where do you stand on these social issues?

[Ebowed]

gay marriage? Yes
abortion? Yes
legalized gambling? Yes
prostitution? No
prayer in school? No
school uniforms? No
drug legalization? Yes
gun control? No
affirmative action? No
speed limits? No
death penalty? No
mandatory minimum sentencing? No

[Frodo]

gay marriage  -support

abortion -support keeping it safe, legal, and rare

legalized gambling -support

legalized prostitution -support

school uniforms -depends

school prayer -if mandated by the state or led by teachers, i would strongly and unalterably oppose it. if it is truly voluntary and led by students, i would support it on condition that other faiths like Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Wicca (among others) be allowed to pray on school grounds.

drug legalization -i support legalizing marijuana in both its medicinal value as well as for recreational use, as well as using treatment instead of punishment for first time and repeat drug users.  i would not support support en masse legalization of all drugs outside 'soft drugs' like marijuana or LSD, or acid. 

gun control -should be left up to each locality to decide.

affirmative action -i would support if its emphasis were placed on socio-economic background instead of race.

speed limits -support

death penalty -oppose

manadatory minimum sentencing -oppose

Gay Marriage- borrowing from another thread: I oppose gay marriage as I strongly believe that only one man and one woman can marry each other.  That said, I support the right of same-sex couples to adopt children, as well as having all the other rights and benefits that heterosexual couples have.

Abortion- This is a matter best left to the states to decide, and not the courts.

Personally, I oppose late term, as well as third and second trimester abortions in all cases.  For first trimester abortions, I would support their legality provided teenaged girls are required to notify their parents, guardians, or partners (in the case of married or co-habiting women -their husbands/boyfriends) before they go through with the procedure, and only in the case of rape, incest, or to preserve the life of the woman.

To ensure abortion rates are kept to a minimum, I support cutting down on the number of unplanned pregnancies by making contraceptives readily available.  I support comprehensive sex education which combines a number of approaches ranging from learning about the male and female reproductive anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV-AIDS, knowledge of various condoms and contraceptives to abstinence, and fatherhood initiatives which impress upon teenaged males their responsibility to help raise the child that they had helped bring into being.  I also strongly support encouraging girls and women who are in no position to care for the infants to whom they gave birth to give childless couples who want kids the opportunity to adopt and raise them instead as foster children.     

Legalized Gambling- Support

Legalized Prostitution- Oppose

School Uniforms- Support

School Prayer - Not much different from my original statement more than a year ago, but I support it, as long as it is led by students and not by faculty or the school administration.

Drug Legalization - While I support continuing the ongoing war on drugs (lending support to Colombia to wipe out coca plantations, cracking down on drug lords, etc.), marijuana is one such drug that should not be included on the list of illicit drugs.  It is no more as addictive as tobacco, and has medicinal properties to redeem it in a way tobacco does not.  So I support either the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana for both medicinal as well as recreational purposes.  The DEA has better things to do than to hunt down users, producers, and distributors of pot when heroin, methamphetamines, and other such drugs pose a far more serious risk to the fabric of our society.

Gun Control - Oppose: the Second Amendment was intended to be seen as protecting an individual right as with all the other original ten amendments that comprised the Bill of Rights when it was added to the Constitution -given this context it makes little sense to interpret it otherwise, imagining that the word 'militia' connotes only a governmentally-organized body like the National Guard.  In addition, I sharply disagree with attempts by some to restrict this right only for hunting and fishing purposes when the intent of the amendment was clearly to give citizens the means with which to overthrow their government in the improbable (but not impossible) event that the federal government becomes tyrannical and an enemy to the Constitution.  Our republic can only last as long as we have an armed citizenry to act as the ultimate check on our government.

Affirmative Action - Same as in my original post: I oppose race and ethnic-based affirmative action, but would be more inclined to support it if emphasis is placed on one's socio-economic background, especially in this age of rising tuition and falling government support for student grants and loans programs.

