the body was developed. The Summa Theologica specifies that ensoulment takes place once the fetus becomes animated (also known as "quickening"). Abortion is in the Bible (Numbers 5:15) and was practiced at the time of Jesus, yet in no place is it called the taking of a human life. Abortion has been practiced for thousands of years and was a common part of U.S. history. Benjamin Franklin wrote a recipe for an abortifacient in a popular handbook. Roe v. Wade used viability rather than quickening. The earliest an infant has survived is after 21 weeks of pregnancy. The use of an artificial womb would not change the point of ensoulment. The point of sufficient development of the fetus is not the same in every case and I estimate it to range from 17 to 20 weeks. However, I would not support intervention of the state before 20 weeks, leaving the matter to the conscience of the pregnant person and their doctor. After 21 weeks, my view is a healthy fetus is virtually a human being and I would not support abortion other than in the case of a nonviable fetus (e.g. brain death), threat to the life of the pregnant person, or severe defect. For reference, I would not consider down syndrome to be a severe defect. Many people with down syndrome have gone on to live fulfilling lives. I would support granting certain rights, such as inheritance, to a viable fetus after 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Neutral

I believe in reasonable taxes that people are willing to pay because they are reasonable, without loopholes.

Neutral

Defense spending should be cut. Reduce overseas bases to pre-9/11 levels and bring troops home. Disband DHS. U.S. Debt held by the Federal Reserve should be erased. The Federal Reserve should be brought under the control of the Treasury Dept. and laws passed to limit creation of money in accordance with productivity gains and slack in the economy in order to avoid inflation, taking into account the velocity of money and money created by banks.

The Green Party believes in requiring the wealthy to pay a fair share of taxes that are not avoidable through loopholes. Personally, I believe in an income tax that starts at 1/3 of one percent at $100,000 income and increases by 1/3 of one percent for each additional $100,000 topping out at 10% but with no deductions and applies to all tax shelters or controlled legal entities domestic or foreign, with a credit for foreign tax paid. Capital gains and interest would be taxed at a flat 10% and withheld by the entity making the payment. Corporate taxes would be 1% of sales with no deductions. This would greatly simplify taxes and reduce costs.

Neutral

Neutral

It depends on the need and difficulty of finding the service elsewhere. A chain bakery should be able to find another employee to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple. A small bakery could refuse if there is another bakery easily available. However if there is no other easily available bakery, they should provide a cake, even if they do not place same sex figures on top. The purchaser could place the figures. Healthcare providers should be allowed to decline to participate in abortion.

The Constitution provides for separation of church and state.

Prior to covid there were already vaccinations that were required by schools in order to attend. The covid vaccines reduce hospitalizations however do not stop all transmission. In order to preserve hospital resources, hospital workers could be required to vaccinate. Non-mRNA vaccines should be made available. Aspiration of the syringe should be required in order to prevent inadvertant intravascular administration. Vaccine injuries are real and should be compensated. I believe the virus carries more risk than the vaccine. We could have morning hours, e.g. 6am to 12 noon, with required N95 masks at grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, and other essential services. We should have certain busses, trains and planes available that are 100% masked. This would leave other hours and public transportation available for those who do not mask. Indoor ventilation can go a long way to preventing transmission and indoor air quality standards should be issued requiring CO2 to be kept below 700 parts per million, as well as posted CO2 meters and levels. CO2 is a proxy for how much indoor air has been recently exhaled. Other methods of cleaning the air such as HEPA filters and UV disinfection are available.

B. I support Medicare for All which is government health insurance that will reduce costs and provide more care. Private health insurance can also be available. When switching to Medicare for All, a grandfather provision could be included that anyone switching to Medicare for All may not have their benefits reduced below what they had before they switched to Medicare for All. I support expanding the V.A. hospital system to become open to the public, in addition to private hospitals and healthcare providers. For example, obstetrics is considered to be not profitable and many hospitals are closing their obstetrics practices. Public run V.A. hospitals open to the public could provide these needed services to the public. I support opening public-run community health centers that provide basic and preventative care at low cost. By making certain the public receives routine and preventative care, overall costs will be reduced and the entire population will lead more healthy and productive lives.

