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Candidates:
Copy and paste the survey questions below into your word processor, type your
answers and send to
vote4life@lifepac.org. You
can answer either all of the questions or choose from among them, or you can
compose your own statement using some of the survey's themes. Responses will be authenticated
before use.
A CONSISTENT ETHIC OF LIFE IN PUBLIC
POLICY
A
consistent ethic of life (see
here,
here and
here) focuses on the major life issues of abortion,
fetal plundering, euthanasia, persistent
poverty, unjust war, capital
punishment, the use of nuclear arms, violence,
racism,
trafficking and exploitation. While these are nationally debated issues, there
are community manifestations of them that municipalities
can address. This can be done for example by supporting community
pregnancy clinics, ensuring successful schools and facilitating local works of
charity.
Will you as a city council member do all in your power and
authority to implement public policies and
facilitate community action that further a consistent respect
for all human life?
PUBLIC LIBRARY PORNOGRAPHY
The US Supreme Court
in its 2003 ruling
United States v. American Library Association, Inc,
upheld the use of library internet pornography filters. Chief Justice Rehnquist
stated for the plurality that "to fulfill their traditional
missions, public libraries must have broad discretion to decide what material to
provide to their patrons. Although they seek to provide a wide array of
information, their goal has never been to provide 'universal coverage,'" and "most
libraries already exclude pornography from their print collections because they
deem it inappropriate for inclusion." In 2010,
the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that public libraries' use of
internet filters does not violate the state constitution.
Will you as a city councilor appoint, recommend or
request (depending on your level of authority) only library board
candidates who oppose the inclusion of pornography in public
libraries, whether by internet or printed materials?
REGULATION OF SEXUALLY-ORIENTED BUSINESSES
The U.S. Supreme Court in
Young v. American Mini Theaters, Inc., (1976) and
Renton v. Playtime Theater, Inc., (1986), concluded that municipalities have
"substantial governmental interests" in protecting and preserving the quality of
life for its community against the adverse secondary effects of sexually-oriented businesses while allowing for "reasonable alternative avenues of
communication." Land Use Studies from cities around the United States were
cited in both U.S. Supreme Court cases documenting
the harmful secondary effects of these businesses including 1. Increased Crime - rape, sexual assault,
prostitution and illegal drug sales; 2. Decreased Property Values - both
residential and commercial; and 3. Urban Blight - people and businesses fleeing the
community. Will you diligently seek
and maintain
zoning ordinances, licensing procedures, permit requirements and operational
regulations which serve to minimize the adverse secondary effects of Sexually-Oriented Businesses?
COMMUNITY
PREGNANCY CENTERS (CPC's)
In recent years, attempts have been made
by abortion advocates
in Washington and other states to pass
legislation targeting pro-life pregnancy centers, even though such centers
provide those states with valuable community services. In Washington State
in 2012,
HB 1366 and
SB 5274 required of CPC's: (1) The listing of non-provided services both orally and
in writing. This would have set a dangerous precedent allowing any organization
with political clout to saddle its competitors with burdensome requirements
of saying or listing what they do not do. In January of 2011,
a federal judge ruled
in Maryland on a similar law that "the Ordinance violates the
Freedom of Speech Clause of Article I of the Constitution of the United
States" (pg. 2) and has a "lack of viewpoint neutrality ... a particularly
offensive form of content-based discrimination" (pg. 20). (2) These bills
would have allowed
any Planned Parenthood employee, private citizen, or government entity to
bring petitions for injunctions even if they are repeatedly thrown out of
court. A local pregnancy center, surviving on donations, cannot
defend itself in Superior Court pro se (without representation) and cannot
afford to pay a lawyer to defend them even once, yet alone multiple times.
3. These
bills did not regulate conduct, but instead were directed only at the speech
of pregnancy centers.
King County imposed such rules this year. Do you support the work of pro-life community
pregnancy centers, and will you oppose efforts to suppress them?
