Bill Brown'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.
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Bill Brown has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
South Carolina State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Abortion (up to fetal viability) is a question for the MOTHER and the father...in that order. Gov't needs to stay out of the decision. Separation of Church and State is a necessity and a constitutional requirement. | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| My WIFE gets a pension from the state of Ohio. VERY generous...well in excess of Social Security. Should it be? Why are gov't employees provided pensions well in excess of what private industry awards? As to taxes...if you make a million or more per year, yes, I am in favor of increasing the tax rate... | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting disaster declarations to 15 days unless approved by the legislature? | ||
| Maybe 15 days is too short. Let's call in 30. | |||
| Yes | 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 South Carolina? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Should threatening harm against someone based on their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin be considered a felony? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support citizen's arrests? | ||
| Under 18? Depends on the person and the crime. A judge should decide. Private prisons? Sure, if they are cost-effective. Mandatory Minimum? Yes, but the mandatory minimums should reflect the crime. Threatening? It should be a felony if the underlying crime that would have been perpetrated had the threat been carried out, is a felony. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of South Carolina? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Spending and taxes to promote growth? No. Spending to address a social or civil NEED is appropriate. Taxes to promote growth? No. Taxes are to fund what we have determined to spend. You get money form a taxpayer? Yes - you should be drug tested. Minimum wage - let's raise it with inflation. Covid spending? Not to the level we have funded. We also must recognize the debt created, and develop a mechanism to fund that debt. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in South Carolina? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in South Carolina? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from South Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| SC Standards should apply to SC. Funding charter? Sort of...let's pay for text books, cleaning supplies, and other non-secular costs. Why shouldn't we? Immigrants unlawfully here? Sorry - no "taxpayer-funded benefit" should apply. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support prohibiting offshore drilling off the coast of South Carolina? | ||
| Renewable energy? If not funded (to some extent) it will never happen, and it must. Greenhouse gas? My gosh - look around -- climate change is upon us. Either we must legislate the change or fund it. Clean Drinking water? Whatever it takes. Offshore drilling beyond 12 miles? Have at it. Those are international waters. | |||
| 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I believe we need to require safe storage...we need to require mental competence...we need to take guns out of domestic violence perpetrators hands. Gun shows? Yes - why would it make sense to NOT require a background check? Teachers & Guns? Gosh, no. Convince me I'm wrong with DATA. License for ownership? No. License to carry (concealed or public)? Yes. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through South Carolina'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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Opioid abuse is not a STATE problem. It is up to the INDIVIDUAL. Medicaid? Yes, but perhaps a lifetime limit? Religious exemption elimination? Yes. Sorry, but Yes. Live on your own island, and then you have no obligation to others. Until then? Vaccinate. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by South Carolina state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support local governments having the authority, without review by state authorities, to remove certain memorials or monuments from public property? | ||
| You are BORN male or Female - sexual orientation does not enter the equation. (My brother, God rest his soul, was gay, and I loved him...but he was NOT female). Pay gap - if proven it is attributable to sex? Illegal. | |||
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