What views are you on?

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Abortion?

Censorship?

Death penalty?

Guns?

Health care?

Official US language?

War on Terror?

Taxes?

LGBT rights?

Secular government?

=============

Abortion:

The federal government should have no business conducting abortion laws. If another state in the union (hey, we have 50) wants to make abortion completely free and legal, it should have it's right. I am personally against the whole idea, but this is a union after all.

Censorship:

I cannot care less if somebody's boobs or butt flashes on TV for a second, it's their own parent's fault that their children are watching. There are worse things going on everyday.

Death penalty:

I don't know if a criminal's existence would be an issue even locked up in prison, but people still get what they deserve to an extent if it is very serious.

Guns:

I believe guns are there to protect us against tyranny. States in the union have the right to enforce restrictions on gun ownership, however.

Health care:

We can make it work with a public/private joint universal health care system with regional affiliates.

Official US language:

US should adopt English as a national language.

War on Terror:

This frightens me and I haven't a clue either way how much it will cost us, financially or otherwise.

Taxes:

Federal government has sales tax cap. Income tax is kept towards a minimum. States set sales tax amounts in harmony with lenient federal sales tax cap.

LGBT rights:

LGBT's have all rights equal, but so do polygamous, polyandorous, etc. etc. people.

Secular government:

People should keep their faith at home. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with censorship (above).

"What views are you on?"

Do not get that language but it looks like you are asking "What are you views on..."?

In which case too complex for full response. Most cannot be done in a short space by a fulsome talker like me.

But to show willing:

Your line:

"LGBT rights:

LGBT's have all rights equal, but so do polygamous, polyandorous, etc. etc. people.
"

My view: all people have the same rights - everywhere and always. Distinguish between right and privilege as you dintinguish having free will from being in control of outcomes.

I pondered all of that myself for a moment or two, and some people actually do seem to "land" upon one view or another or at least squat for a bit ...

... and that is where I stand/sit/lie upon that!

Actually though ...

My view on health care tends to be more along the line of doing everything we can to take care of ourselves responsibly than to expect "medicine" -- field or bottle -- to somehow keep us well and healthy no matter how we live.

Abortion?
I'm against it unless it risks killing the mother

Censorship?
f**k censorship. You can thank the filter for making my statement ironic lol

Death penalty?
I'm against it but I want the chain gangs back for the serious offenders so they can contribute to society rather than just rot. I don't give a s**t about a scumbag rapist or serial killer's life, but I do give a s**t about overzealous a**hole DA's and Judges.

Guns?
Abolish the gun registry and allow people to buy whatever gun they want to unless they are mentally ill or have been charged with serious offenses. Yes, "whatever gun they want" includes .50 calibre sniper rifles and suppressors without some BS tax stamp or restricted licence. These things are nothing but cheap excuses for a Government revenue stream. I see absolutely no reason for gun control and I think the gun control lobby is full of s**t. I don't say full of s**t lightly, I'm dead certain since I see no reason for gun control at all, not even in the slightest. Since they wanna ban "assault weapons", we should also ban big spoilers, fart cans, stickers, and body kits for Civics too since they make the car look like they have 500 hp

Health care?
I haven't completely made my mind up on this issue, but privatize it as long as it's done right or perhaps subsidize it rather than make it entirely public.

Official US language?
English of course but I'm not from the states. I'm your neighbour up north.

War on Terror?
Iraq was a major f**k up but I stand behind Afghanistan.

Taxes?
Flat taxes at a rate of 15% and get rid of sin taxes since it is social engineering. I support a safety net that isn't used as a hammock.

LGBT rights?
Absolutely.

Secular government?
Yes.

Last edited by AceOfSpades on 03 May 2011, 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

• Abortion: An "unwanted pregnancy" is a tragedy. Sex education should be free and compulsory in public schools; condoms and other forms of birth control and STD protection should be readily available.
• Censorship: I support Wikileaks and vastly err on the side of freedom over censorship. I would support outlawing child pornography, snuff films, and films of animal cruelty.
• Death penalty: I prefer life imprisonment and actually believe our punitive approach to crime is wrongheaded; rehabilitation is the better approach generally.
• Guns: I'm no fan of guns, but the 2nd Amendment does provide a regulated right to gun ownership.
• Healthcare: Single-payer universal healthcare along the lines of the United Kingdom, France, or Canada.
• U.S. official language: I believe the government should make resources available in the language(s) spoken by the community and that English as a Second Language programs should be available to immigrants. I feel that English-as-the-official-language laws are divisive and xenophobic,. mostly a symbolic attack on multiculturalism.
• War on terror: Perpetual war is never a good thing. I believe much of what has been done in the name of fighting the war on terror has eroded our civil liberties and cost taxpayers dearly. That said, Osama bin Laden's death probably is good for U.S. security in the long run.
• Taxes: Taxes are a necessity to fund the government, including public education, police, the military, social-welfare programs, and the public administration. Waste and corruption should be minimized, and programs should be assessed for the benefit they bring society. I support a progressive income tax.
• LGBT Rights: I support them.
• Secular government: As an atheist, it's pretty much a given that I support secular government.

