Aaron Means' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State House (OK) - District 34
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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.
Oklahoma State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| b) If a viable pregnancy results from incest or rape, the criminal should be prosecuted and punished. Why should the baby pay for the crime, and why should she (the baby) have to pay with her life? c) Planned Parenthood targeted Black women and Black babies from the first day of operation. Public funds should not be used to promote The Negro Project of Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | c) Should cities and municipalities be able to use property tax revenue to pay for public safety services? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| d) Somehow one group thinks Black Americans do not have the intelligence to know how to get a government photo ID. We carry drivers' licenses, Id cards from educational programs, State and Federal employment ID cards, military ID cards etc. It is a great insult to say we do not know how to get a photo ID card and in their words "will be disenfranchised." AGAIN, THAT IS A GREAT INSULT! | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Oklahoma? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I support the current capital punishment law in Oklahoma. I would not be able to vote yes for a bill in our state legislature if it was to become a new law, because I would not be able myself to activate the method that causes the person's death. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income 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 requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Oklahoma? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Oklahoma? Wal-Mart is a very good example of what happens to employees numbers within companies if the minimum wage is forced on small businesses and on corporations. Small businesses close their doors and larger businesses reduce their number of employees. Automation replaces human workers, and often fulltime jobs are reduced to part-time employment to cut employers' costs. I support Career-Tech and Vocational/Technical Education help to produce high skilled employees that can compete for higher salary jobs. This is a better way to promote higher salaries for American families. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Oklahoma? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Oklahoma? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Oklahoma high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Oklahoma high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? An individual who is a legal resident of Oklahoma should be eligible to receive in-state tuition at public universities. Wherever changes are needed, the state legislature should pass bills that would address that specific need. In turn, that bill must be signed into law by the governor. The legislative process is the correct means to establish a uniform standard throughout Oklahoma's public higher educational system. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | |||
| b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? The Green New Deal will reduce interstate travel and it will have a devastating effect on international travel since it calls for reducing or eliminating fossil fuels. Gasoline, diesel and natural gas burning vehicles will need to be replaced. This will create a burdensome expense on the average household, and on city landfills. How will future city electric grids handle the demand to power homes, businesses, cars, trucks, city utilities, mass transportation, trains, etc. I must assume all air travel will be eliminated. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | |||
| b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Oklahoma's health care programs? | |||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | |||
| d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? Americans already have the right to die. Once a person has died law enforcement have no way to determine if someone else hastened their demise before they really wanted to expire. Suicide is a permanent solution to what might be a temporary problem. With the continuous advancements in medicine, as long as there is breath in the body there is hope! | |||
| a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Oklahoma's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Oklahoma's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| c) Do you support greater efforts by Oklahoma state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | |||
| d) Do you support providing financial reparations to families of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre? | |||
| Each of the questions above carry with them a very heavy emotional burden that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. These are issues that need rational public dialogue. People are hurting, and we can do more than just take-up political battle positions with short quick yes and no statements. | |||
| There is a growing cloud over America's future. More violence is spreading in places that once were peaceful. More name calling occurs instead of people sitting down to resolve differences. More citizens are being murdered in the name of peace and law enforcement officers are being targeted. These disruptive actions are based on the ideology of "Them verses Us." The truth is We are Just Alike. Every life is precious! We do not have to take sides against one another. I choose civility. I choose peace for our community. BECAUSE WE ARE JUST ALIKE. | |||
| Maintaining unity, respect and honor in education, business and in our community through the District 34 representative office will be my top legislative priority. Thank you for this opportunity to complete the VOTE SMART FACT MATTER survey. Dr. Aaron Means for OK House of Representatives District 34 located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Proverbs 11:11 |
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