Speed Limits - Support

Death Penalty - Support.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing -Support

[dazzleman]

gay marriage? oppose; support limited civil unions
abortion?  oppose generally; would leave issue up to states
legalized gambling? oppose
prostitution?  oppose
prayer in school?  support voluntary prayer, moments of silence
school uniforms? support if local district supports
drug legalization? oppose
gun control? support limited gun control measures
affirmative action? generally oppose; could support in certain limited circumstances
speed limits? support speed limits but favor raising them in many cases
death penalty? support in extreme cases
mandatory minimum sentencing? support

no changes

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  Oppose but its a cold button issue
legalized gambling? support
prostitution? support
prayer in school?  I favor a truly neutral stance on it. IUf students want to pray on their own that's fine with me.
school uniforms? oppose
drug legalization? support but only for marihuana, shrooms, LSD, ecstasy and other s. would support nazi/stalinist measures to deal with cocaine/heroin/crack/meth including mass arrests and firebombing of US urban ghettoes from the air
gun control? oppose
affirmative action? oppose
speed limits? oppose
death penalty? oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing? support

[TomC]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  support keeping it legal
legalized gambling? support for private sector, not govt sponsored
prostitution? support
prayer in school?  oppose organized prayer, support students' right to pray individually
school uniforms? oppose
drug legalization? support pot decriminalization, nothing else
gun control? generaly oppose
affirmative action? support
speed limits? support
death penalty? mixed, but support in very limited manner
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  support keeping it legal
legalized gambling? support for private sector, not govt sponsored
prostitution? support
prayer in school?  oppose organized prayer, support students' right to pray individually
school uniforms? oppose
drug legalization? support pot decriminalization, nothing else
gun control? generaly oppose
affirmative action? support
speed limits? support
death penalty? mixed, but support in very limited manner
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

Oh good so you're a sane when it comes to drug issues. The main problem the pro-legalization mvoement has is thatr we stupidly tie ourselves by associating with people who favor legalzing coke/crack/meth.

[Colin]

gay marriage: Support
abortion?  Against Rowe but pro-choice
legalized gambling: Support
prostitution:  Support
prayer in school:  Oppose
school uniforms: Don't care. I have no opinion either way.
drug legalization: For Marijuana legalization. Other drugs no.
gun control: Oppose though I believe that States should be able to introduce gun control and other gun laws as they see fit as long as guns aren't outlawed.
affirmative action: Outlived it's purpose. Oppose
speed limits: Oppose
death penalty: Oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing: Oppose

[dazzleman]

gay marriage: Support
abortion?  Against Rowe but pro-choice
legalized gambling: Support
prostitution:  Support
prayer in school:  Oppose
school uniforms: Don't care. I have no opinion either way.
drug legalization: For Marijuana legalization. Other drugs no.
gun control: Oppose though I believe that States should be able to introduce gun control and other gun laws as they see fit as long as guns aren't outlawed.
affirmative action: Outlived it's purpose. Oppose
speed limits: Oppose
death penalty: Oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing: Oppose

Do you really think there should be no speed limits anywhere, Colin?

[Colin]

gay marriage: Support
abortion?  Against Rowe but pro-choice
legalized gambling: Support
prostitution:  Support
prayer in school:  Oppose
school uniforms: Don't care. I have no opinion either way.
drug legalization: For Marijuana legalization. Other drugs no.
gun control: Oppose though I believe that States should be able to introduce gun control and other gun laws as they see fit as long as guns aren't outlawed.
affirmative action: Outlived it's purpose. Oppose
speed limits: Oppose
death penalty: Oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing: Oppose

Do you really think there should be no speed limits anywhere, Colin?

No I was really joking with that. I wouldn't mind some sort of autobahn like system in the United States though. It could be seperate from the Interstate system, be for members or people who take courses in high speed driving only, and have the roadway made in the exact way as the autobahn in order to ensure the highest amount of safety for users.