In summary, I'm a liberal in the contemporary U.S. sense of the term.

Abortion?
Pro-choice - the responsibilities of the parent start long before a child is born, if a person can't care for a child they shouldn't be forced to become a parent, least of all if they don't want to become a parent for whatever reason. If Anti-choice spent less time attacking women and their family planning choices, and spent more time supporting sex education and availability of sexual health services then they'd prevent far more abortions as there would be far less of a need for abortions. Although I do think the raise in abortion rates is shameful, in this day and age there's little excuse for it - if you're not responsible enough to use a condom, birth control method, or if all else fails emergency contraception, then you sure as hell shouldn't be having sex! Abortion isn't something to take lightly.

Censorship?
For the most part I am against censorship, freedom of communication is important.

Death penalty?
Against - I think if a person has done something bad enough to warrant the death penalty then death is probably the easy way out, I'd rather see them rot in jail for the rest of their lives, or have their freedoms taken away while having to work to better society in some way, this is a far worse punishment. Not to mention that in prison justice is often just what we want to see for some criminals.

Guns?
I'm English, we don't really do guns. Gun's don't kill people, people kill people...but guns do take out a lot of the thought process and allow for accidents or easy killing as it just requires a pull of a trigger.

Health care?
English - we have public healthcare, it isn't great but at least everyone no matter their income gets healthcare.

Official US language?
N/A

War on Terror?
All about the money, we're as bad as those we launched a war upon.

Taxes?
N/A

LGBT rights?
All people deserve equal rights.

Secular government?
N/A

Last edited by Bloodheart on 03 May 2011, 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Really?!

Pro choice. But I also think abstinence education should be canned and instead better sex education and access to contraceptives, including the 'MAP' (morning after pill) free of charge. Thus abortions would likely only be in cases where the mother's life was at risk, or rape (though the MAP is perfectly capable of dealing with this if caught early)



I'm against all censorship



I'm against the death penalty. I am more for prisoner rehabilitation and crime prevention rather than just letting people rot or killing them. However some people are not capable of being reached and thus they should be locked away for life. In other cases, prison should have mandatory re-education and be a place where people are taught to integrate into society, and not gang-life- I don't think it goes so far saying that many US prisons are more like gang college / gladiator school



Don't really have any feelings on the issue. Most guns that people use to kill are acquired illegally anyway. Why punish perfectly legitimate gun owners who know what they're doing and have a passion for their hobby? I don't necessarily think the average citizen needs an AK-47 though, so I support assault weapons bans, unless someone can give me a good reason why assault weapons are needed for hunting or shooting ranges, or that they are good in some other way



Universal health care for all. Nobody deserves to be thrown on the street because they got sick or injured. When people's quality of life is assured, they as a nation are much happier and less likely to be full of pointless hate



Not relevant to me, but I am for bilingualism where applicable.



Not all that well executed. I hate the Taliban and Al Qaeda, though, as well as any other terrorist organizations. Someone has to get their hands dirty taking them out, I guess, but that doesn't mean we have to lose our civil liberties here on the home front.



Tax big companies and the rich and stop crushing the little guys. Wealth doesn't trickle down. They've had 30 years to show some results from that condescending theory and they have yet to show



Equal rights for all, not based on religious principles



Religion should have no bearing on government decisions.

Took me a while to see what you did there rofl.

Correction: I'm against abortion unless it is necessary to save the mother's life.

Sure enough.

Abortion?
Not the states business really.
Censorship?
First amendment, that is a no regardless of what arbitrary justification power grubbing politicians are using at the moment.
Death penalty?
Eh, a mistake can't be undone.
Guns?
2nd amendment, also if the citizens are armed it makes an invasion more difficult.
Health care?
Eh, limit the liability of doctors and hospitals to damages, and lawyers fees. The FDA's approval of new drugs needs revamping as well. We also need to bust the larger pharmaceutical corporations, supply some amount of government funding to medical research and keep the results of such things in the public domain, with permission to use being granted with limited ethical precautions.
Official US language?
English is the only one that is needed, we have a language that could be relatively universal within our borders, ,that should be encouraged not thrown away for no good reason. I approve of assimilation full heartedly, I also think the states use of foreign language should be limited to the sectors that would teach english to immigrants.
War on Terror?
Just another excuse to kill.
Taxes?
Necessary evil, it should however be a low flat percentage that the poor can take, with no credits or other means of circumventing the tax rate. There should also be some over sight with how it's used, but I doubt that will ever be the case.
LGBT rights?
Rights should not be conditional on arbitrary traits or enhanced or hindered by said traits.
Secular government?
A necessity for an environment that expects to have an acceptable level of tolerance.

