Jonathan Gunther'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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Jonathan Gunther has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
New York 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I do believe abortion is murder and should be up to the states. Though I believe it so imbedded into society that there will always be a fight of abortion. We have to solve the core issue, I do not believe laws will solve the core issue of abortion. The goal should be to reduce the amount of abortions and the way to do so it to prevent unwanted pregnancies . C. government is forcing people who do not believe in abortion to to pay for it indirectly through taxes, Going against their values. This is morally wrong. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| My positions on taxes is to never vote for a tax increase. I also will call for getting rid of the NY State Income Tax as senator. A. I am for reducing Elected officials. Recently the State Government gave themselves raises during the pandemic. They also did this unconstitutionally. To balance the budget, we need to cut Government spending. Every time government spends money, it becomes a tax. There are various places to cut spending. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| A. Undecided but open to opinion and talks. B. Open to opinion and talks. c. Undecided but open to opinions and talks D. I believe this strips the right of people to vote, who cant afford or have an ID. E. I do not support AVR. Forcing people is not a way to encourage people to vote. Also government shouldn't be taking citizens Information without consent. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in New York? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support eliminating cash bail for all crimes? | ||
| A. no because there are wrongly convicted people that go to jail and have been killed for certain crime they did not commit. B. depends on the situation D. Private prisons are contracted with government to act as agents for the state. Paid to create more space for the prison population. F. I support elimination cash bail for minor offense crimes, non-violent crimes. When there is no threat to public safety. The poor are usually sucked into the unfair system we have now. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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 New York? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| A.Government spending does not help and only causes inflation, taxes and debt B. We should end NY state income tax. Taxation is theft. C. We need free markets and less government. D. I want to end the welfare state. E. Minimum wage does not help. The effects do opposite of what they are intended for. F. In a free market, government should not force businesses do require anything. D. I support allowing businesses to make their own decisions and not be closed down by government in the first place | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New York? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in New York? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| A. Education should decentralized B. I believe in a free market system when it comes to education. I think allowing school choice and having school vouchers so people can send their kids to charter schools will improve schooling and reduce taxes. D. I Do not believe government should not be paying anyones tuition. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| I Believe the free market would handle environmental issues and energy issues better than the government. | |||
| 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| A. 2nd amendment right. Your right shall not be infringed. C. If the school allows it then they should be able to. D. no because it is a right to own a gun. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York'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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support suspending rent payments for at least 90 days during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| A. i think just pumping in money is not going to solve opioid abuse and we should handle it differently. C. No, government should never force individual to purchase anything D. A person has the right to take their own life how they choose. E. I Believe not only religious exemptions but all should be exempted. Government should not force vaccinations on people. F. No. Government has no place in the free market. G. no, Government has no place in the market place, i also think this will do harm. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by New York state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring all public female-designated restrooms to provide free feminine hygiene products? | ||
| I do not believe we should have anti-discrimination laws. Though discrimination is disgusting. It is people freedom to do so. The market should deal with discrimination within a business. We should be talking to people and changing their minds on discrimination. But you shouldn't nt be getting in trouble by law for not liking someone or a certain group. The government should not be in the business in regulating wages and should be left up to the free market, | |||
| My Goals is to create a more free NY State and create happier New Yorkers. -I would call to legalize Marijuana and end the flavor vaping ban. -Balance the power of the NY state government . The Governor has abused his power and we need to restore checks and balances. -End red flag laws -Promote a school voucher system -End minimum wage -reduce regulations -Lower taxes. Fight for individual liberty and freedoms. | |||
| My main priority is to restore the checks and balance of our state Government. My goal is not to create more things to fund. The goal is to reduce the size of the state government and reduce spending of the state government. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.