C

Agree

It would be an infringement of liberty guaranteed by the Constitution to force the public to purchase goods from a particular supplier. Freedom of contract is a fundamental right.

Neutral

The U.S. should take all threats into consideration. Climate change is the greatest national security threat. We should not be afraid of China and engage with them on an equal basis to reduce tensions. Speak softly and there is no need to speak of a big stick. We already carry the biggest stick.

Stop funding terrorists and pass the Stop Arming Terrorists bill proposed by Tulsi Gabbard. The U.S. promoted radical Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan to fight against Russia, which was a fundamental violation of American values. Osama Bin Ladin was originally a CIA asset funded and praised by the U.S. If the U.S. had not funded radical Islamic mujahuddin in Afghanistan, there would be no Al Qaeda and no 9/11. https://newsrescue.com/genesis-of-islamic-radicalism-the-us-textbook-project-that-taught-afghan-children-terror/ Even conservatives agree: it was the U.S.’s disastrous Iraq policies that lead to the formation of ISIS. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-deciders/

Neutral

I am not opposed to some kind of fence, if it will make people happy. I would consider it a public works project that creates jobs. We do not need ICE or the DHS which can be disbanded and the money used elsewhere.

Neutral

The important issue is that undocumented people working in the U.S. are essential workers and should be gotten documents so that they can come and go freely and legally. When Alabama successfully scared away undocumented workers, the economy collapsed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ZzwGSF6Zg They are not taking jobs from any U.S. citizens. They are taking jobs no U.S. citizens want, boosting the economy and creating jobs for U.S. citizens. Sending them away will crash the economy.

If the U.S. did not participate in worsening the conditions of other countries such as Honduras, Haiti and Syria, there would be fewer refugees and asylum seekers. International law requires the admission of asylum seekers. The U.S. should not cause a civil war in Syria and then refuse to accept refugees generated by that civil war. There is no Congressional authorization for the U.S. military to be operating in Syria. The U.S. Congress has not declared war on Syria. The U.S. military and intelligence agencies should cease all offensive operations in Syria and end the civil war which will reduce the number of refugees.

Agree

I believe we are born with gender identity and sex orientation that won't change. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/intersex-children-pose-ethical-dilemma-doctors-parents-genital/story?id=13153068 Persons with a 23rd pair of chromosomes that are XY and who undergo hormone therapy such that they go through puberty with the same amount of testosterone as a woman with XX chromosomes, and maintain parity of testosterone level post puberty, should be allowed to participate in women's sports.

Neutral

I do not know what is critical race theory. The true history of slavery and black and brown people in the U.S. should be taught.

Life was breathed into Adam. Genesis 2:7 The breath is what made him what he is. The same is true for all of us. Jesus instructed us to address God as "Our Father." Matthew 6:9 Jesus said he is our brother. Matthew 25:40. And when he left he said he was returning to God who is "my father and your father." John 20:17 The phrase "born again" is also translated "born from above." We are spirit born of spirit. John 3:6 God is within us and we are within God. We are all children of God. There is only one Son of God because we are all one. We are granted individuality however we are not separate. We are one body. Corinthians 10:17 We are each a part of but not all of God. There is a rank. We are one in Sonship or Christhood, however the Son is subordinate to the Father. "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28 "the Son can do nothing of Himself." John 5:19 "Who is greater, who sits at the table, or who serves? Is it not who sits at the table? Yet I am One who serves." Luke 22:27 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." 1 Corinthians 15:28 The name Yahweh is a sentence which means "I am what is." Exodus 3:14 That is, "I am what exists," as in "I am all that exists and nothing else truly exists." Thus "there is none else besides him." Isaiah 45:5

Neutral

Everyone should be registered to vote at birth or be allowed to register on the spot at the polling location and if they do not have photo ID, then vote with a fingerprint which will eliminate any double voting.

