Taxes
No one likes to pay taxes, but it is a necessary process that assists the Government to supply certain services to the general public.
I will work to lower taxes and prevent new taxes!
I support the collection of taxes to pay for only those services that the Government can show are beneficial to our citizens and are fiscally effective and responsible. I look forward to working for the people of Maryland to create a truly transparent financial record of State funds and spending.
I believe that special interest groups and lobbyists can be eliminated from Annapolis!
If financial records of the State were to be placed in public view where the citizens had the opportunity to see where tax dollars are wasted, the money needed for ‘pork projects’, or distributed to special interest groups or lobbyist organizations would necessarily disappear from the budjet. Once eliminating the need for tax dollars to be collected to cover these wasteful items, I believe taxes could easily be cut saving the individual citizen hundreds of dollars a year!
Gun Rights
I support the second amendment fully. Repeatedly crime statistics show that most violent crimes occur at the hands of an individual who has an unregistered, illegally purchased weapon. Law abiding citizens rarely commit violent crimes, hence the term, “law abiding”. Passing legislation making Maryland a “right to carry” state will reduce crime. I believe that there will be a significant reduction in violent crimes in Maryland once side arms are permitted to be carried legally in this state.
Common sense leads me to believe that a criminal is less likely to approach a person to attack or rob them if they know there is a chance they themselves could be shot. It is commonly known that a home is less likely to be robbed when there is a sign placed in the front yard announcing that you have a monitored security system. Now consider the same philosophy when it comes to having a weapon attached to your hip.
Current laws forbidding weapons on school property, in court rooms and other places should remain in effect. While I do support the second amendment, I also believe that all legally purchased and owned firearms should be registered with local or state law enforcement officials. In the event that an officer should enter a home for any reason (investigation of a crime, serving a warrant, etc) or should an officer make a traffic stop, he/she must be informed of any potential harm they may face when approaching the home or vehicle.
The Environment
The Chesapeake Bay watershed is wide reaching, but is greatly ignored and poorly protected outside of our State’s borders. Having lived in upstate New York, I remember the “Chesapeake Bay Watershed” signs being erected and an associated educational process set up to detail the importance of protecting the Bay. The general feeling back then still stands today. Many people in the watershed area don’t really care about what happens to a Bay that is hundreds of miles downstream from them.
Maryland needs to protect the Bay by returning to a process of educating and forcing the enforcement of state and federal laws so that the Bay will be protected from this point forward. We must also begin an extensive “Clean up the Bay” program. I will work with environmental agencies and groups, community organizations, businesses and individuals to clean up and clean out our streams, rivers and creeks that feed our Bay. I plan to work with organizations to set up a program to closely monitor waterways that feed the Bay from adjacent states. We need to evaluate where the pollutants are coming from so that we can eliminate the problem at its source, once and for all.
Our reservoirs, rivers, streams and creeks within our state must also be monitored carefully. An “Adopt a Waterway” program, similar to the “Adopt a Highway” program will be implemented or enhanced when my Maryland Environmental Makeover Bill is introduced. We will all work together to keep the waterways free of debris and pollutants.
We cannot stop with there; we must also become more aware of the littering that is rampant all over the state. Existing littering laws should be more strictly enforced.
I will work, along with other interested Maryland citizens to physically pick up the litter and clean up our state.
Foreign Policy
First, stop funding the United Nations, then the United States should leave the UN and evict them from the building that our tax dollars built for them. Billions of our tax dollars are wasted on yearly UN dues to assist countries that hate us! While I believe in helping our allies, it is a waste of our dollars and our soldiers lives to help countries who clearly have nothing but hate for the United States.
Our military should not be used as the UN Police Department. It is time for our military to be available to defend the United States and our allies such as Israel, and not bend to the United Nations’ requests.
Our Nations’ borders must be defended against the intrusion of those who seek to harm our lives and livelihood. Bring our troops home from the UN missions and allow them to defend our homeland. Send our troops overseas to assist our allies when we are asked for help, not when the UN says we need to go.