REGULATION OF
RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA AND PARAPHERNALIA
Recreational marijuana was
legalized in Washington State in 2012 by
Initiative 502. The drug though is still
banned federally, and considered dangerous by many, including
the FDA,
the AMA, and
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Citizens
against Marijuana Legalization (CALM) states "The normalization,
expanded use, and increased availability of marijuana in our communities
are detrimental to our youth, to public health, and to the safety of
our society." The Alaska Association of Police Chief
describe some of the negative aspects of legalizing the drug here. For
additional dangers see
here. For an extensive
report by the National Academy of Sciences (Jan 2017)
see here.
What is your
position on the legal production, processing and sale of
recreational
marijuana in
the jurisdiction of the office you are seeking?
_____ Support
_____ Oppose
_____ No Opinion
_____ Other:
ABORTION
Even
dedicated
proponents of abortion acknowledge that life begins at conception.
What do you believe? Does a unique human life begins at conception?
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If not, how long after conception does a human life begin?
___3 mths ___6 mths ___9 mths ___1 yr ___18 yrs?
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The
14th Amendment states "nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Supreme
Court in
Roe v. Wade, 1973, stated that "if this suggestion of personhood is
established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to
life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment." The
Court regrettably concluded though that "we need not resolve the difficult
question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines
of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the
judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a
position to speculate as to the answer."
Do you
believe that the right to life of the unborn child is guaranteed by the 14th
Amendment?
Is taking the life of a pre-born child
through abortion ever
morally
permissible?
Check all that apply:
_____ No, it's never permissible
_____ Yes, to save mother's life
_____ Yes, in cases of rape or incest
_____ Yes, for physical deformity
_____ Yes, for gender
_____ Yes, for race
_____ Yes, to punish spouse
_____ Yes, it's always permissible
Do you support
parental notification and/or consent before a minor (under 18 years of
age) could have an abortion? A judicial bypass of parents would be allowed when necessary.
A 2013 poll commissioned by Human Life WA, found Washington
State voters are widely supportive of laws requiring "parental involvement"
in abortion decisions for girls under the age of 18 (62-29% with just under
10% undecided).
Read a summary of the results here. Do you support:
Notification?
Consent?
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The nation's biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood,
in the 2015-2016 fiscal year received $555 million
in tax payer funding and aborted 328,348 babies.
Should Planned Parenthood be contracted with to make community
presentations, provide literature, birth control chemicals or devices,
and/or abortion services?
CONTRIBUTIONS OF RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS
"Religious communities are the largest and best-organized civil
institutions in the world, claiming the allegiance of billions across race,
class, and national divides. These communities have particular cultural
understandings, infrastructures, and resources to get help where it is
needed most" (World Conference of Religions for Peace). Southwest
Washington has a broad range of religious communities that contribute
substantially to the welfare of families, children, seniors, the homeless, sick,
and refugees. They are a highly valued part of our community which respects
and defends human life at every stage. Are you an active member
in a church, synagogue, temple, mosque or other religious assembly?
If so, you may
state here where:
FAITH-BASED AND
NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS
The
White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships ensures that religious and other community organizations are
able to compete on an equal footing for participation in Federal programs
without impairing the character of such organizations and without
diminishing the religious freedom of those served. Is the
collaboration of government with faith-based charitable works good
for our communities?
CIVIC PRAYER
In the
2013
US Supreme Court
ruling of
Greece v. Galloway, all nine justices (following
Marsh (1983),
affirmed the acceptability of having an invocation at the beginning of
public meetings. Writing for the court, Justice Kennedy stated:
"Ceremonial prayer is but a recognition that, since this Nation was
founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own
existence must be understood by precepts far beyond the authority of
government to alter or define and that willing participation in civic
affairs can be consistent with a brief acknowledgment of their belief in
a higher power, always with due respect for those who adhere to other
beliefs. The prayer in this case has a permissible ceremonial purpose.
It is not an unconstitutional establishment of religion." What is
your position on your city council instituting or continuing a prayer at
the start of the meeting?
QUALIFICATIONS
Please state your professional experience, community involvement, education,
family successes and other qualifications for a mayoral or city council position.
POLICY POSITIONS
You may state here any policy positions you
have in relation to the office you are seeking:
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