Levon Barnes' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (NC) - District 64
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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.
North Carolina State Legislative Election 2024 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 (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| In cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother is in danger then I approve of this. We currently have the Hyde amendment that prohibits the use of federal funds to be used for abortions. But it should be the states that should decide the issue and I would support the use of medicaid for that purpose. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| I believe that the richest percentage of people need to pay their fair share and so I support a wealth tax. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in North Carolina? | ||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of North Carolina? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in North Carolina? | ||
| I believe we must raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour, most businesses are already paying around $15 an hour. Our must vulnerable don't need to continue to drown when we have shown the means to pay that without the state imploding. Affordable is critical for the future of North Carolina and the role of government should be to help in any way we can. If we have enough to take almost a billion dollars out of public education we have the means to pump money into this issue. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in North Carolina? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in North Carolina? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from North Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in North Carolina? | ||
| No | f) Should it be mandatory for any potential voter to be verified as a U.S. citizen before registering to vote or casting a ballot? | ||
| Get rid of the dark money in our elections. I believe gerrymandering is causing the end of democracy so I believe maps should be fair and that both parties have done piss poor job of this. Independent mapmakers would help to make sure we the appropriate representation needed to get things done. I think we shouldn't be restricting ways for people to vote and that we have laws to ensure the people who are voting are supposed to. Voter ID's and verifying status are regressive and are fear tactics. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| Yes | 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 North Carolina? | ||
| I believe in the second amendment and as a concealed carry gun owner, I want responsible people to own guns. If you want to verify citizenship and have ID's for voting then we should do the same with gun purchases. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | 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 mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| I am a father to an almost 2 year old and I watched first hand how her mother went through all the highs and lows of pregnancy but also the very low lows of having anxiety to come back to work all the while battling postpartum depression, it is inhumane that we only give 12 weeks of unpaid leave. I would like our state to become the gold standard in taking care of our families when they need it the most. I would like to see us pass 52 weeks of paid leave at 100% pay with additional weeks if leave is shared with another parent. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by North Carolina's state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| We need to protect all of our citizens and we should not discriminate against anyone period. | |||
| Saving our public schools: The biggest item in our state budget is public school funding and yet it is also grossly underfunded. Schools in Alamance County and across the state are falling apart in front of our eyes, between our students breathing in mold, one of the lowest student expenditures in the country, bottom third in the country in teacher pay and the purposeful privatization of our schools using public dollars. We are truly on the brink of furthering the divide of those that have and those who don't have as much. The next generation of leaders don't need any more barriers in order to make it. So investing in our public schools is my top priority. There will never be a perfect government but we can have a balanced one. North Carolinians want civil discourse but are tired of the public discourse and want leaders who will do more than blame the other side. This helps no one and only further divides us, I want to represent all of the citizens in Alamance. Getting rid of extremism & getting back to cordiality is paramount for North Carolina to be at its best. I stand on that I will be approachable, present & an active listener regardless of the issue. Let?s face it while the overall economy in our state and country are doing well, I like you are not feeling it enough. I share in the experience like most state employees, health care workers and civil servants who have to work multiple jobs to stay above water and we are salaried. For our hard working folks in the food service industry or warehouse workers, it has been since 2008 in which the legislature raised minimum wage .70 cents to make it 7.25 an hour. As of the start of this new year 15 states have raised their minimum to at least $15 an hour but North Carolina is not one of them. So how can one be happy and not get the compensation they need to survive. I will be fighting hard to change our minimum wage to $17 an hour. I?m a girl dad but I have been an health educator for almost 20 years to thousands of women who all want the autonomy to make decisions about their body and healthcare. No question I will fight for my daughter and any woman to have the right to make decisions about what she would like to do with her own body whether I?m elected or not. Plain and simple government nor anyone in governmental leadership should determine a personal health choice for any woman. The only position the government should have in this difficult choice is to make sure facilities are safe and follow the appropriate guidelines. I am pro-choice!! I?m pro-education and I?m committed to keeping personal health choices that women make on their reproductive systems exactly that personal. |
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