Candidate's Name : Ken V. Krawchuk
Political Party: Libertarian
Office you are running for: Governor
State: Pennsylvania
County: Montgomery (home county)
District: Statewide
1) Do you believe that the Second Amendment confirms the individual
right of every American citizen to possess and use (update of keep
and bear) militia/military weapons for individual self-defense,
as well as for the defense of the State / National defense?
Yes, and the U.S.
Supreme Court also backs that position.
Further, Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution
says that "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of
themselves and the state shall not be questioned." I have
no question what that means.
10 Points
2) If elected would you support legislation for the removal
of firearm laws and regulations? If your answer is yes, and if you
are elected, what specific legislation would you propose/support
to ensure that this individual right is protected? Which current
laws which infringe upon this individual right would you seek to
repeal?
Yes, I would support the repeal of most
every firearms regulation, starting with Mr. Fisher's betrayal of
gun owners with his Act 17 that creates an unconstitutional
registry of guns. I'd also work to institute Vermont-style
carry laws here, and repeal any law that's in conflict with that
concept.
10 Points
3) What do you consider are "legitimate" reasons to own a firearm?
Check as many as apply:
[X] Personal Defense
[X] Home Defense
[X] Defense of your country
(Unorganized Militia)
[X] Hunting
[X] Farm Use
[X] Competitive Shooting
[X] Informal Sport Shooting
[X] Informal Target Practice
and/or Plinking
[X] Collecting
[X] Constitutional Rights
[X] Other (See Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution)
[X] All of the above
[ ] None of the above
10 Points
4) Would you support the banning of some firearms or ammunition?
(IE: Saturday night specials, "assault weapons", Hollow points,
and "Safety Slugs") Why and to what extent?
No. Not only would I be in violation
of my oath of office if I did, statistics unequivocally show that
gun control kills.
10 Points
5) Do you believe that firearms and/or firearm owners should
be registered? Which ones and why?
No. Not meaning
to repeat myself, but I would be in
violation of my oath of office if I did call for such registration
(as Mr. Fisher's Act 17 did).
10 Points
6) Do you support equal rights for all citizens of the United
States regardless of the person's sexuality / orientation and /
or gender identity/_expression?
Yes. The law
should grant no group any special protection or special handicap
for any reason, whether for sexual orientation, race, religion,
legal status (such as with corporations), geographic location (such
as with emissions inspection), racial or other profiling, national
origin, etc.
I also support gay marriage, and would
work to extend all the rights that opposite sex unions have to same
sex unions as well. That includes inheritance, joint tenant
ownership, power of attorney regarding medical issues, adoption,
custody of children, visitation rights, etc. It does not matter
what sex the partners may be; if it's a similarly-permanent relationship,
then the privileges must be equal. What's good for the goose-and-gander
is just as good for the goose-and-goose, or gander-and-gander.
10 Points
7) Which of the following would you be willing to support in
regards to same-gender and/or polyamorous marriages and/or civil
unions?
Check as many as apply:
[X] Domestic partnerships
for same-sex couples
[X] Domestic partnerships
for opposite-sex couples
[X] Domestic partnerships
for polyamorous (more than two consenting adults)
[X] Same-sex marriages
[X] Opposite sex marriages
(What we have now)
[X] Polyamarous marriages
(between more than two consenting adults)
[X] All of the above.
Everyone should have equal rights under the law.
[ ] None of the above. Government has no role in
defining a marriage. Leave it to the church.
[ ] Other__________________________________________
Let me add that
I almost checked your "none of the above" box, because I also believe
that government should have no role in defining a marriage, but
it's not just up to the church. I'd say it's up to the individuals
involved to determine their relationship, not the government or
the church.
10 Points
8) Do you support the right for people to act as they wish in
a private setting, with other consenting adults?
Yes. What more is there to say on
the question?
10 Points
9) In July 2000 the Police Dept. of Attleboro Massachusetts
entered a private party without a search warrant. The party was
not open to the public or in the business to make a profit. Any
donations given were used to pay rent. When the police entered,
they arrested two people. The first person who was arrested
organized the event. The second person arrested was arrested because
she spanked her consenting adult partner with a wooden spoon. Do
you support the actions of the Attleboro police as given in
this example? Why?
No.
I support property rights and the right for you to live your life
your way. Were it under my jurisdiction, I would take action
against the police officers.
10 Points
10) Do you support equal immigration rights for partners of
US residents, regardless of their sexuality / orientation and /
or gender identity/_expression?
Yes.
All should be equal under the law regardless of sexual orientation,
race, religion, legal status, geographic location, national origin,
etc.
10 Points
Do you have an additional statement to make that is not covered
by this questionnaire? Use as much space as you
wish.
I am not alone in
my beliefs that all people are created equal and deserve equal treatment
under the law. All Libertarians believe this, that you have
the inalienable right to live your life your way without
government interference, provided you respect the rights and property
of your neighbor. Every law we Libertarians support or oppose
can be traced back to this one principle, and our message of tolerance
and diversity has resonated with the voting public. Today
the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party hands
down, outnumbering all the fourth parties rolled up in a single
ball. We have 71 Libertarians serving in elected or appointed
public office here in Pennsylvania, with over 500 nationally, more
than all the other fourth parties combined. And our numbers
continue to grow year after year.
Even so, a lot of people tell me, "Ken,
I like your ideas, but be real. You'll never get elected".
But when you crunch the numbers, it turns out that in a competitive,
3-way race, a Libertarian can be elected Governor THIS YEAR by attracting
the vote of only 1 in 8 voting-age Pennsylvanians.
How so? According to the FEC, there
are about 9 million voting-age Pennsylvanians, but less than 7 million
registered. A 32.4% turnout in the last gubernatorial race meant
less than 3 million votes were cast. Assuming the same turnout again,
split that total vote 3 ways, and victory requires less than a million
votes -- call it one out of eight to be certain -- or even fewer
than that, if the turnout is low. Only 10% to 12% of voting-age
Pennsylvanians will elect the next governor; just one in eight.
If the gay community alone voted to elect
a Krawchuk Administration, it would be a landslide. It would
be the same sort of landslide if the gun owners alone voted
Libertarian. Ditto for other groups who have only the Libertarians
to champion their cause. All it takes is one in eight voting
age Pennsylvanians. It takes people like you, someone who
is still intrigued enough to be reading this survey, to make that
victory come to pass. Tell your like-minded friends that they
have a real choice this year. Tell them how all it takes is one
in eight. Tell them to tell their friends to register to vote
before October 7th, and to vote for Ken Krawchuk for Governor on
November 5th.
Because if people keep on voting the way
they've been voting, they'll keep on getting just what they've been
getting. And I don't know about you, but I have had enough.
Thanks for soliciting my thoughts.
- Ken