Justin Hirst
Republican | Tennessee
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Justin Hirst
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 15
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
N/A
WORK & MILITARY
None
AFFILIATIONS
Knox For Liberty, Contributor, Knox County Constitutional Republican
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Knox County Commission District 1, 2024
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (4)
Donald Trump (2024)
Tim Burchett (2024)
Kari Lake (2022)
Mark Finchem (2022)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
Candidate Pledges to Support Congressional Term Limits. U.S. Term Limits. 9 Jul 2024.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
Rape, incest, and significant threat to the health of the mother.
Chemical abortion drugs should meet essential safety standards (such as in-person consultation with a medical doctor) and require reporting to gather evidence on reactions and outcomes.
Neutral
Doctors were more than happy to provide unproven and bad medical advice during covid so while I'd like to have some kind of qualified authority provide safety advice, my lack of confidence in doctors make it difficult to do so. On the other hand, there is no better information gathering method I know of.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Agree
Planned Planned parenthood has proven itself as an entity that exists not to provide services as needed but to execute agendae that
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Agree
Such options should be available but I am hesitant to provide an endorsement because some governments (like Canada's) seem overly eager to provide such services.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What is your position on the minimum wage?
The only thought on this that is not complicated to discuss is this: Large corporations will use minimum wage requirements to eliminate smaller competitors.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
I do not support ESG policies. They are antithetical to meritocracy and should never be implemented.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
The government should not be able to close churches unless the church is engaging in illegal activity, and by this I do not mean assembling when a governor has given an executive order that no one should travel or assemble.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
There is a distinction to be made between serving a person that a business disagrees with and performing services the business disagrees with. Should a Muslim who owns a cake decorating business be required to make a cake depicting the prophet Mohammed?
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) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
None of the above. Restrictions on organizations collectively bargaining for healthcare services and prices should be abolished. Also, the Obama era stipulation that 85% of insurance revenue must be spent on actual healthcare should be abolished. This policy incentivized insurance companies to negotiate with healthcare provides to raise prices so that their 15% margin was increased. Current policy carries perverse incentives that are having a negative effect.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
No one should ever be required to take a vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers receive blanket liability based on the fact that vaccines are inherently dangerous. Requirements policies everywhere should reflect the same thinking.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
I believe the Chinese government is executing the first non-kinetic offensive of its kind. There is a sophisticated and broad-spectrum campaign to reduce American fertility, reduce American health, and to convince Americans to hate our country, our fellow Americans, and ourselves.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
I would like to see the historically persecuted Jewish people with a permanent and viable homeland, but my primary duty and only oath would be to the United States of America.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
There is no more significant threat to American security and stability than our current border policy.
EDUCATION
The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child through programs which protect parents' freedom to choose their child's school – public, private, or homeschool.
Strongly Agree
VALUES
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
The average teacher in public schools has not been asked and is not qualified to guide children through their identities, sexual or otherwise.
Parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Strongly Agree
Barring irreversible damage, parents should have absolute say over how their children are raised, but such things as allowing a child to undergo irreversible surgeries or drug treatments should not be allowed.
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Disagree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Disagree
There are two aspects to marriage, religious and legal. From the religious viewpoint, churches can decide whether or not to consecrate a particular union. From the government's point of view any two consenting parties can have the same legal options. The government is not in a position to make moral judgements of this nature. Should the government disallow a woman to be married a third time if her two previous husbands are alive and well?
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I was raised Christian and respect its values but I am not a practicing Christian.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Agree
If a photo identification for voting is not used, then fingerprints or a DNA test should be used. Elections need to be secure, period.
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Disagree
The notion of determining elections via popular vote is flawed because it would allow large cities, the type of population most likely to suffer from crime and poverty, to determine how the country as a whole is run.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism is not a threat to national security. Racism is little more than a boogey man that politicians use to silence their opponents.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
CRT is the Marxist theory of how to disassemble/destroy every element of modern society so that society can be rebuilt or engineered from scratch by people who would struggle to swap out a spare tire on their car in broad daylight. No thank you.
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
Whatever happened to the left's notion of 'safe spaces'?
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? (Select all that apply) A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost. C) Stricter environmental laws undermine U.S. energy independence and deter development of reliable electricity sources. D) Climate change is real and requires urgent policy action.
A&C
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Oil and natural gas seem like the best choices in the near future for increasing energy production.
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
Nope.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
Nope.
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
The short answer is that in general the purpose of government is to orchestrate those things than can only be done collectively - to build armies and other organizations to protect the country, and to determine, examine, and execute law.
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?
Conservative
I am conservative to very conservative, but this applies to government only. I think the Constitution when properly applied is the most liberating document in existence and allows people to be who they are and allows them to pursue whatever great (or unfortunate) end they want.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Neutral
A case could be made for allowing money to follow responsibilities transferred from the police to community programs, but after 2020 I am skeptical of such notions as simply trying to defund the police. I would much prefer any responsibilities to be transferred to community programs that are independently funded and allow police to have increased funding for training existing personnel as well as hiring additional personnel.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Basically violent felons should not have guns. That's about it.
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
In the absence of a strong and permanent police presence a teacher should be allowed to carry a gun at school with proper vetting and training.
