Former Office of the Midwest Governor (Closed as of January 7th, 2015)

[LeBron]

I'd also like to thank former Senator Snowstalker for proving he's a political opportunist. He clearly used this lawsuit for political gain and now he's going to attempt to knock me off in the next Althing election. Deplorable. That should be unconstitutional in itself, not our innocent, LGBT law. He claims to not be anti-gay, but now because of Snowstalker's selfish actions, people can viciously assault LGBT people without serious consequences and we can't provide counseling, programs and clubs to help alleviate the drop in suicides among LGBT youth. And our very own, beloved Senator TNF has backed Snowstalker and the Atlasia Supreme Court's heinous ruling. It's worth noting to that Snowstalker is running against two Althing members who are LGBT, so great to see Snowstalker express his true, anti-gay colors as if he were a Russian. Let's also remember his recent abandonment of the Labor Party as someone who was high up in the party's leadership and went off to start his own, socialistic, rebellious hoax of a party. That really shows a lack of trust and I think I speak for the Midwest when I say this is a Labor-friendly region; not a Karl Marx-friendly region.

Snowstalker is also responsible for damaging legislative time and activity with his uncalled for lawsuit, and is also planning a lawsuit against the MW Immigration & Integration Act to further scale back activity on the basis of "poor writing" and dissing our very own, hard-working Governor in saying "00:32   Snowstalker   windjambler literally just makes up numbers." Can we really elect someone who's that obstructionist? Someone who cares more about making himself look good while damaging this great region's reputation and slowing down time to debate, revise and vote on bills. Snowstalker is by no means a threat though and I'll continue to serve the great people of the Midwest to the best of my ability.

[LeBron]

Two things:

1) The Labor Party is a socialist party.

2) If the Midwest is not a "Karl Marx" friendly Region, it's interesting that it's elected a Marxist and admitted communist (that would be me) to the Senate three times now.

Because you want to make it one when in reality, the Labor Party will accept citizens and politicians with all ideologies left of center as long as we share a common goal towards the working and middle class and fight for liberal values. Addressing the second point, it's worth mentioning you only survived by one vote last time, Senator and it's because of people like me and former Rep. Brewer who were initially going to vote for strong campaigner and center-left Governor Lumine who you viciously attacked throughout calling a "fascist," spread lies about him, and went as far as to say in the race "I am going to win this race and rub each and every one of your faces in it. And I don't give a damn about bipartisanship, moderation, or all of those dumb buzzwords you think will win you an election." The Midwest can provide better leadership than you and I swear to God, should you win re-election, I will highly consider running against you in the primary in October and attempt to provide actual, liberal, but bipartisan leadership to the Midwest. RR1997 is running a horrible campaign, no doubt, but you very well might end up being the Eric Cantor of Atlasia. You might not see your defeat coming. Just saying.

btw, I encourage you to find whatever other communists you can to run against us for Althing next month because so far, two have announced since last night including your left-hand man who you endorsed, Snowstalker and none of them stand a chance in the world.

Hashomite is the other, and like Snowstalker, he is using his run as political leverage against the Midwest government as a whole. If I recall correctly, Hashomite has been COMPLETELY inactive in the Midwest besides writing a one-sentence, little-thought out question criticizing the MW LGBT Equality, Hate Crimes and Suicide Prevention Act and is just now declaring his candidacy. Like Snowstalker, Hashomite does not stand up for Labor values and identifies himself as "other" in political affiliation. That really doesn't help voters make a decision now does it? The only thing voters know about you so far is that you oppose a law that wouldn't tolerate school/job sexual orientation discrimination or physical or provoking hate crimes if proven and now LGBT kids considering suicide won't get the help they need.

That's why I encourage every Midwesterner to support me and Sol for re-election this July! We've both been committed to the work we've been doing for the past few months and unlike the Mideast, have been hard at work debating and passing bills that we best see fit for the region. We've gained criticism for our bill being poorly written, but keep in mind voters that there are plenty of bills that are poorly written all over Atlasia and the bill the Supreme Court struck down is just an exception. The Midwest needs honest leadership that will work across the aisle with the minority Federalist Party and that's what you can expect from us!

[LeBron]

[LeBron]

Here are my endorsements for all upcoming elections this week or within the next month or so (I'm not endorsing myself, but I do plan to run for re-election).

