Ron Horton's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Ron Horton has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Vermont State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Government has no business in our bedrooms or doctors' offices. The laws at would prohibit abortions are so biased and gender based that they are not only immoral, they are inhumane laws drawn up by opinionated old white men with an extreme religion distorted view. That's another point. Religion should not have any place in governing our country. | |||
Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Vermont's budget.
| Yes | a) Should the education budget be funded by a new education income tax instead of property taxes? | ||
| No | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | d) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| Yes | e) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| We need a complete tax reform that makes sense. Currently those who can afford it do not pay "their fair share." And big business needs to step up to help the communities that support them and make their very existence possible. This being said we need to make Vermont more inviting to clean big industry so that we will bring in new tax money, new residents, and open up more possibilities for all Vermonters. It's all connected. We need more residents to fill our schools. We need more industry to offer jobs and increase our population. etc. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| We need to make it easier, not harder, for citizens to vote. I'm in favor of mail in ballots as the norm. This has been proven to increase voter participation. For those who still like the ritual of going to the polls... that will still be open to them. For those who can't get to the polls they can certainly get to a mailbox before election day. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Complicated questions for sure. Capital punishment is tough. I answered yes, but I get a pit in my stomach when I think about it. We better be damned sure before we commit to the death penalty. Pot for recreational is coming, but we better get it right the first time. Fixing mistakes can cost lives. Minors are all different and should be treated as such. I don't think the "Minor" status should be a get out of jail free card in most circumstances. ICE needs to be disbanded since it's out of control. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Vermont? | ||
| g) Should Vermont breweries be permitted to terminate distribution agreements with beverage distributors for no cause? | |||
| Government spending on our transportation and infrastructure areas will promote economic growth by bringing in more residents through clean industry relocation here. Lowering some state taxes, especially on those on fixed incomes, will promote economic growth by keeping those people here. Reducing restrictions of act250 will, in many cases, make it easier for Vermonters to use their land. All these yes/no answers have many layers that must be considered when making our laws. | |||
| a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Vermont? | |||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Vermont high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Education of our kids is probably one of the most important things we must consider. Federal standards? Probably not, but we must have standards of some sort. Charter schools? Betsy DeVos isn't on my favorites list. Illegal immigrant kids have not, in most cases, chosen to be so. If they are working toward bettering themselves so that they can become good US citizens then we should be doing all we can to help them accomplish this. Most of us are illegal immigrants in the eyes of the indigenous people. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| The trump administration are doing all they can to kill our planet! A strong statement? You bet. We need to wake the dead before we are all with them... dead. We don't need to be dumping waste in our waterways. We don't need to be filling our air with toxic smoke from coal and other fossil fuel emissions. We can do it better, and we better be doing it soon. | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | |||
| d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | |||
| I love our kids more than I love my guns. However, hunting is a tradition that will continue unabated, but if you need 50 rounds you aren't a hunter, you're just having fun. If people think they need a double action handgun for protection then have at it. But I don't feel we need to make 22s and the like look like killing machines so that a deranged teenager will feel like Rambo if he gets his/her hands on one. Remember, we are all born law abiding people... until we commit that first crime. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Vermont's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | |||
| Medicare for all is my ultimate goal. We need to care for those who can't care for themselves and I believe this is the best path to that end result. As for religion and government... never the 'twain' should meet. (As my mother used to say.) Those two entities don't belong in the same room. Separation of church and state.... remember that?... | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Vermont state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| How did we get here? Government does not belong in our bedrooms, our doctors' offices or in our Churches. It's a proven fact that gender is not always decided at birth. | |||
| We need a quality transportation system, including our own State Owned Commuter Airline. This will bring jobs and new tax paying residents to Vermont. The airline WILL not only pay for itself, it will fully fund our education system which will allow for a property tax cut. We must cut taxes for those 65 or on a verifiable disability. We must insure a quality educational system for our kids. This includes educating them to the way of the world through infusing community involvement and activities that will show them the value of giving. |
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