Douglas Gabert's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Douglas Gabert has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Michigan State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Regarding parental notification and consent, there are times when this is not in the minor's interest and I support current law which allows the minor to go to court for permission to obtain an abortion. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Michigan's budget.2) State Spending: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.3) State Taxes: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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Michigan's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| In 2011 Michigan's business tax changed resulting in about 1.8 billion in tax cuts for businesses. I support revisiting, that is raising, the business tax. | |||
| I hope hope to see cuts to law enforcement and corrections through savings from sentencing reforms and decriminalization of marijuana. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Regarding regulations, I support reducing regulations on the private sector when the regulations are not needed to protect the public interest. I not for regulation for its own sake or for deregulation for its own sake. My answers to b., g., and h., are all with reservation. For b., I generally do not think that lowering taxes spurs economic growth but I support lowering taxes for low income households in part because that money goes directly back into the economy and in that way helps economic growth. My answers to g. and h are both qualifed. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | h) Should the state of Michigan continue to oversee the Detroit public school system? | ||
| E. I support state funding for charter schools but also support restricting their growth and subjecting them to stricter rules for transparency and accountability. I would also like to see the authorization of charter schools done by the local school district or ISD and the schools themselves run as non-profits. I am concerned that the current system in which most charters are run by for profit groups depletes traditional public schools of funding and is less about providing educational choice than competing for public dollars for private ends. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Michigan's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support extending the mandate that 10% of Michigan's energy comes from renewable energy sources? | ||
| I support moving faster in increasing clean, renewable energy and moving away from fossil fuels. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | 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 support the following gun control legislation: an end or restrictions to open carry, a ban on semi-automatic assault style weapons (grandfathering in those already legally purchased), and background checks on gun sales at gun shows. I do not support confiscation guns from law-abiding citizens. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| I support electoral reform by instituting early voting and no reason absentee voting, by moving redistricting from the legislature to a bi-partisan, multi-partisan, or non-partisan commission, and by campaign finance reform in which financial disclosure is more easily accessed by the public and there is greater transparency from PACs (e.g. disclosure of at least large donors to the PAC). I support the state returning to neutrality in labor management relations by repealing the right-work-law and other legislation of the past six years directed against unions. |
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