[True Democrat]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  support keeping it legal in the 1st trimester, 2nd and 3rd only for incest, rape, etc.
legalized gambling? support
prostitution?  support legalization, but highly restricted to certain areas
prayer in school?  oppose
school uniforms? undecided, leave to each school
drug legalization? oppose except on marijuana, again, highly regulated with high taxes
gun control? generally support
affirmative action? oppose race based, undecided on income based
speed limits? support
death penalty? support for terrorists and mass murderes like BTK killer
mandatory minimum sentencing? undecided

[J. J.]

gay marriage? Left to the states; would possibly support civil unions, if the details could be worked out.
abortion?  States should have a greater role in regulating, but would not support banning
legalized gambling? With solid state regulation, yes.
prostitution?  With health regulations, yes.
prayer in school?  Support voluntary prayer
school uniforms? support
drug legalization? Support treatment options, probably would legalize pot.
gun control? Strongly oppose for honest, sane, adults.
affirmative action?  Generally oppose, except to correct past discrimination
speed limits? Support where applicable.
death penalty? Support
mandatory minimum sentencing? Oppose.  Support tougher judges that will tailor there decisions to the circumstance.

[riceowl]

gay marriage? support civil unions, not marriage
abortion?  legal only for risk to mother's life / rape
legalized gambling? support
prostitution? oppose, i guess.
prayer in school?  what kind of prayer in school?  you should be able to pray anywhere.
school uniforms? only in private schools.
drug legalization? oppose
gun control? support
affirmative action? oppose
speed limits? support
death penalty? oppose in most cases...this is a toughie for me always.
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

[J. J.]

Oh, God, I'm almost identical to Alcon.

[riceowl]

Oh, God, I'm almost identical to Alcon.

me too! except gun control.

[Alcon]

Oh, God, I'm almost identical to Alcon.

me too! except gun control.

Worst.  Republicans.  Ever.

[Nym90]

Gay marriage  - I support it, in fact if not in name. Ideally marriage would be left to churches to decide, and government would recognize only civil unions. So long as we have government-sponsored marriage, however, it should be available to those of all sexual orientations.

Abortion - I support it being legal, though not in the late term except for life threatening situations. I'm still unsure of exactly where the cutoff should occur between legal and illegal; it all depends on where exactly the fetus becomes human, and this is a very grey area with no clear demarcation.

The best way to reduce abortion is through education, not by throwing doctors and especially women in prison, and that should be the primary focus of the debate on this issue.

Legalised gambling - Support, though it should be taxed and regulated.

Prostitution - Support, though it should be taxed and regulated.

Prayer in school - I oppose prayer led by school employees. Children can certainly do it so long as it isn't interfering with anyone else's education. Government shouldn't sanction religion and vice versa, but indivdiuals are free to do as they choose.

School uniforms - Geneally opposed, should be left up to the school, however.

Drug legalisation - Support for marijuana, oppose for harder drugs, though enforcement should focus far more on prosecution of dealers than users (perhaps entirely on dealers only, in fact).

Gun control - Oppose if the gun has a legitimate self-defense or hunting purpose, otherwise support. It should be a case by case issue with some local flexibility as well.
 
The best way to reduce crime is through education; like abortion, it's a social issue that really should be an economic one in my opinion.

Affirmative action - Oppose if race-based, support some degree of socioeconomic AA. We should have equal opportunity for all, but this is far more affected by class than by race.

As with marriage, equal access should be granted to everyone regardless of factors outside of their control, hence we shouldn't discriminate on the basis of race for admissions or job hiring nor on the basis of sexual orientation for marriage.

Speed limits - Support, though many should be increased. They should be set by engineers, not by politicians.

Death penalty - Oppose generally, though I would support its use in extreme situations (multiple murders, and perhaps some other offenses). I don't think it's really a direct deterrent at all, but in some cases a respect for life does require its use as the only possible punishment that can come close to fitting the crime. It should be rarely used but I don't think that eliminating it completely would be a good idea.

Mandatory minimum sentencing - Oppose generally, the judge and jury should decide the punishment and not politicians, although some degree of minimums are required to restrain potential abuses by these groups.