Endorsements

President/Vice President of Atlasia:
Pac. Governor DemPGH (L-WA)/MW Governor Windjammer (L-MN)

Regional Senators:

Northeast
Senator Bore (L-RI)

Mideast
Former Senator and Attorney General Ben (TPP-VA)

Midwest
Abstain

Pacific
Senator Tyrion (L-NM) (Not again, Flo :/)

IDS
Senator & President Pro Tempore North Carolina Yankee (F-NC)


Regional Governors

Northeast Governor
Former At-Large Senator Talleyrand (L-ME)

Mideast Governor
Abstain

Midwest Governor
MW Governor Windjammer (L-MN) (or, MW Archduke Arturo Belano (L-NE) should Windjammer be elected VP)

Pacific Governor
PA Governor DemPGH (L-WA) (or, PA Speaker Cranberry (L-BC) should DemPGH be elected President)

IDS Governor
IDS Emperor Scott (F-NC)


Regional Legislature Governments

Northeast Assembly
NE Representative SomebodyWhoExists (L-NY)
NE Representative Dr. Cynic (L-PA)
Former At-Large Senator Malcolm X (TPP-NY)

Mideast Assembly
Former Mideast Assemblyman Njall (L-MD) (If he runs)
Former Senator and Attorney General Ben (TPP-VA) (If he runs)
Former IDS Legislator Jack Enderman (F-IN)

Midwest Althing
MW Representative Sol (L-MT)
MW Representative Spamage (F-MN)

Pacific Council
PA Speaker & PA Councilor Cranberry (L-BC)
PA Councilor Flo (L-YT)
At-Large Senator Lumine (F-UT) (If he runs next time)
Game Moderator Simfan (TPP-CA) (If he runs next time)

IDS Legislature - Class A
IDS Legislator Oak Hills (I-TN)
IDS Legislator SJoyce (TPP-NC)

IDS Legislature - Class B
Abstain

[LeBron]

I don't think Napoleon is running for reelection to the NE Assembly

Hmm, I could have sworn he was accepting write-ins. Guess not. o__O

[LeBron]

Good morning Midwesterners!

Today's Election Day and a lot is at stake including who will control the Atlasian Senate after today and who will succeed The People's President Duke in the coming days. I encourage all of you to go out and show your support today for the Presidential ticket of DemPGH/Windjammer!

I also encourage all of you to cast a write-in vote or vote "None of the Above" in the Midwest Senate race because we can't allow Senator TNF to continue his blatant extremism and unwillingness to step down from the Senate. RR1997 is by no means a better alternative, but voting a write-in or NotA in the MW Senate race will be the best way to say that you want change in the Labor Party!

With that said, I'll get right to the up to date Senate and Governor results by region. These are mostly early returns. Lumine and Flo are doing an awesome job covering the Presidential race and you can check that coverage out here.

Northeast Senate: (40% turnout so far)
Senator Bore (L-RI): 59% (10 votes)
NE Speaker Deus Naturae (DR-NY): 41% (7 votes)

Mideast Senate: (29% turnout so far)
Senator DC Al Fine (F-MD): 61.5% (8 votes)
Former Mideast Assemblyman MadmanMotley (DR-IN): 23% (3 votes)
Former Senator and Attorney General Ben Constine (TPP-VA): 15% (2 votes)

IDS Senate: (33% turnout so far)
Senator North Carolina Yankee (F-NC): 56% (5 votes)
IDS Legislator Maxwell (DR-LA): 44% (4 votes)

Midwest Senate: (39% turnout so far)
Senator TNF (L-MT): 42% (5 votes)
Midwest Citizen and 200 Post Count Achiever RR1997 (F-IA): 58% (7 votes)

Pacific Senate: (27% turnout so far)
Senator Tyrion (L-NM): 12.5% (1 vote)
Secretary of External Affairs Superique (TPP-AK): 12.5% (1 vote)
Pacific Councilor Flo (NPA-YT): 75% (6 votes)

Midwest Governor: (26% turnout so far)
Midwest Governor Windjammer (L-MN): 100% (8 votes)
Write-in: Mechaman (L-IL): 0% (0 votes; Ineligible due to belonging to the Mideast region)

Northeast Governor: (17% turnout so far)
Former At-Large Senator Talleyrand (L-ME): 71% (5 votes)
Write-in: Mean Old Uncle Alfred (At-Large Senator Alfred F. Jones) (L-RI): 14% (1 vote)
Write-in: Northeast Governor Dallasfan65 (DR-NY): 14% (1 vote)

