Thom Gray III's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Thom Gray III has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Tennessee State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State Taxes:Using the key,indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Tennessee's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| g) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| a) Tapping into Tennessee's "rainy day" fund | |||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| Government should always seek to cut spending rather than raising taxes. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| 2) Political Action Committee | |||
| 3) Corporate | |||
| 4) Political Party | |||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| On Part D: I do not support taking redistricting power away from the people's elected representatives, as this leaves them without recourse if they disagree with the way their district lines are drawn. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| c) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | |||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| On Part F: the Constitution gives the federal government power to enforce federal law, not the states. However, it is insulting that the Obama administration has used our money to sue the states for trying to control their immigration problems while simultaneously refusing to enforce federal immigration laws. Part D is far too broad to answer honestly. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| I believe the free market is the best system for creating jobs. Government should stay out of the market as much as possible, neither encumbering business with burdensome regulations nor giving special benefits to some businesses using others' tax money. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Tennessee high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| We should encourage private educational alternatives like private schools and home-schooling, by removing any barriers that make those alternatives more difficult to achieve. | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | |||
| b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Tennessee's energy infrastructure? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | |||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I will support Constitutional Carry legislation that restores Tennesseans' Second Amendment rights. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | |||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| No | d) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | |||
| Parts B, C and E are too broad to answer properly. I oppose implementing ObamaCare in Tennessee. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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