[Tory]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  oppose except for rape and l.o.m
legalized gambling? support
prostitution? support legalisation, not prostitution
prayer in school?  oppose
school uniforms? support
drug legalization? support
gun control? limited gun control is needed
affirmative action? oppose government AA
speed limits? support
death penalty? I used to be knee-jerk against, but now I'm on the fence
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

[adam]

Gay marriage? I support Civil Unions, and fiscal equality for the GLBT community. However, I oppose Gay Marriage.

Abortion? I support Abortion in the 1st Trimester, In the event of rape, or if the woman's life is in danger. I oppose partial birth abortions, and public funding for abortions. That's about as simply as I can sum up my position on such a complicated issue.

Legalized gambling? More benefitial to the economy than it is harmful to society. Give people the freedom to be personally responsible, and deregulate gambling all together.

Prostitution?  Their body, their business.

Prayer in school?  I have no problems with voluntary school prayer. Freedom OF Religion, not Freedom FROM Religion.

School uniforms? Moronic idea. Must we do everything we can to remove children's individuality? No less at the expense of tax payers? If schools worried more about grades and less about questionable clothing...education wouldn't be as bad as it seemed.

Drug legalization? I support the legalisation of Marijuana for both medicinal and recreational use. I do not believe that we should go lax on harder drugs such as Meth and Heroin, which truly ruin lives and families.  If police weren't so busy busting high school students for pot possesion, they would have the time to be swarming downtown to raid one of many crack dens. It's riddiculous to focus on something as harmless as Marijuana when there is a far bigger social ill on the horizon.

Gun control? I support the constituiton. Period.

Affirmative action? An antique program that is now detrimental to the fight for equality rather than benefitial. Eventually phase out completely, no federal quotas.

Speed limits? Nessecary evil. However, I feel as though they are a state issue and not something the "father knows best" federal government should be picking at

Death penalty? Strongly support. Death is the best option for our extreme criminals. Rehab is generally a waste of time and tax dollars.

Mandatory minimum sentencing? Great idea. Using this, perhaps that 5'2'' man would be in jail getting ass-raped like he deserved.

[Boris]

Gay Marriage: Don't care. It's merely an issue that the GOP uses to get stupid bible-thumpers from across the nation into the voting box. If a constitutional ban on gay marriage would stop these people from voting, then I'd support a constitutional ban. There are far more important issues than gay marriage, and the Democrats beat the Republicans at most of them. Unfortunately, with issues such as gay marriage and abortion, it's becoming more and more difficult for the Democrats to win elections, something they aren't particularly adept at doing in the first place.

Abortion: Strongly Oppose. I'm a rare pro-life Democrat, and I'm not particularly religious either (I don't even remember the last time I attended religious services). I merely believe that an unborn fetus or zygote constitutes as life. However, I acknowledge that outlawing abortion would be an awful, counter-productive manner to deal with abortion, and thusly oppose attempts to illegalize it. 

Legalized Gambling:  Support, but taxed and regulated.

Prostitution: Strongly Support, although it should be taxed and heavily regulated.

Prayer In School: Oppose, waste of time, but don't care if students do it voluntarily

School Uniforms: Strongly oppose.

Drug Legalization: Support only for marijuana. We should escalate the War on Drugs against hard drugs via the use of the military and the National Security Agency. Initiating Covert CIA operations in the Colombian Jungles might not be that bad of an idea either.

Gun Control: Support. I love guns, just not in the hands of normal people. They constitute too much of a threat that way. I would prefer if guns were banned for the civilian population, but acknowledge that this isn't possible nor would it stop civilians from ascertaining guns. Nevertheless, I support gun control legislation such as the Firearms Act of 1968.

Affirmative Action: Oppose. It's racism, but reversed from what we've traditionally seen in this nation.

Speed limits:  Support. As Vlad said, they're a necessary evil.

Death Penalty: Oppose. The vengeance aspect of it is fine, but I see the death penalty in general as superfluous and not necessarily a strong deterrent to crime. Plus, there's always a possibility that an innocent man could be executed, although admittedly, such a window is decreasing due to DNA tests and other scientific advancements.

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: Undecided. I understand the pros and cons of each side. I suppose if I had to choose, I'd say support.