The more the better. Ok, I just honestly don't care. I mean, I agree with Neanthumain that an unwanted pregnancy is a tragedy. I also don't mind screening efforts.

Only for my opponents. I am pretty anti-censorship. I support wikileaks. I think out of the list that NeantHumain provided, the only objectionable one would be child pornography, and that's not a matter of the images so much as the children providing them. I doubt that children can meaningfully assent to create pornography.


I am against. From what I understand, too much damage is likely from implementation as the death penalty, to be "just" requires a lot of safeguards, and these end up being more expensive than life imprisonment. Even further, I don't see the real point in having a death penalty just for the hell of it. I mean, even if this is retributive, it would have to be painful.


I'm pretty open on guns. I don't use them, but I don't oppose guns being owned by people.


I haven't entirely made up my mind on this. A major issue is that I know that distribution issues are often tied together with institutional issues in this debate, making it all the more confusing to me. Here's my general heuristic though:
1) As much should be left to the market as possible.
2) It is alright to subsidize outcomes of the impoverished.
3) As medical technology advances, a reasonable policy will probably involve some people dying of an illness that could hypothetically be treated. The real issue is easily treated illness.
4) Individuals have some responsibility for taking care of their bodies.


Not really a concern of mine. I agree with NeantHumain that the issue is probably more a symbolic cultural statement. Frankly, to me, the real driving factor is efficiency.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1B1SEMNyX0[/youtube]

I am opposed to continual war, and I think the US needs to avoid these open-ended conflicts against nebulous opponents, and even focus on cutting back military structure so that we are closer in line with the rest of the world in this regard.


Try to move taxes(and subsidies) away from corporations as much as possible. Focus on income taxes. Massive focus on tax simplification if possible. Push to remove sin taxes. Reduce taxes as much as possible. This includes reductions in military spending, but also very likely a removal of social security at some point in the future, as the system will either need to be removed or massively overhauled due to increases in lifespan.


It is all right with me.


Keep your secularism at home and your God in the legislature and classrooms. Ok, I am in favor of more things being non-religious. I do think that government, to be religiously neutral, likely has to make an effort at being secular. (This is not necessarily neutral to all religious claims, but it is the best we can get)

Assault weapon bans are built on myths and are based on nothing more than cosmetic features, so I would like good reasons for banning "assault weapons" other than "Cuz they look scary".

Pistol grips do not make it easier to empty clips from hips. Your ability to control recoil depends on your stance. That's why new shooters are always told to lean forward into the gun. Also welding the stock to your shoulder is another thing that reduces recoil significantly so spraying from the hip is idiotic since it's much more effective to put the gun to your shoulder. Plus hunting style grips are also much more ergonomic to grip from the hip than pistol grips. Modern militaries even train their troops to use semi auto while room clearing. Automatic fire is usually used for laying down suppressing fire. And whoever sprays a rifle one handed is a dumbass that watches too much Hollywood films and isn't going to hit anything but a bystander.

Pistol grips are found on military style rifles cuz it ergonomically puts controls such as magazine releases and fire selectors within finger reach.

Flash suppressors apparently make the muzzle flash harder to see at night. Well that's just idiotic, cuz it is still a muzzle flash. A Y shaped muzzle flash is just as conspicuous as a normal one at night. Hell, you can easily see a dollar store flash light at night.

Barrel shrouds are not some shoulder thing that goes up. They cover the barrel so you don't burn your hand. Banning em is like banning radiators from cars. I can't decide whether this is the most idiotic of em all or the pistol grip one.

"Assault weapons" aren't usually more powerful than hunting rifles. The power of a rifle has to do with the caliber and barrel length, not whether or not it has a pistol grip and a barrel shroud.

Military rifles are useful for hunting since they are designed to be reliable and are very ergonomic since they are designed to suit people of all shapes and sizes. They are usually lightweight and are very reliable since they have to be able to function in all types of weather and conditions. They also usually have more modding capabilities. Besides that, they are great for home defense too and I find it strange you brought up shooting ranges . I really don't care too much about the "What do ya need it for?" argument anyways since the assault weapon fears are based on nothing but cosmetic features.