Northeast Assembly: (17% turnout so far)
NE Representative BaconBacon96 (DR-NY): 0% (0 votes)
NE Representative SomebodyWhoExists (L-NY): 43% (3 votes)
Northeast Citizen Rpryor03 (F-NJ): 14% (1 vote)
Write-in (Declared): NE Representative Dr. Cynic (L-PA): 14% (1 vote)
Write-in (Declared): Former At-Large Senator Malcolm X (TPP-NY): 0% (0 votes)
Write-in: Vice President Cincinnatus (TPP-NY): 14% (1 vote)
Write-in: NE Representative and Lieutenant Governor Napoleon (L-NY): 0% (0 votes)
Write-in: Mean Old Uncle Alfred (At-Large Senator Alfred F. Jones) (L-RI): 14% (1 vote)

IDS Legislature: (37% turnout so far)
District 1:
IDS Legislator Maxwell (DR-LA): 60% (3 votes)
Former Senator Pingvin (F-TX): 40% (2 votes)

District 2:
IDS Legislator Jbrase (DR-TN): 60% (3 votes)
Write-in: IDS Speaker Dereich (F-SC): 40% (2 votes)

*Note: Wolverine's vote will likely be discarded, so I didn't count that in the tally.
*Bold = Projected winner
*Last person to vote - Warner for Senate '14 (Ben Constine)

[LeBron]

Thank you for running this, Adam.

No problem!

It's back up to date now with the last vote counted being yours in the General Election/NE Region threads.

[LeBron]

The first results are in for Decision 2014!

The decision desk can project 4 wins at this time: 3 are Labor, 1 is Democratic Republican.

In the Midwest, MW Governor Windjammer unanimously gets re-elected today by his constituents! A popular Governor at home, he's worked across the aisle and has put a lot of dedication into the region. He's currently running with DemPGH for President, and whatever ends up happening, this is a Labor hold.

In the Northeast, it's projected that Talleyrand, a popular, former Senator will win this seat tonight to succeed the retiring Democratic-Republican Governor Dallasfan65 who's running for Vice President alongside Presidential candidate SirNick. This is a huge pickup for the Labor Party! Down-ballot, 5 seats are being contested for the new Northeast Assembly, and the first projected winner will be incumbent SomebodyWhoExists; a Laborite who stands a pretty good chance at being the next NE Speaker. That seat will be a Labor hold in the Assembly.

And in the IDS, no surprise here, but Democratic-Republican IDS Legislator Jbrase easily gets re-elected in his new, 2nd district which contains Arkansas, Tennessee (his home state), Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. No word yet if Maxwell can survive his challenger in the 1st District, but for now, Jbrase's seat shall be characterized as a Democratic-Republican hold.


Interestingly enough, this now means with Talley's win that Labor will hold 3 of the 5 Governorships in Atlasia! If DemPGH/Windjammer do get elected, they're very likely to be succeeded by two, other great Laborites in Cranberry and Arturo Belano, respectively.

All of the Senate races are characterized as too close to call, but we're getting the vote in pretty fast.

[LeBron]

Two small nitpicks: you said Dallasfan is running for president with Sirnick, while he's actually running for vice president, and you have BaconBacon96 as maroon but he should be teal.

Otherwise, this looks great, and thanks for doing it!

Thanks. Those are fixed!

A few quick comments on each Senate race.

Northeast Senate - Senator Bore has had a small lead throughout and Speaker Deus just might not be able to draw the Ace he needs to win this. Fed/DR voters have nearly maxed out and Bore just needs to capitalize on this.

Mideast Senate - I'm not prepared to project it yet for DC Al Fine given there's still a lot of vote out there in the region, but Senator Al Fine is definitely favored right now to be re-elected.

IDS Senate - Really just too close to call. We might not know the results of this race until at least tomorrow.

Midwest Senate - TNF is starting to recover a little, but he's going to need a handful more Laborites to vote for him if he's going to pull this off in what literally is a veteran vs. rookie match-up.

Pacific Senate - Flo is surprisingly beginning to pull this race into his grasp, but there's still roughly 2/3rd's of Pacificians yet to vote and Labor still has the power to get Senator Tyrion the support he desperately needs.

[LeBron]

Here's the new, updated results! (Sorry, I was gone most of the day).