Paper ballots. Hand marked. Hand counted. On camera. Make Election Day a holiday. Memorial Day and Veterans day can be merged to make room for a new holiday on Election Day. Copies may be counted by scanner as a quality control measure that identifies errors prompting a physical hand recount however the physical hand count on camera should be the official count. Ballots should be on camera from the time they enter the polling place as blanks to the time they are completely counted.

Neutral

Reparations should be given not to anyone of a particular race but to American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS). There is a finite number and they are already cataloged. They deserve this as much as victims of the Holocaust and their families deserved reparations. Learn about reparations at ados101.com

White supremacists who are racist are a threat to domestic security in the United States, because they are armed and have infiltrated U.S. law enforcement and the military.

Strongly Disagree

Everything about fracking is the opposite of the way it is marketed. Fracking kills jobs. Transition to renewable energy will create twice as many jobs, that are permanent. Fracking provides fewer and temporary jobs, produces more expensive energy, leaves behind environmental disasters and causes cancer. Renewable energy provides more and permanent jobs, produces cheaper energy, preserves the environment and doesn't cause cancer. Cancer is a high tax to pay.

Preventing environmental catastrophes and cancer is a savings not a cost. Environmental catastrophes and cancer are costs we cannot afford. US fracking wells bring radioactive particles up from the shattered shale bedrock and spew them into the air. Researchers found increases in downwind radioactivity 12 miles away from wells. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18226-w Renewable energy is cheaper. It is fossil fuels and fracking that is expensive. These are Pennsylvanians who have been harmed by fracking: https://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list-pennsylvania/ Renewable energy creates more jobs. “The fossil fuel sector, from coal mines to gas power plants, employed around 900,000 people in the US in 2015-16 ... this was vastly outweighed by the green economy, which provided nearly 9.5 million jobs, or 4 per cent of the working age population.” https://www.newscientist.com/article/2219927-us-green-economy-has-10-times-more-jobs-than-the-fossil-fuel-industry/#ixzz63lly9q61 Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands plan to build four artificial islands to quadruple offshore wind in the North Sea – the equivalent of 30 nuclear reactors. https://www.ft.com/content/1a48ed46-04ea-4f3e-8558-f8a302206163 “If you wanted to power the entire US with solar panels, you only need about 100 miles by 100 miles of solar panels to power the entire US,” “The batteries you need to store the energy, so you have 24/7 power, is 1 mile by 1 mile. One square-mile.” -Elon Musk https://www.inverse.com/article/34239-how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-usa "The biggest increases [in airborne radioactivity] were seen in Marcellus and Utica shale fields below Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, as these rocks contain more uranium than in other fracking regions" https://twitter.com/_RL_W/status/1556783164915425282?s=20&t=CimI00bWZhenh4K-cQ_yUA Ranked choice voting (RCV), also called the "Instant Runoff," would eliminate any spoiler effect. Ranked choice voting is in the Green Party platform. https://ballotpedia.org/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV) I am putting this here because I have run out of space elsewhere. The Green Party platform can be found here: http://gp.org/platform.

Moderate

The majority of Pennsylvanians do not want fracking, want cheaper energy, healthcare, safe air and drinking water, do not want to post police in the room with each woman and her doctor, do not view early term abortion as the taking of a human life, want sensible gun regulations, want to reduce enforcement and justice system costs by legalizing cannabis and diverting non-violent offenders from incarceration to other programs. I am very middle of the road.

https://www.audacy.com/kdkaradio/podcasts/the-kdka-radio-morning-show-with-larry-richert-and-kevin-battle-268/2022-pennsylvania-green-party-candidate-richard-weiss-1518016285 https://twitter.com/KevinBattle/status/1555499651507388418?s=20&t=DViLv8enQBLlV4XInuAO2A

No.

