Political Party:  Libertarian

Office you are running for:  Board of Supervisors

State:  CA

County:  San Francisco

District:  8

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. The Second Amendment reflects an important human right and is a necessary protection against tyranny.

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?

        Yes. In the state of Vermont, individuals may legally carry personal firearms either concealed or openly. I would support similar legislation for my city and state.

Which current laws which infringe upon this individual right would you seek to repeal?

        I will actively oppose and seek the repeal of any law which infringes on the right of non-violent individuals to keep and bear arms. Some specific laws would include the Brady Law, the California law against assault weapons

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)
    [ ] Hunting
    [ ] Farm Use
    [X] Competitive Shooting
    [X] Informal Sport Shooting
    [X] Informal Target Practice and/or Plinking
    [X] Collecting
    [X] Constitutional Rights
    [X] Other FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM IN OTHER COUNTRIES (E.G. ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE)
    [ ] All of the above
    [ ] None of the above

        I'm a vegetarian and animal rights supporter. Killing animals for food and hunting them for sport are barbaric practices, and I wish that humans had no desire to engage in such behavior. Someday I think our race will outgrow it. However I realize that legal bans on hunting and food-killing would be extremely impractical at present. There are also important external considerations; hunting provides important funding for environmental protection as well as an incentive to preserve the populations of wild animals, while the meat, dairy and seafood industries are so integrated into the economies of the world that legislation that fully protected the rights of animals would cause enormous disruption and human suffering to the extent that it was even enforceable.

8 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?

        Merely owning a particular object should not be a crime, whether the object is ammunition, a gun, a marijuana plant, or a bag of cocaine. "Saturday Night Special" and "assault weapon" are pejorative and misleading terms which have no solid legal meaning. Any weapon can be used in an assault, and a "Saturday Night Special" is simply the term self-defense
opponents use to refer to any inexpensive gun. But affordable guns are exactly what low income people who typically live with the highest risk of violent crime need to defend themselves, their families and their homes.

10 Points

5) Do you believe that firearms and/or firearm owners should be registered?  Which ones and why?

        No. Government registration of firearms has historically led to confiscation of firearms by making it easy for government to track the gun owners. Even in a society where the right to keep and bear arms was universally acknowledged, it would be dangerous. In our present society, where many people are trying to prohibit ordinary, nonviolent people from owning guns, it is an unacceptable risk to that freedom.

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. Everyone in the world should have these rights whether they are U.S. citizens or not. Laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression are as bad as laws that discriminate on the basis of race.

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:
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for opposite-sex couples
    [ ] Domestic partnerships for polyamorous (more than two consenting adults)
    [ ] Same-sex marriages
    [ ] Opposite sex marriages (What we have now)
    [ ] Polyamarous marriages (between more than two consenting adults)
    [ ] 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.
    [X] Other_________________________________________________________________________

        None of the answer choices for this question match my position. Government should have no role in defining marriage, but the law should give the same protection to marriage contracts that it gives to other legal contracts. Any number of legally independent persons of any gender or orientation should be free to marry each other, as long as the marriage is
consensual. Churches and religious entities should have no higher legal standing than individuals when it comes to defining marriage or performing weddings.

10 Points

8) Do you support the right for people to act as they wish in a private setting, with other consenting adults?

        Absolutely!

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. The actions described above were immoral and unlawful under the Constitution, the highest law in the United States. The officers involved should be warned and disciplined at the least. If they have a history of such behavior, they should be removed from the force and prosecuted.

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.

10 Points

Do you have an additional statement to make that is not covered by this questionnaire?  Use as much space as you wish.

        Some elements of my platform for San Francisco include:

* Let residents decide where their tax money goes.
* Remove laws that restrict skateboarding, rollerblading, and bicycling.  Allow these means of transportation to be used on city property such as colleges, sidewalks, etc.
* Authorize a volunteer effort by citizens to paint the Golden Gate Bridge golden, as recommended by SF Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlenghetti.
* Replace the city's business and occupational licensing systems with certification programs run by members of the community and voluntarily supported by local businesses and professionals.
* Require vandals and grafitti artists to pay restitution to the owners and tenants of the property they vandalize.
* Stop the legal prosecution of women and men who charge money for sexual services and eliminate the SFPD's Vice Squad
* Return public benches and similar conveniences removed in meanspirited attempts to make public places less hospitable to the homeless.
* Make it illegal to arrest people for feeding the homeless without a license.
* Refund money collected from parking tickets above and beyond a reasonable cost of enforcement to city drivers.
* Make public parks leash-free zones except for children's play areas.
* Amend city charter to require the repeal of one existing ordinance for each new ordinance added to the books and require each new law to include a sunset clause.
* Allow restaurants to place tables and chairs outside their places of business at will; allow individual sales of goods on city sidewalks
* Pass Homeownership for Tenants legislation to create more affordable housing by allowing apartment buildings to be legally subdivided into less expensive units
* Negotiate with housing developers to build underground traffic tunnels in exchange for the right to tear up the street surfaces above to make room for more apartments and housing. Require some of the newly available space to be converted to parks, plazas, etc.
* Invite the organizers of Burning Man to establish a permanent art and entertainment zone in the city

This section was not considered in the grading of the responses