Northeast Senate: (57% turnout so far)
Senator Bore (L-RI): 54% (13 votes)
NE Speaker Deus Naturae (DR-NY): 42% (10 votes)
Write-in: Northeast Governor Dallasfan65 (DR-NY): 4% (1 vote)

Mideast Senate: (36% turnout so far)
Senator DC Al Fine (F-MD): 44% (7 votes)
Former Mideast Assemblyman MadmanMotley (DR-IN): 25% (4 votes)
Former Senator and Attorney General Ben Constine (TPP-VA): 25% (4 votes)
Write-in: Former Mideast Assemblyman Franzl (TPP-IL): 6% (1 vote)

IDS Senate: (44% turnout so far)
Senator North Carolina Yankee (F-NC): 50% (6 votes)
IDS Legislator Maxwell (DR-LA): 50% (6 votes)

Midwest Senate: (55% turnout so far)
Senator TNF (L-MT): 53% (9 votes)
Midwest Citizen and 200 Post Count Achiever RR1997 (F-IA): 47% (8 votes)

Pacific Senate: (50% turnout so far)
Senator Tyrion (L-NM): 20% (3 votes)
Secretary of External Affairs Superique (TPP-AK): 27% (4 votes)
Pacific Councilor Flo (NPA-YT): 53% (8 votes)

Midwest Governor: (35% turnout so far)
Midwest Governor Windjammer (L-MN): 91% (10 votes)
Write-in: Mechaman (L-IL): 0% (0 votes; Ineligible due to belonging to the Mideast region)
Write-in: Senator TNF (L-MT): 9% (1 vote)

Northeast Governor: (33% turnout so far)
Former At-Large Senator Talleyrand (L-ME): 71% (10 votes)
Write-in: Mean Old Uncle Alfred (At-Large Senator Alfred F. Jones) (L-RI): 7% (1 vote)
Write-in: Northeast Governor Dallasfan65 (DR-NY): 7% (1 vote)
Write-in: Former Northeast Assemblyman Cinyc (I-NY): 7% (1 vote)
Write-in: Secretary of Federal Elections Homelycooking (I-CT): 7% (1 vote)

Northeast Assembly: (33% turnout so far)
NE Representative BaconBacon96 (DR-NY): 0% (0 votes)
NE Representative SomebodyWhoExists (L-NY): 21% (3 votes)
Northeast Citizen Rpryor03 (F-NJ): 21% (3 votes)
Write-in (Declared): NE Representative Dr. Cynic (L-PA): 14% (2 votes)
Write-in (Declared): Former At-Large Senator Malcolm X (TPP-NY): 14% (2 votes)
Write-in: Vice President Cincinnatus (TPP-NY): 7% (1 vote)[/color]
Write-in: NE Representative and Lieutenant Governor Napoleon (L-NY): 14% (2 votes)
Write-in: Mean Old Uncle Alfred (At-Large Senator Alfred F. Jones) (L-RI): 7% (1 vote)

IDS Legislature: (41% turnout so far)
District 1:
IDS Legislator Maxwell (DR-LA): 67% (4 votes)
Former Senator Pingvin (F-TX): 33% (2 votes)

District 2:
IDS Legislator Jbrase (DR-TN): 60% (3 votes) (Dropped out)
Write-in: IDS Speaker Dereich (F-SC): 40% (2 votes)

*Note: Wolverine's vote will likely be discarded, so I didn't count that in the tally.
*Bold = Projected winner
*Last person to vote - Winfield

In the IDS Legislature, I made a 2000-like gaffe and Jbrase is actually not the projected winner and is not even in the running anymore. The projection has now been reversed and it seems that Speaker Dereich will in fact win the 2nd District seat barring anything unforeseen.

No Senate race has been called yet, but right now, it's looking as though all seats (w/the exception of IDS Senate which is too close) are favored to stay in the incumbent's party control including Flo's which is a stunning upset over Sen. Tyrion, but nonetheless would be a Labor hold.

[LeBron]

1) There shall be a 3 max limit on the number of bills proposed at a time.

2) There are 3 Representatives of the Althing, so a tie is unlikely, but in the case there is one such as 1 Aye, 1 Nay and 1 Abstain or 1 Aye and 1 Nay or 1 Aye and 1 Abstain or some combination of that, I will break the tie which will determine if the amendment or the bill passes.

3) Should a bill get a majority of votes (2/3) needed, I will send the bill to the Governor via his office. If the Governor vetoes the bill and if I disagree with his decision and I think it would be possible for it to be overriden, I will attempt to override his veto in the Althing where a 3/3 vote is needed to override the veto.

4) On amendments to a bill, to avoid an occasion where a simple majority is not obtained, a 48 hour limit will be set on how long the amendment can be voted on.

5) On a final version of the bill, a 72 hour limit will be set on how long the bill can be voted on, should the Speaker choose to bring it to the floor for a final vote.