I am a native Pennsylvanian from Southwestern PA where I grew up working in my family’s bakery business. I have worked as an attorney for the federal government at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and privately overseas. I worked on financing for the largest geothermal power plant in Indonesia. I earned my J.D. at the University of Denver and I was a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public International Law at American University in Washington, D.C. In addition, I have an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. The latest UN report on climate change underscores the need to immediately make all efforts to stop emissions of greenhouse gases. This can be accomplished through a "just transition" to renewable energy that provides permanent jobs, and does not cause cancer like mining and burning fossil fuels. The technology exists today. All we need to do is implement it. And the first step is to halt fracking which is ruining the water and health of Pennsylvania. The Covid-19 pandemic underlines the need for universal healthcare. Many who lose their job cannot afford the payments to maintain their health insurance. In the modern gig economy, many do not receive health insurance through their employer. They may face the choice of paying for rent or healthcare, but not have enough resources for both. The health insurance that is available has too many deductibles, copays and limitations on coverage. Employers who provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare for All by having their costs reduced. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Conditions in prisons are human rights violations, with overcrowding and inadequate food and healthcare. Prisoners are preyed upon with unreasonable charges to buy their own food and communicate with their family. Many inmates of local jails are held without being convicted of any crime solely because they do not have enough money to pay cash bail. Instead of building more prisons, we should reduce prison population by decriminalizing drug use and addiction and treating them as medical/public health issues, thereby diverting from incarceration to treatment programs like those provided by Recovery Community Organizations. All current prisoners and inmates serving time solely for cannabis charges should be released and all past criminal records from cannabis convictions expunged. Decriminalizing cannabis would have an immediate effect on reducing prison and jail populations, which would save taxpayers' money. Women with XY as their 23rd pair of chromosomes can have an unfair athletic advantage over women with XX chromosomes due to the ability of their bodies to naturally produce more testosterone. I am in favor of separate award categories for XY women, XX women, XX men and XY women, as well as genetically mixed and non-mixed teams. However if an XY woman has hormone therapy such that she went through puberty with testosterone levels the same as XX women, and continues to maintain testosterone levels the same as XX women, then she should be allowed to compete together with XX women and be treated the same as an XX woman, because her body will have developed the same as XX women. Ivermectin has been taken billions of times by humans for decades. Adverse events reported for Ivermectin are less than for commonly used OTC drugs like acetaminophen and aspirin. I have challenged my opponent Dr. Oz to pledge to introduce a bill making Ivermectin over the counter in the U.S. because I don't believe he will do it. If I am elected, I will do it. https://twitter.com/_RL_W/status/1556783164915425282?s=20&t=CimI00bWZhenh4K-cQ_yUA Inadvertant intravascular administration of intramuscular vaccines can result in vaccine injury. If elected I will introduce a bill requiring aspiration of the syringe for intramuscular vaccine injections in order to prevent inadvertant intravascular administration. If elected, I will not be just the Senator of Green Party members, but the Senator of all Pennsylvanians. And I will respectfully listen to all points of view. I don't like to use the word socialism because it means different things to different people. I am in favor of money, private property, profit motive, free enterprise and (well regulated) markets. I have an MBA from Chicago, the top MBA program in the world. At a potluck, each person brings a dish and everyone has a complete meal. At a barnraising, everyone comes together to quickly put up a barn so that neighbor can get in business. That is the type of socialism you want. People working together to help each other out and everyone benefits. I am social and if you oppose my policies I have to ask why are you anti-social. Medicare for all is health insurance not health care; you can choose your health care provider. Medicare for all is like you and your neighbors banding together to buy in bulk at costco or sam's club because you can get a lower price if you pool your purchasing power.

