Mariah Phillips' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Mariah Phillips has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Tennessee State Legislative Election 2020 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? | ||
| c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | |||
| No one wants more abortion, but making it illegal wont keep them from happening. It will just prevent them from happening safely. We need to put policies in place that reduce unintended pregnancy and support women through this emotional and stressful time of their life. Expanding health care, access to birth control, effective education, and economic support systems have proven to bring abortion rates down. Public funds are prohibited through the Hyde Amendment. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Having a balanced budget is extremely important. Any decision made to increase taxes must be very specific on the demand for that revenue. I would look at spending cuts first, before looking at tax increases. If tax increases are needed, they will only impact those making $400,000 or more | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Any photo identification should qualify, including school ID. Not everyone has a drivers license or other form of ID. We should have same day voter registration and allow those with a felony conviction to renew their registration once they complete the terms of their charges. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | 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 in Tennessee? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Our criminal justice laws must be reformed. Reformation of prisoners should be the goal when possible. We need laws that keep our citizens and our LEO's safe. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Tennessee? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| TN does not have a state income tax, but providing tax relief to the working and middle class needs to happen, especially during times of crisis like the COVID-19 epidemic. I support a balanced budget and funding things that benefit working Tennesseans, not just the special interests and corporations. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Tennessee? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Tennessee? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Tennessee high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring transgender athletes to compete in intramural and interscholastic sports that match their biological sex? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness? | ||
| As a High School Teacher, I had several students who have been present in the United States since they were infants. Once they graduate, they have few options to continue to work towards a better life. If they get deported, they are sent back to a country they don't remember. Allowing them to improve their educational opportunities will help them continue to pursue the American Dream. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Responsible businesses will want to be responsible neighbors in the communities they are a part of. Those companies will understand and support these initiatives. We need to protect our natural resources and keep our air and drinking water clean. | |||
| 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Responsible gun owners want their neighbors to be responsible gun owners. Advocating for secured sales and safety measures is what the majority of Tennesseans want. I think "Gun-control" is the wrong phrase. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Tennessee's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Health care should be a human right in the richest country in the world. We should not have citizens dying due to lack of health care. d) There should be very strict guidelines regarding when euthanasia is available. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Tennessee state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| In America, allowing discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation should NOT be permissible. The fact that people want to allow discrimination is unamerican and unconstitutional. | |||
| COVID-19 response should be directed from the top down. Our governor and elected leaders in the state have avoided making the difficult decisions that could keep our citizens safe and our economy viable. In stead of focusing on keeping our working families safe, our state government protected big business from liability, even the bad actors. | |||
| Education is a foundation on which all communities thrive. We need to fully fund education and give teachers the pay increased they were promised last year. We can take that from the unconstitutional ESA plan Gov Lee has funded. That plan is funded $35 million dollars, |
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