Catherine Copeland's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Catherine Copeland has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2019 Political Courage Test.
Virginia State Legislative Election 2019 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? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Virginia's budget.
| No | a) Do you support a state regulated and taxed sports gambling system? | ||
| No | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I would like to close Corporate Tax Loopholes and increase income Tax on the 1%. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Campaign Finance Reform: Set a contribution cap for the campaign (cannot raise more than $100,000), and limit contributions to people (not corporations). Eliminate war chests. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should a minor 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 legalization of recreational marijuana? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support banning the use of cell phones and other handheld communication devices while driving? | ||
| For capital punishment, I want it to be reduced or eliminated. I do support that judges and juries can make the call, and I don't know that I want the legislature to take it away entirely, but my ideal world would not include capital punishment. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Virginia? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Virginia? | ||
| 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? | ||
| The federal education standards, especially under the current administration, are turning truly frightening. The state of Virginia can do better. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Virginia's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| On (e), though I would be cautious with my approach to such wording. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Virginia state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Mental health care needs to be funded and de-stigmatized in our world. I will work to do that. | |||
| I want to have the state of Virginia pay a portion of the costs for new construction or renovation on school buildings. I think it should be a portion of the education budget (different from but similar to the Literary Fund). |
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