Disagree

Not departmental policy, we must develop police standards of conduct. Put body cameras at all times on both officers and anyone arrested. All training and equipment should be devoted to taking suspects alive, and a death considered a failure. Our system of justice is based on the principle that it is better to let a guilty person go free than to convict an innocent one. I would rather take a bullet than shoot an innocent person. Let us develop a system of policing based on that principle.

Agree

Restorative justice includes all parties in a collaborative process of apology, changed behavior, repair of the harm, and reintegration of parties with their communities. Restorative justice is shown to work better than simple punishment, with less recidivism. Denver is having success sending mental health professionals instead of police to non-violent calls. https://www.upworthy.com/denver-replaced-cops-with-mental-health-experts-for-some-nonviolent-calls-and-its-a-huge-success

We can define military and civilian grade weapons. Military grade weapons would not be available to the public. The 2nd Amendment only prevented the federal government from prohibiting states to maintain their own militias, which is now the National Guard. It did not even apply to states when it was written, but only to the federal government. So it is not possible to state that the founding fathers intended the 2nd Amendment to restrict a state's right to regulate guns. States could restrict guns in any way they pleased and did so throughout the history of the United States. Cities in the old west were gun free zones. Look up the "Gunfight at the OK Corral." "That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves & their own state, or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; & no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or real danger of public injury..." That was the proposal of the anti-federalist minority delegation of Pennsylvania to the Constitutional Convention. Similar language was incorporated into certain state constitutions. Some people claim this is what the 2nd Amendment means. However I say it means the opposite. This language was known to the Constitutional Convention. It was specifically proposed, and intentionally NOT incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. Certainly some founding fathers favored this language. However, it was not included, on purpose. Similarly, the Constitution Convention debated whether to include a "right to revolution" and decided not to include it. The people who want military weapons want them in order to fight the U.S. government. However there is nothing in the Constitution about individuals fighting against the U.S. government, which is rebellion, insurrection, or treason under the Constitution. https://riversong.wordpress.com/the-real-second-amendment/ The 2nd Amendment meant you could be drafted into your state militia. You were required to report to a commanding officer appointed by your state. Private roaming armed bands or paramilitaries weren't allowed. See: Washington putting down the Whiskey Rebellion. I grew up with guns. I grew up in Pennsylvania and went hunting with my dad from the time I was ten years old. We had no semi-automatic weapons. They are completely unnecessary for hunting. All semi-automatic weapons could be categorized as military grade and not available to the public without a specific reason, such as for shopkeepers and security guards. The Australian gun law allows a collector to own a semi-automatic rifle with a 10-round magazine. Personally I would not allow AR-15 ammunition, barrel length or rifling twist rate, although an M-1 rifle or similar type might be acceptable as a collector's item. Such a weapon would only be allowed secured at home, a shooting range or shooting competition and while being transported securely between these locations. Gun ownership could require a training course, a licence, insurance and regular testing to demonstrate proficiency. The regular testing requirement could be met by joining shooting competitions. All guns should bear a serial number and custody tracked from manufacture. The last one the gun is registered to is responsible for what happens with that gun. This will deter illegal sales. "...after the Columbine High massacre, the TEC-DC9 is the only gun investigators have managed to trace from its manufacturer, through all its sellers and buyers, to Harris and Klebold." https://riversong.wordpress.com/the-guns-of-columbine/ For those who refuse to cooperate with gun registration: to avoid confrontation how about a grandfather clause for non civilian grade weapons that were legally obtained? Keep the ones you have, but they cannot be transferred or inherited and may not leave your own property. The next generation would have no legal way of possessing them and would have to turn them in upon the owner's passing. “In the 18 yrs btw 1979 & 1996, Australia experienced 13 mass shootings (defined as 5 or more victims). In the 21 years since the Port Arthur massacre & the passage of the law that followed swiftly afterward, we have seen precisely none.” https://fortune.com/2017/10/04/las-vegas-shooting-australia-gun-control-laws/

Neutral

Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manfacturers who market and sell military grade weapons to the public.