Walley Avara's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Walley Avara has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2023 Political Courage Test.
Louisiana State Legislative Election 2023 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 rapes? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I'm 100% pro-life. In cases where the mother's life is at risk, the baby can be delivered, and try to be saved. Pregnancy in the cases of rape or incest are very rare, but a permanent decision to abort a baby will haunt the mother for the rest of her life, often to the point of depression and even suicide. If we go to the tenth degree to save an eagle egg (which is not an eagle yet) I believe we should place at least the same priority on a human child! | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to balance the budget in your state? | ||
| No | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| Your questions are vague and could be considered misleading at best. a) I support balancing the budget. That may include cutting some salaries or eliminating/combining some positions. b) I support decreasing taxes as well as decreasing spending in order to balance the budget. I also support amending our state constitution to reallocate monies from over-funded programs to critical needs within our state. c) I support tax reform, creating a fair tax for all. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Louisiana? | ||
| d) The prison system shouldn't be considered "for profit", and should in fact be the largest college system in Louisiana. e) I support judges having the authority and flexibility to decrease sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, based on the crime committed, as well as how many prior offences were committed. f) I do not support the legalization of recreational marijuana because of the potential for it to be laced with other drugs, like fentanyl. I support the medical use of marijuana as we have today. If someone hasn't been to a doctor to see how easy it is to get approved, they haven't tried very hard. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Louisiana? | ||
| No | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Louisiana? | ||
| c) I support expanding TOPS to give incentives to those professions needed right here in Louisiana, including the education provided by approved technical and vocational schools. This will create opportunities for increased incomes, and just like anything else, supply and demand will drive wages. d) I support government incentives for developers, builders, and real estate businesses to provide housing projects in Louisiana, but not directly building or owning the housing. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Louisiana? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Louisiana? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Louisiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| No | e) Do you support efforts by the legislature, such as House Bill 25, that would give parish governments more authority over local library boards? | ||
| a) I support the State setting education standards, and all schools (public and charter) tested the same at meeting those standards. b) I do support state funding for charter schools but would like to see charter schools tested with the same standards as public schools (as to compare apples to apples). I would also like to see the money paid out quarterly instead of annually in October as it is now. This would allow the public schools to receive the money from students that voluntarily or non-voluntarily transfer to their schools after October that same year. c) I support increasing teacher's salaries, but this should really be done on a Parish level. I'm hearing complaints about the differences in pay between say Livingston Parish and Ascension Parish, whereas Ascension has more industrial tax base and can pay teachers more than Livingston. The state could offer supplemental offset pay for the parishes without the industrial tax-base. d) I would be in favor of policies which streamline immigration from non-foreign adversaries not taking so long to process. This would alternatively place legal immigrants on the same plain as natural citizens for receiving TOPS or other government tuition assistance for public universities. e) Each elected parish council seat appoints a library board member, so it's the parish council who's responsible for who they appoint. The appointee should represent the desires of the council person, who in turn should represent the desires of the people who elected them. The appointee should also have the same term serving as the parish council who appointed them. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| a) I'm not a fan of the state funding the development of renewable energy sources. Energy companies can pay for the development of such technologies because they're the ones who will profit from it. I would however be ok with the state offering tax incentives for the development of renewable technologies. b) I support the decision to drill on public lands to be left up to and voted on by the people of each parish. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the regulation of campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Louisiana? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit the use of involuntary servitude, regardless of carceral status? | ||
| f) If everyone else has to get up and go to work every day, so should those who are incarcerated. Why should they be able to sit in prison and enjoy the benefits that us taxpayers provide without having to do anything? Even though they're incarcerated, there is dignity in being a productive individual. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Louisiana? | ||
| a) Red flag laws are very susceptible to misinterpretation and government overreach. b) I oppose expanding firearm background check systems, because background checks don?t stop criminals from getting firearms, because some proposals to do so would deprive individuals of due process of law, and because I oppose firearm registration. Federal studies have repeatedly found that persons imprisoned for firearm crimes get their firearms mostly through theft, the black market, or family members or friends. Less than one percent get guns at gun shows. Federal law requires firearm dealers, regardless of location, to initiate a background check before selling or otherwise transferring a firearm to a person who is not a dealer. There is no ?gun show" or "online sales" loophole. Federal law is the same, regardless of where a firearm sale takes place. According to the nation?s leading criminologist specializing in the study of murder, ?Most mass murderers do not have criminal records or a history of psychiatric hospitalization. They would not be disqualified from purchasing their weapons legally. Certainly, people cannot be denied their Second Amendment rights just because they look strange or act in an odd manner. Besides, mass killers could always find an alternative way of securing the needed weaponry, even if they had to steal from family members or friends. c) I support the right for constitutional conceal carry by law abiding citizens. I am further against any tax hike on firearm or ammunition purchases. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| No | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| No | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| a) There's lots of resources available to help with drug abuse, but people either choose to not use them, or they choose to relapse. Just throwing more money at the problem opens doors for program misuse of funds and offers no real solution. d) I support the rights of individuals to choose for themselves, regardless of religion. f) I oppose the government regulating the cost of prescription drugs, however, I do support the government offering tax incentives for drug manufactures for certain drugs which improve the quality of life for those with life threatening illnesses (cancer, diabetes, etc.) | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Louisiana anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Louisiana anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by the Louisiana state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| a) There's already anti-discrimination laws against sexual orientation. b) I oppose inclusion of gender identity in anti-discrimination laws because gender identity is a feeling, a fantasy, and not based on any scientific facts. c) I support less government overreach. Government meddling in the economy always comes with risk and unintended consequences, as we've seen with forcing higher minimum wages and paid leave policies on the private sector. | |||
| a) Introduce legislation creating a rating system for library books, similar to movie ratings. This will, at minimum, require sexually explicit books to be placed in the �adult section�, requiring adult supervision for children to access those explicit library books, completely removing them from the children's access without parental consent. b) To improve the TOPS program to include trade and vocational schools, in addition to traditional colleges. I'd also like TOPS to provide incentives for those vocations that are desperately needed right here in Louisiana, including nurses, paramedics, plumbers, welders, etc. c) Increase homestead exemption from $75,000 to $250,000 for those of social security age. The taxable value of property hasn�t been increased since property taxes were placed on homesteads in 1980. Adjusting for inflation, today�s homestead value should be around $266,368. Our elderly are facing a crisis of living on a fixed income, facing inflation on food, clothing, transportation and especially medical expenses. A choice of paying for their medicines or paying their property taxes so they don�t lose their home should not be a choice they have to contend with. They�ve paid their dues and should never have this burden placed on them. d) Work with my colleagues to pass a constitutional carry by law abiding citizens, as well as restrict future tax hikes on gun and ammunition purchases. |
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