Loretta Barnes' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Loretta Barnes is currently being tested through the 2020 Political Courage Test.
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.
Indiana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Where I do value all life, I think that the very tough decision whether to carry a baby to term or not is a decision that should be made by a woman with the consultation of her medical doctor. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Indiana's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I believe that corporations should not be able to use loopholes to avoid paying taxes, while at the same time not paying their employees a decent wage. Employees are the biggest assets of a company - without them the company would fail. I would like to incentivize all businesses to pay their employees a decent wage. Anyone working 40 hours a week should be able to pay for the needs of their family. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Winning an election should not be based on how much money you can raise from special interest groups or corporations. It should be based on if the people feel you are the best candidate for the job. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| No | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support legislation to define and establish penalties for hate crimes? | ||
| State and Local police do not have the funds or resources to take on the additional responsibilities of enforcing immigration laws. However, if someone has committed a criminal act and they are deemed to not be a US citizen, the state and local law enforcement agency should contact the appropriate federal immigration agency. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Indiana? | ||
| It would depend on what the state government regulation is. Usually I find that regulations are put in place to protect the community. I support increasing the minimum wage and tying it to grow with inflation. I also support incentivizing businesses to pay all their employees at a competitive level. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Indiana? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget? | ||
| Education is a function of the states. I believe our state needs to increase funding to public schools. Teachers should not have to work multiple jobs to pay their bills. Teachers should not have to pay for school supplies. Vouchers and charter schools should not take state funds away from public schools. We must invest in our schools and our children. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| We should be working every day on ways to ensure clean drinking water and for ways to improve our carbon footprint for our children's sake. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I believe in common sense gun laws. Yes people have a right to own guns and protect themselves, but no one person's rights are more important than a child's life. Not one. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Indiana'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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| I am not sure about (e). I would need to hear more arguments on both sides of this issue. For (c), I believe in the Affordable Care Act as a step towards universal healthcare, but I also know people who could not afford to pay the premiums for required healthcare insurance. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Indiana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| We are all equal. | |||
| Better fund public schools and teachers (stop using taxpayer funds for charter schools); Push forward several rural improvement initiatives - rural broadband, repair sidewalks & roads, incentivize manufacturers to build in rural areas; Support healthcare initiatives that would have local hospitals work with rural healthcare centers and EMT services to ensure people in rural areas have access to reliable healthcare services. |
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