6) Bills are often sat on for very long, extended periods of time with nothing getting done as of late (though that's mainly b/c currently Spamage resigned unexpectedly and Sol's busy IRL), but anyways, to avoid instances like that, I will implement either a one or two week rule on how long a bill can stay on the floor.

With the Althing starting to get back up and running, I'm just going to repost the Speaker rules for this and the upcoming session of the Althing from the OP of my campaign thread. If you guys have any other suggestions, feel free to post them here or send me a quick PM!

Hopefully, we don't have to resort towards a merge and I have a lot of faith Althing activity will improve greatly under my tenure. It will be fun working with you guys these next few months.

[LeBron]

Midwesterners, I encourage you all to remember this quote by Hashemite when you go to the polling place tomorrow for the Althing race.

What the hell is this crap?

His only contribution that he has ever made to an Althing thread to date and that's dissing on a bill that would have provided much needed assistance to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kids considering suicide, outlawed discrimination when the intent is done on the base of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and would have established hate crime and gender bathroom laws. And yet, he unbelievably told me earlier that he would definitely be active if you guys elect him.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Don't buy into Hash's claims that he'll be a loyal, trustworthy and active Rep. A vote for Hashemite is essentially a vote for Snowstalker. Remember that.

[LeBron]

Wow......

So in case you guys haven't seen it yet, fellow Laborite and Midwest Governor, Arturo Belano, has effectively resigned from his position after being elected to fill out VP Windjammer's term last month. Arturo certainly could have been a great Governor and our legislature had great potential in this session under him, but I thank him on his long service to this region and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Our region still has some minor setbacks with inactivity and that may have been a contributing factor to his resignation, but I'll make sure to do all I can to get an active and transparent government, even if that means supplying our queue with more bills or consulting the Midwest Constitution to justify amendments to be brought to the people for a vote or question the inactivity among certain Althing members if necessary. Shortly down the road, I do have a certain......constitutional issue to bring up with another one of our Representatives, but that's all I'll say for now.

Therefore, with former Governor Arturo Belano's resignation, an election for the open seat of Midwest Governor will be held on August 19th, 10 days from when Arturo resigned. I do intend to run for Governor on the Labor Party and if elected, I promise to bring us back to the Windjammer era of activity and common sense reforms with a continued focus on moderate and bipartisan approaches to our bills. We need a moderate in the Governor's Mansion in Cheesewhiz again who will fight for the minorities and poor and middle class!

Should I be elected Governor in the coming days, I already have someone in mind to replace me as Midwest Archduke when that time comes who I believe is highly qualified and a committed person to the region. Should there be any seats to be filled in the Althing from that point on then, feel free to PM me or state your interest in my office, but I already have one possible contender in mind.

That will be all and God bless the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest.

Thank you,
LeBron FitzGerald, Midwest Speaker of the Althing of the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest

[LeBron]

Good evening, Midwesterners.

Because of the recent, stunning announcement of Arturo's resignation as Midwest Governor, I've thought long and hard and decided I won't be pulling a Josh Mandel in October. In other words, I won't be running for Senate, but rather, I will stay committed to a region whose people, government and constitution I know much better.

While TNF certainly isn't the most popular Senator in his party and many of his bills flat-out suck, I realize that a Labor primary to him would only further split the party among the true left and the moderate wing, and that TNF's threshold of power within the party cannot be overcome. I just don't have the record of being a bystander of activity in the Senate, either and seeing as how much time and pressure that's put on the Senators, I can't be devoting a lot of time to the Senate that comes in being a Senator considering my personal life.

So I won't be running now, in October, or December, and I know plenty of guys like SWE, oakvale, Simfan or TNF himself will be deeply saddened that there won't be a TNF-LeBron FitzGerald battle. However, I will heavily support and campaign for whoever the challenger is that arises to him in October as he's only become more toxic ever since June with the guillotine bill or now that he's PPT, allowing a gateway drug to be used by elected politicians on the Senate floor. I'll be more focused on continuing to revive the Midwest region with soon-to-be Archduke Cris and others if it's not revived by then already and serving the Midwest to the best of my ability.

Thank you,
LeBron FitzGerald, Midwest Speaker of the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest

[LeBron]

*Applauds*

Good luck with your time as Governor, Adam.

Thanks!

Well, being Governor of the Midwest is not really an easy job but it can certainly be very rewarding and fun with the right circumstances and the right attitude. Having a good council is crucial indeed, and I had the advantage of having people like Cris and GAworth serving there, but I hope that you will be able to help the region with the activity problems it has faced over the last few months. It's indeed sad to see that you won't be challenging TNF, but best of luck, Adam!