Also rifles are less than 2% seized from crooks and are used in 1% of all shootings. Even in mass murders they are only used in 4% of em and the deadliest mass murders are committed through arson and bombings. They are disproportionately involved in the murders of police officers which is 10% but that is still overwhelming low when considering they are most commonly murdered with .38 revolvers which are the most common type of guns used among crooks.

You might say the reason for the low percentages is cuz the ban worked, but that's wrong. Rifles, standard 30 round magazines, and ammunition are more than abundant in the world. Anything armed forces use is bound to be. Also assault weapons bans have allowed people to keep their guns if they owned it prior to it so it hasn't taken any existing assault weapons off law abiding citizens. It's much faster to grab your pistol from your waist line than it is to run to your trunk and grab a rifle so this fact alone explains why pistols are used in the vast majority of murders. It is also much quicker and more convenient to dispose of than a rifle.

And of course, making guns illegal will not stop criminals from obtaining em since criminals by definition do not obey the law. Also, why legally buy a gun that leaves a paper trail behind when you can just buy a snub .38 from the streets and get rid of it after you're done with it?

PS: Yes this is long as hell, but I got real eager.

Abortion:

Only for rape, incest, and threat to the mother's life.

Censorship:

As little as possible.

Death penalty:

As many cases as you get, We do not do it enough to work.

Guns:

Only the states can effectively deal with it. There are some parts of the country that need stricter laws.

Health care:

Not sure yet. Do not know enough about it for an opinion.

Official US language:

Make English the only thing that matters. Everything in English.

War on Terror:

Put all people involved behind bars for murder; execute Bush publicly. Complete farce.

Taxes:

Examine feasibility in case of TOO MANY taxes. Create more chances for tax exemptions to contribute to society.

LGBT rights:

why not?

Secular government:

Ban religion. It hurts too many people.

You've got your question backwards; you need to provide a good reason why citizens shouldn't be allowed those specific weapons. Just the facts please.

Abortion?
Only when medically required. I would also ban certain prenatal tests that tend to lead to abortions.

Censorship?
Only for sensitive national security data, pointlessly obscene acts or material, and keeping other graphic or mature material away from minors and any other vulnerable groups. Boundaries for freedom of speech and religion would remain the same as now.

Death penalty?
Use it heavily for a wide range of offenses as long as the evidence is extremely compelling, and abridge the appeals process. This would help make it more practical to roll back gun control laws.
Guns?
Legalize everything. Eliminate all state registries (for states that have them) and the federal NFA registry. Create one license for concealed and open carry and make it recognized in all states. Make the criteria for the license 1) may legally own a gun 2) can pass a test on self-defense laws 3) can pass a marksmanship test. Allow any weapon to be purchased in any state regardless of state of residence. Enact national castle doctrine and stand your ground laws. Repeal most import laws. Defund the BATFE (alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives would make a great chain of convenience stores an would generate a huge cult following in most parts of the country ) Roll back gun control laws until eventually only sex offenders, people with immigration issues, and only the most extremely mentally ill that are either still considered a risk to the public even if they don't quite meet the criteria to be committed, or people with developmental problems that can't understand safety rules. Give guns back to airline pilots and give licenses to people with excellent marksmanship and background to carry small caliber pistols with approved ammunition on planes and into certain other sensitive or crowded places except courts.


Health care?
Get most workplaces to pay for it and have medicare and medicaid fill in the rest. However, trying to do this in the middle of a massive economic slump is a really poor idea.

Official US language?
English only for government offices, public schools, and anything involving the government except for jails and agencies dealing with immigration issues. No such regulations would apply to any private individuals or corporations.

War on Terror?
The Islamic militants plan to be at war with us until the end of time so I guess we will either have to fight them until the end of time or exterminate them. The patriot act is still a travesty though and needs to go.

Taxes?
The tax system needs to be overhauled and also made simple. If you didn't have to be a CPA to understand a proposed new tax code, it might actually get some public support.

LGBT rights?
They have rights.

Secular government?
Allow politicians' and the local community's religious beliefs to show through. That means, if a community is heavily Catholic and they want to show that in a new monument, a single Jew or Hindu cannot have the court stop it just because they disagree with it. The same would apply to predominantly Jewish or Hindu communities as well. Let politicians, governments, and communities have religious beliefs, but do not use the rule of law to suppress other's religions. Allow for a prayer time in school, but make participation strictly voluntary and allow students to create prayer groups for different religions.