Ryan Williams

Abortion should be an option only when medically necessary (direct threat of life to the mother or baby) or when psychologically prudent (when a traumatic event causes the pregnancy and the pregnancy poses a direct threat to the mother's life). Elective abortion should not be allowed as a form of birth control.

Agree

No organization that performs elective abortions should receive federal funding.

Neutral

In cases of terminal illness, where there is no possibility of recovery, I believe an assisted suicide could be more humane than a family spending thousands of dollars to simply prolong the life of the person. Most cases I would not be directly opposed to would be those where medical staff disconnects the patient from medical assistance and allows them to die naturally, while making them comfortable.

I would prefer a shift from income taxes to an equitable, flat consumption tax. This way everyone, from citizens and non-citizens to the rich and the poor, pays according to what they take out of society. It also eliminates tax evasion in cases of under-the-table or cash paychecks. It also makes taxes more equitable and voluntary. If one does not wish to pay the consumption tax, they can grow their own produce or obtain goods another way.

I would love to audit the federal budget to find how money is being spent, consolidate redundant programs or agencies, and make social safety-net programs more efficient, by increasing accountability and tapering benefits over time. This will help to pull back the pulls on the budget, allowing for smarter spending and a more manageable and balanced budget.

Disagree

We need to improve our public education, not add grades to our public education.

Disagree

Per the recent Masterpiece Bakeshop Supreme Court ruling, this should be allowed, so long as the person does not deny all services to an individual, but rather denies specialty service to an event or specific situation they disagree with, such as a Christian denying specialty service for a same-sex wedding or a person of color being asked to provide specialty service for a KKK/white supremacist rally.

The government should not have authority to close churches.

B, though I believe the government should not subsidize it, but rather provide a medical insurance option at a fair market value with premiums paid for by those who get on the insurance. I believe this should be a very basic assistance program, though, which provides only in cases of emergency (not all ER visits) and for regular doctors visits. It should not cover elective procedures or make the cost free. It needs a deductible and co-pay to offset the costs of the program, just like any other insurance.

Only in cases of extreme emergency, should the government, a school, or a business require vaccines, but it must allow for exemptions in cases of personal religious, moral, or ethical reasons. These organizations must also provide articulable proof that the group needs to be vaccinated for specific reasons. Voluntary compliance should be the primary method in all cases.

We need to be firm. We should not be doing business with, and making deals with, sponsors of terrorism, whatever the origin. We need to make sure that we impose harsh sanctions, travel restrictions, and embargoes on countries and individuals that fund terrorism. We should also look at the possibility of sanctioning those who support those nations who fund terror. We also need to shore up our border security to ensure those who enter this country do not pose a threat to the United States. This includes a combination high-tech and physical barrier (based on feasibility and other factors) on our southern border, since we have record of people subverting CBP and DHS by coming through the southern border from all over the world, not just Central and South America. Terrorism doesn't have a single face, even Islamic terrorism, but we have some data on the type of people to look for, like single adult males.

Strongly Disagree

I believe the best way forward for Israelis and Palestinians is a single-solution where all are allowed free access to sacred sites. The major problem is that if Palestinians laid down their weapons today, there would be peace, but if Israel was to lay down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.

Agree

I believe a combination of high-tech surveillance and technology, as well as physical border, based on feasibility and other factors, needs to be implemented along the southern border.

All should be welcome to the United States, however, we have a process that allows people to enter legally. If they wish to come and work, they should be allowed to do that. If they want to come and become a citizen, they should be able to do that. But subversion of the process does not make it okay for anyone to come here.

Strongly Agree

Agree

John Adams said it best when he wrote to the Massachusetts Militia, on 11 October 1798, "Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by [...] morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition [and] Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Agree

Strongly Agree

I believe marriage to be between a man and a woman, but I don't believe it is the government's responsibility to enforce that. I believe the government should get out of marriage and leave it to churches and families. If the government must certify marriages, they should certify all marriages brought before them.

Strongly Disagree

Critical Race Theory, though useful as an analytical tool in law school, does not translate to social interactions. It assumes that the power dynamic between the races is involved in every interaction, which it isn't. It establishes rarely held prejudices as the standard and becomes the very thing it purports to be fighting.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and that He is the Son of God. I believe I will be held accountable for my actions before my maker.

Disagree

A State-issued voter ID adds a layer of security to our elections and limits the risk of votes being fraudulently cast.

I would like to see the winner-take-all system of the Electoral College returned to a proportional distribution based on the State popular vote. I would want to increase security around mail-in votes, with things like vote verification receipts sent to the voter and even consider biometric security. I want to increase voter roll auditing to be annual, with oversight by independent, nonpartisan auditors, since voter rolls are public record.

Not as big a threat as it is made out to be. The threat is the use of perceived racism to divide us further and weaken us. Racism does exist, and it does happen to people of all races, but we can choose to become victims for the rest of our lives or to become victors.

Strongly Disagree

Neither A nor B. This is a false dichotomy that ignores the fact that encouraging a move to efficient green energy is worth it, but it does greatly effect the economy, which is bad. There must be a middle ground that balances our need to move towards greener energy and maintaining the economy with a wider variety of available jobs.

Agree

The general purpose of government is defined in the preamble of the Constitution. It is to "form a more perfect Union [by] establishing Justice, insur[ing] domestic Tranquility, provid[ing] for the common defense, promot[ing] the general Welfare, and secur[ing] the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

Conservative

I believe I am a classic liberal, which tends to fall between conservative and libertarian. I believe in the smallest government necessary, but I recognize that there must be government, for men are not angels.

Did not answer

No

My degree is in philosophy. This degree taught me how to ask the questions I don't want to ask to find answers I wouldn't have considered otherwise. I bring a perspective that wants to discuss the principles we agree on and find the best way forward to accomplish the overarching goal. I believe the best way forward is together. We have two hands, two eyes, two ears, two feet, two sides of our brains. Each side of our body adds to our ability to face the challenges that lie before us. Each person has a different perspective on the tasks before us, and each has value. We must find the best way forward, not the partisan way forward. Sometimes, we must feed people while we teach them to fish. I'm tired of seeing politicians addressing the symptoms of our problems, rather than addressing the diseases we battle.

Agree

In the majority of cases, qualified immunity is beneficial, but the standards and procedures need to be structured in such a way where there would be no need for it, and, in most cases, they already are. Cops who have complaints filed against them must be investigated, and transferred, if needed. People shouldn't fear the police knocking on their door, but the police need to be able to do their job in the way they have to.

Disagree

I agree we need to redirect funds to mental health and community programs, but not from police departments.

Research has shown that the most effective gun control methods are background checks, waiting periods, and age restrictions. Gun safety courses should be encouraged, but not required.

Disagree

A manufacturer or legal dealer should not be held liable, so long as they follow the regulations set forth by legislatures, for the actions of an individual who chooses to use it for violence against another person any more than someone who manufactures razor blades should be sued if someone uses them in the commission of violence against self or others.