Larry Linton
Independent | Tennessee
Candidate Profile*
Conservative (Conditional)
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Larry Linton
Party
Independent
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 12
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Excelsior College, Albany, BS, 2011
WORK & MILITARY
United States Navy, Command Master Chief, 30
AFFILIATIONS
Tennessee Firearms Association, Member, Gun Owners of America
Member, Pathways Church, Member
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Member, American Legion
Member, TN Liberty Network, Member
Free States TN, Member
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
None
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
None
Race
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
CONSERVATIVE (1)
*Restore Liberty USA
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (3)
Restore Liberty
The Tennessee Conservative
Good Party
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Republican National Committee (2018)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
Linton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
If the mother's life is in danger only.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
This is not one of Congress' enumerated powers.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
This is not one of Congress' enumerated powers.
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Repeal the 16th Amendment and abolish the IRS. A nation-wide flag sales tax.
iVoterGuide Notes:
Staff note: After the voter guide was published, candidate notified iVoterGuide that the intended answer to this question should have been: Repeal the 16th Amendment and abolish the IRS. A nation-wide flat tax to pay for the basic functions of government.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Eliminate all government spending that is outside the bounds of the Constitution and Congress' enumerated powers.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
Again, this is an area that is not one of Congress' enumerated powers and therefor unconstitutional. This was a right left to the states, and the people. Education is not a right, but a personal desire.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
The First Amendment is first in the Bill of Rights for a reason. Anything the restricts religious liberty seeks to replace our Creator with government. It is antithetical to our Constitutional Republic.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
None whatsoever.
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.
D - because once again, this is not an enumerated power of the federal government. If it is not listed in Article I, Section 8 of the federal constitution then it is a power reserved to the states, and the people.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
Only as a condition of employment for any new hires after the roll-out of a vaccine. Exemptions must be in place for those people hired and serving under a contract that does/did not have the requirement at time of hiring. Additionally, once the requirement is instituted for new hires these organizations open themselves up to being held liable for any harm caused by a condition of employment.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
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
Involvement in the activities that would open an ally up to attacks is completely opposite what allies should be doing for each other.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
It is an Article IV requirement of the United States Constitution.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Only immigrants that add value to the Republic and agree to fully assimilate - adopting our uniquely American culture. Under no circumstance should people be allowed to emigrate to the USA if they are going to be reliant on public assistance.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
Our Republic's "public", i.e. government, education system is completely broken due to the nature of the federal government's unconstitutional involvement in the affairs of education that should be completely controlled at the local level. I believe parents that parents and residents that pay the taxes to support these institutions should have majority share of what is or is not in the best interests of their children locally.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
This is evident in not only our founding documents, but also the contemporary writings of all of our Founding Fathers that fought, bled, and died for the creation of this Constitutional Republic. The interpretations by courts that determine implied intent is fallacious and their decisions need to be re-visited by consulting their original writings.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Government can never be big enough, nor tax the people enough, to create a society free from discrimination. That path leads to a never-ending cycle of creating new specially protected classes of people that often deprive others of their liberty in enforcing "anti-discrimination." That is also besides the point that there are actually only two genders. Genesis 1:27.
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
Redefining terms and words are one of the best used tactics of the communists and democrats in government along with their useful idiots in media and entertainment.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
I would refer people to our own Civil War. We are the only nation that nearly destroyed itself in order to end the scourge of slavery, losing nearly 1 million Americans in the process. If our Republic were a fundamentally racist nation then we would not have the problem of illegal immigration - where people of all races from around the world are willing to break the law to enter this country.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Child of God, created in his image. I believe that God sent his only Son to die on the cross to pay the price for mankind's sins and rose on the dead so that each of us can have a personal relationship with our Creator.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
I served in the military for decades while we conducted nation building operations all over the globe. In the process of doing so, we set up voting requirements in other nations that required identification to prevent voter fraud and establish governments that represented the will the people. If we can do that overseas, we can, and must, do that here at home.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
A return to paper ballots, printed on special paper and serialized. The state of Tennessee already has voter ID laws, so there is not much work to do with that. All devices that can be manipulated electronically need to be removed from the system in order to restore integrity and the peoples' trust in the process. Counting of votes must be completely transparent as well. We have the technology that allows people to view their pets while they are boarded, why isn't the same process applied to voting? We know why, don't we. Also, as a change to the education system in the state and the Republic - we need to ensure the electorate is knowledgeable about our system of self-governance and their responsibility to participate in the process to prevent the erosion of our liberty by a government that is apathetically elected.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
No. It is a problem that is made-up by the usurpers of liberty in our government and their useful idiots in media and entertainment to keep the electorate's focus off of their activities. It is the modern-day equivalent of bread and circuses.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
That would start a never-ending cycle of the government abusing its taxing power to pick winners and losers. Nobody in the USA right now was ever a slave, nor is there a person that owned slaves. This just plays further into the government's role of pitting the citizens against each other to take the focus off of their usurpations of our liberty.
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. This is not an enumerated power of the government (protecting the environment). It is a tax and spend scheme by the government to reward political favors or to gain political influence. Both of which only serve to allow further usurpations of the citizens' liberty.
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?
To protect the citizens' liberty.
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).
My podcast - Liberty, Leadership & Lies with Larry Linton, is a weekly show that clearly demonstrates my views. I have made appearances on the Bob Bell show (WRJZ) as well as the Biblical World View Talk Show on Knoxville's talk radio 92.3 that support my position as well. Additionally, I recently appeared on the Common Sense Conservatives Podcast and discussed my campaign and my beliefs.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
None.
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
I am an open book and unafraid to speak out against the demon of political parties. As George Washington warned us, they will be the end of our Republic. My legislative priorities would be supporting any legislation that pushes back against federal government overreach as the 10th Amendment was designed to do. Additionally, election integrity as I previously answered; education reform that puts more control back in the hands of the taxpayers and parents; and making sure that all levels of government understand that "Shall Not Be Infringed" means exactly that.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Agree
There are instances when departmental policies are unconstitutional which would require the department and the individual police officer be held accountable for their actions. Just following orders is not a valid defense.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Disagree
I support redirecting funds from unconstitutional programs to community/state voter approved programs for mental health. This is not a function of government, unless the voters chose it (enumerated powers and all that).
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Shall not be infringed. If we fix the mental health problem in our nation, which government schools contribute to immensely, and do away with gun free zones we would not be in the situation we are right now with these very public mass shootings.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
That is a slippery slope. If manufacturers are held liable for the damage their products cause through misuse, then silverware manufactures will be held liable for the obesity problem in our country. Gun violence is a result of the mental illness problem in our country, which has government as the root cause.