Oh yeah, I agree. Both are very demanding offices that require a lot of attention and activity. I'm prepared to be a very active Governor, but the Senate just doesn't seem to be for me, at least for now.

[LeBron]

As stated in my thread:

Endorsed for Governor

Also, while I'm here, I just opened the voting booth for the Candidacy Withdrawal Amendment that recently passed the Senate. It basically gives regional executives a much-needed heads up on who withdraws and who doesn't and it benefits declared candidates in the long run to who no longer wish to be on the ballot. The voting is open for a week, so go vote between now and August 22nd!

[LeBron]

Two votes are now before the Midwest. One is the Bicameral Birthing Amendment that passed the Senate which would establish a lower house and decrease the aggregate of Senators from 10 to 6. If it passes 4 of the 5 regions and it meets with the requirements of 3, consolidated regions, then it will be fully amended in the Atlasian Constitution. Vote whatever you like on this, and that voting booth can be found here. This will be a 7 day vote.

Just a few days before the At-Large Senate elections begin, we also have a special election to replace Arturo Belano as Midwest Governor. I'm the only declared candidate in this race and I encourage you all to give me your top preference in this race! I'm continuing to set out to make this region strong once again and a vote for me is a vote for progress and a no to a merge. This vote can be found here. This will be a 5 day vote.

[LeBron]

Now onto a more important matter, it's come to my attention that there has been an unfortunate school shooting within our region involving the deaths of 5 children who certainly would have had great futures within the Midwest. I condemn this shooting, but I will have a full speech later tonight on this including laying out a new, much-needed gun control proposal for the Midwest.

[LeBron]

Speaker FitzGerald approaches the podium in front of the gunned down school as he gets applauded by parents, mostly teachers and adults, in the crowd.

Thank you all who came here tonight in Colorado Springs, Colorado; three nights after the lives of 5 kids were taken as well as 13 injured with the shooter himself committing suicide. Obviously, the death of anyone from our region is tragic, but these were 5 kids who were destined for great things and would have contributed something great down the road as part of this region's future. I'm aware there are some of you here tonight who are mourning the loss of your children, the loss of friends, injured relatives, and friends and teachers you know who were physically or emotionally hurt in this travesty.

One things for sure though; action will be taken. I have my eyes set on passing a strict gun control bill which many from the right will surely oppose, but it is necessary as many studies show that gun control is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of unfortunate instances such as this. Atlasia does already have some gun legislation, but it's basic laws at that including the creation of a registry, closing the background check loophole, requiring licenses for hunting, banning gun access to those with mental illnesses and criminals with past records etc. and we need to go one step further. Our former Governor was pro-gun, and I'll admit, while I am an outspoken opponent of guns, I do not support an all-out gun ban as it would be in direct violation of the Constitution, but the Constitution, which says nothing about prohibiting the regulation of guns can be worked around for an effective piece of legislation.

I'm vowing right now that if the bill I'm drafting does pass the Althing, I will follow suit in the lines of the great Lincoln Chafee, a man of bipartisan accomplishments, and sign it into law right outside by the steps of the legislature upon it's passage.

Here are the main five components of the bill known as F.A.N.G.O among more to come in the actual legislation:

F - FIGHT 1) Supplying government aid to help improve and hire more law enforcement and security officials to help oversee our schools. As a college student myself, I've seen first-hand that having armed security guards outside and inside the perimeters is a first step towards ending gun violence. Other aid will go towards mandatory buzz-ins with scanned identification of said person, built-in video cameras and trigger alarms around the school, and mandatory metal detectors in all public places.

A - AGAINST 2) Require that all parents of children have their firearms properly locked and concealed with a trigger lock and/or ensure that the gun is unloaded and disassembled. More than 43% of careless parents keep their firearms unlocked and easily accessible to children which the New England Journal of Medicine stated children are more likely to die from than cancer. It is unintentional when young kids kill themselves or someone else, and most of them don't know any better, but their parents or guardians do know better than that.

N - NEEDLESS 3) Ban high capacity magazines with more than 3 rounds of ammo and prohibit the carrying of more than 10 rounds of ammo at a time within the confines of your home. France has a law similar to this and their gun death rates are much lower than those of our country. If Lanza's mother did not have the unneeded 1,700 rounds of ammo that she had, there would have been much smaller destruction and violence to this day with fewer deaths.

G - GUN 4) Require 180-day waiting periods before someone can obtain the gun they purchased and keep a database of people who purchased guns, limiting them to one gun purchase per 6 months. This would give police the chance to run much more thorough background checks on the buyer's history and whether or not they can legally own a gun as well as ensuring that one individual or group doesn't legally possess too many guns at one time. This would drastically reduce gun violence in our community.