[Smash255]

Not sure if I did this already, but wasn't going to go through 12 pages to find out


gay marriage? support
abortion?  support keeping it legal
legalized gambling? support; needs regulation
prostitution? support, but only with strong regulations
prayer in school?  oppose.
school uniforms? Oppose.
drug legalization? Support for weed.  keep illegal, but lessen the penalties for other drug offfenses (its absurd that someone caught with some drugs can do more time than a rapist )
gun control? support
affirmative action? support
speed limits?  Suppor in high desnity areas, should be up to the local govt in rural less tarveled areas
death penalty? oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

[The Dowager Mod]

gay marriage? support
abortion?  support keeping it legal
legalized gambling? support
prostitution?  Oppose
prayer in school?  oppose
school uniforms? support
drug legalization? oppose
gun control? oppose
affirmative action? support
speed limits? support
death penalty? oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose

[Dr. Cynic]

gay marriage? Support

abortion? Support

legalized gambling? Strongly support

prostitution? Support with a liscense

prayer in school? Oppose school lead prayer

school uniforms? Strongly oppose

drug legalization? Oppose in all cases except marijuana

gun control? Oppose

affirmative action? Oppose in most cases

speed limits? Support for current 65 MPH limit

death penalty? Oppose for economic considerations

mandatory minimum sentencing? Oppose, should be interpreted by Judge and/or Jury

[Tender Branson]

gay marriage  - strongly support, we don´t have it here in Austria but what´s the problem with it ? What is the opponents fear ?

abortion - personally oppose it, but respect individual choice

legalized gambling - support

prostitution - support - why not ? should be a normal job with paying taxes incl.

prayer in school - oppose - we did it in elementary school, but what if there are Muslim, Bhuddist, Hindu or atheist students in the class ? no way of supporting it

school uniforms - oppose - personal choice is more important to me

drug legalization - oppose - legal drinking and smoking age 18

gun control - strongly support - no weapons should be able to be sold under 18, obligatory psychological and handling test for the customer, obligatory safety measures at home for the storage of the purchased weapons and control of the police 1 time a year.

affirmative action - what is that ?

speed limits - support - 60 on normal roads and 80 mph on highways as we have it here in Austria

death penalty - strongly oppose - a medieval appendix in my opinion, revenge doesn´t solve problems.

mandatory minimum sentencing - oppose

affirmative action - now I know what it is and i oppose it

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Gay marriage  - I support civil unions/civil partnerships/whatever ye want to call them.

Abortion - Should be very restricted; and not just as far as time limits go.

Legalised gambling - I don't like it, but that's not really the point is it? Should be regulated and taxed up to the proverbial hilt.

Prostitution - Pimping and street prostitution should be both illegal and cracked down upon.

Prayer in school - Support so long as people can opt out and so on.

School uniforms - Dislike in principle, accept need for in practice (at least in socially polarised areas; like where I went to school). But shouldn't be that different to normal clothes.

Drug legalisation - Depends on the drug. At the very least, cannabis should be decriminalised, but in general I don't support legalising harder substances... but in general it's better to crack down on dealers rather than addicts (who should get treatment instea). I would like to see cocaine users persecuted though.

Gun control - Beyond certain basic standards (ie; people shouldn't be able to build up their own private arsenals/all guns should not be banned) gun control depends on where you are, basically... what works in the U.K would not work in the U.S and vice versa. Attitudes towards guns and gun control are as much a cultural thing as anything else.

Affirmative action - Within a U.S context, early on at least AA for Blacks was needed, although it would now be better if it was replaced with a form of socio-economic AA. A complicated issue though.

Speed limits - What? Support/Sane

Death penalty - Strongly oppose for several reasons

Mandatory minimum sentencing - Support; up to a point.

[Bacon King]

gay marriage? support civil unions
abortion?  support- should be legal, but restricted
legalized gambling? support
prostitution?  support, if highly regulated
prayer in school?  oppose
school uniforms? oppose
drug legalization? support for pot
gun control? oppose
affirmative action? oppose
speed limits? oppose for highways
death penalty? oppose
mandatory minimum sentencing? oppose