Ben Hixon's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Ben Hixon has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2019 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.
Virginia State Legislative Election 2017 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Virginia's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket | ||
| Other ways to increase revenue includes reforming state pensions so that bankers are paid less, legalizing and taxing marijuana, criminal justice reform that reduces state prison spending, and other waste cutting measures. | |||
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) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| 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? | ||
| My answer to (c) depends on the definition of 'indirect campaign contributions.' I don't support regulating speech. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| on (f): I prefer guaranteed minimum income, aka universal basic income, but I would only support a minimum wage increase if it is paid for by cutting taxes on small businesses. A business tax cut combined with a wage increase would return those tax dollars back into the local economy as wages instead of sending them up into the state bureaucracy. I also think local governments should have authority to raise their own minimum wage if they want. But a flat minimum wage increase at the state level would regressively affect small businesses. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities in Virginia? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Solar isn't the future, it's here right now. We need to end subsidies on coal and natural gas; dirty fossil fuels are the past. I'd consider renewable energy subsidies on a case-by-case basis but in general I'm opposed to most business subsidies. Most importantly we need to end subsidies of fossil fuels and end the stranglehold that Dominion has over our commonwealth. That's why I pledged to refuse any money from Dominion. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Reducing gun violence is the real moral issue that drives us, and I personally believe the best way to reduce gun violence is universal healthcare (including mental healthcare) and education. Let's end the stigma on mental health by making it available to everyone. Suicide prevention should be as common as cavity prevention. Let's end the school-to-prison pipeline that funnels kids into violent gangs by increasing vocational training opportunities in high school and beyond, legalizing marijuana, reducing use of detention centers, promoting resilience in our schools and communities, and implementing tuition-free two years degrees. That's how we reduce gun violence. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| I support medicaid expansion because there's no other option on the table and I strongly believe that freedom means having access to healthcare. But my preferred healthcare plan is a return to a cash-only system where those who need assistance receive cash subsidies that they can spend in the free market. That will have a much lower regulatory footprint than a more bureaucratic approach. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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