O - OWNERSHIP 5) Prohibiting the ability to carry a concealed gun into all public places. All private firearms will be restricted to the household of the owner of the firearm(s). This does sound intrusive, however, the Atlasian Constitution gives the "right to keep and bear arms" which, if you take word for word, would still be constitutional. To "keep" an arm speaks for itself; this part of the bill would not restrict that in any way, and to "bear" an arm is to convey, or carry, it. This bill would still allow for the firearm to be carried; as long as it's within the confines of the home.

Let me tell you this everyone. No person should need a gun to defend themselves. There's a reason why we have a wonderfully, trained, trusted and well-respected law enforcement and military to protect us. We should have faith that they'll use their firearms in a respectful and lawful manner and protect themselves, but first and foremost, protect our citizens from harm.

For those upset that you can't kill animals, you can always buy targets and maybe even some dartboards and use your gun for that, but in our region, there will be no citizen killing Bambi anymore with an AK-47 or a shotgun or any gun for that matter. The gun was initially created by the Chinese in barbaric fashion and it still is used in that way. How can we as a society justify the manslaughter of our own people or for that matter the killing of our beautiful creatures brought to us to live in harmony; not in pain? There is a road to peace, but we just have to find it and be willing to act on it. Other nations have evolved on this issue, but we haven't. The intent of the gun has always been to kill which is not only a crime against the government, but a crime against God.

Knock the walls down, Midwesterners. If you want change in our region's gun laws, let your voices be heard! We will do this together and defeat the gun touters of this region in the name of liberalism, but for now, my and presumably my colleagues deepest condolences and sympathy go towards the fallen victims of this incident.

Thank you, and God Bless the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest.

Midwest Speaker LeBron FitzGerald, incoming Governor of the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest

[LeBron]

A friendly question for the Governor-elect from another region: what do you project will be the economic impact of banning what is, nationally, a $23 billion industry, from your region?

We're not flat-out going to ban guns. People can still legally purchase guns and own them as the Constitution states, just there are some additional regulations in this bill. The only side-effects are that this will cause less revenue to be brought in and there would be some gun businesses that would move elsewhere, but our regional economy is in great shape nonetheless. It's nothing to worry about.

Gun violence itself causes $2.3 billion in economic damage per year, so economically, there is a loss in revenue either way. When I take this issue on, I consider the social aspects of it much more, which should be the case.

[LeBron]

On a quick note, tomorrow the polls close in the special gubernatorial election, and I will be inaugurated from our capital in South Dakota as the next Midwest Governor. One way or another, my statement that FitzGerald would be elected Governor did come true this year.

[LeBron]

South Dakota House Speaker Brian Gosch introduces the Governor-elect, LeBron FitzGerald, in the South Dakota state legislative chamber in Pierre, South Dakota as colleagues, officials, and citizens look on and applaud.

Thank you! I would like to thank right away Mr. Gosch for inviting me here tonight to deliver my address. I would also like to thank Mr. Daugaard for serving the good people of this state's capital and understanding what real transparency looks like. But most of all, I would like to thank all of you who have the faith in me to lead this entire region, and who voted for me over this past weekend. You guys are all great and it's an honor to be here tonight giving you the opportunity to hear my plan to make the Midwest strong again!

I've been with this region since only February of this year, but in just 6 months, I went from being a resident to becoming the head leader of the region. But you know what? I'm not the only leader. You guys are all leaders to in your own individual ways as well in the progressive ideals this region advocates for, and you should all be very proud of yourselves. 

If it wasn't for Governor Windjammer from the start, I would not be standing here before you today as the Midwest Governor. I cannot thank him enough for giving me such a great opportunity back then to be in the Althing, and it was during that time that we saw the kind of cross-over support that's very rare at a federal level. Unemployment decreased by 0.2% in the Midwest during my time in the Althing and we did so by using funds towards useful social programs and to promote our region and also create good paying jobs.

That way has worked in the past and present and it's all thanks to bipartisanship. It will undoubtedly work in the future, to. You know, earlier today, the current acting IDS Governor, Dereich, called me a maverick, or independent member, of my party, and that couldn't be anymore true. I voted for GAworth and Lumine in this Senate election and I oppose the current Labor majority. I'm not going to be a hack for a Labor Party that's shifting towards left-wing extremism. I won't be running against Senator TNF in October, but I will back whoever his challenger is; someone who's more pragmatic and open to debate in a deadlocked Senate. I'm in the party to stay, but I'm a politician for the people, not the party. You can better believe that the federal government will in no way influence how I govern this region!

Our plan over the next month or so leading up to the September elections involves a reform of the Althing through an amendment I may bring to a popular vote if I can encourage enough citizens in our region to seek office. I'll be the primary updater of our regional Wiki, as well. We need a more representative government and this would certainly help boost activity and strengthen our economy. Furthermore, our current legislative agenda entails prohibiting texting while driving to prevent fatal car crashes, supplying the $1B in aid granted by the feds to help reduce poverty by creating more shelters and jobs for the impoverished, and a common sense gun control proposal in response to the Colorado shooting. All of these are of utmost importance to our society. You guys are more than welcome to take part in the debates and express new ideas or concerns you could have before the Althing. My office is usually open, to and this is what my Governorship will be about. A Governor FitzGerald is a governor for the poor and middle class, for our discriminated against minorities, and for hope.

We will lead our region on the road to recovery and one of the ways to do that is avoid the unfortunate communist route this region has gone down before. With a moderate Labor Governor and a moderate Federalist Archduke, we'll be able to work together while both avoiding one-party control and avoiding deep polarization. When it comes down to it, people will be looking towards the Midwest when they consider what compromise is all about.

Thank you, and God Bless the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest.

Governor LeBron FitzGerald walks off from the Speaker's podium as he heads out of the chamber with large applause; shaking hands and talking with officials on his way out.

[LeBron]

Hey guys! Thanks for joining me here tonight at the reception after my 89-11 victory for Governor. Please help yourself to all of the non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, and no smoking please. I thought this would be the perfect time to announce what everyone's been waiting for: who's replacing Cris in the Assembly.

Well, before I say who that is, let me just commend Representative Cris for his long-standing commitment to this region and his willingness to work across party lines. I've said this before and I'll say it again, there's nobody more deserving to be Archduke than him and I know he'll do a great job overseeing the Althing. I appoint Cris to be the next Midwest Archduke.

With that said, this man I'm about to name has expressed interest in being in the Althing once again and he's highly qualified for the job. He's a man of great integrity, a strong, active campaigner with a phenomenal agenda, and is a warm-hearted individual. I'm talking about former Secretary of Internal Affairs, GAworth of the P.E.A.C.E Party! Upon Cris's resignation as a Most Serene Representative, I hereby appoint GAworth to that vacant seat.

There may be another seat in the Althing to be vacated soon as well, but I won't mention that, yet. Not to ruin the party, but our regional Constitution does state that a special election is to be held for Archduke and Most Serene Representative if the seats are vacant more than 30 days from the next election, however, that's not the case. The next Archduke-Althing elections are on September 18th, which is less than 30 days from now, so per the MW Constitution, special elections will not need to be held for either two of these seats.

Here is my campaign spokesman to read the aforementioned amendments that state this. Have a great rest of your night everyone!

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[LeBron]

Thanks for the appointment!
Can I resign as Representative and swear as Archduke or first we need the Althing vote?

I just noticed, this amendment actually has some loopholes that make this hard to interpret. The bolded parts are those that pertain to this situation.

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And c) and d) again:

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So what I'm going to do is, you can swear in as Archduke and resign as a Representative since the region is supposed to have one at all times. Once GAworth swears in then, a thread can be opened then to get "the approval given by the Althing" for you as Archduke. And there will be no special election because the next Archduke election is Sept. 18th, less than 30 days which applies to Subsection 4.

[LeBron]

^^No problem guys. Well, there were some tensions over my vote for Lumine, but that's been solved.

As many of you in this region know, the next Althing elections, coinciding with the Archduke election, are in less than 3 weeks, starting Sept. 18th. I've been actively trying to see who and who isn't interested in running, with a handful declining so far and others who need more time to decide. If anyone who's registered in this region would like to be in the Althing, please declare your candidacy for the upcoming elections soon! There may be a vacant seat to fill shortly, to, so there's also that.

Also, even though I'm very busy IRL with school, work, friends etc., I promised the Midwest a transparent government and I won't go back on that promise like Scott Walker did. I'll still be greatly involved in the Althing in debates and will offer redrafts, amendments and plenty of new bills to debate over.

I also gave my Wiki page a much needed edit and I will be the new regular updater of the Midwest's main page/sub-pages and Midwest statute page. I haven't gotten to the latter yet, but I will very soon.

Thanks everyone, and let's continue to keep the Midwest strong!