Summary of political beliefs

[Gay Republican]

Just copying the format of the poster before me
Social Issues

Abortion:
Definitely Pro-Choice but not Pro-Abortion (an issue I really had with the Clinton campaign).  Planned Parenthood should have full funding but there needs to be a lot more emphasis towards alternatives like adoption (perhaps giving tax credits to adoptive parents?).  This is one issue I strongly disagree with the Republican orthodoxy on and the sooner we move away from the pro-life position we'll be able to do much better in suburbs and among educated professionals.

LGBTQ+ Rights:
Obviously in favor of.  I do disagree with the Trumps Administration's recent decision that sexual orientation is not protected by federal anti-discrimination laws.  As for the whole bathroom issue thing?  The only thing disturbing about it is people thinking about what genitalia the person taking a dump next to them has.  When I use a restroom I'm thinking about taking care of business, not whether or not there is a dickless man stalking me.  And obviously anybody who is willing to give their life in service to our country deserves to be in the armed forces.

Guns:
Okay with basic background checks but in general support the right to bear arms.  People shouldn't have to jump through hoops just to get basic self-defense for their home or person.  It is a cruel reality but if you live in a major urban area you have to be prepared to defend yourself.  You can't escape all violence just because you live in "the good part of town" or there are police cars around every corner.  The police aren't there to prevent you from getting mugged, they are only there to report the crime after it happens.

Religious Freedom:
As long as said religion is non-violent and doesn't try to force their morality on people it should be given the same rights to practice as other religions.  If it's a religion with moderates and radicals in it obviously we shouldn't ban the practice of it however it should not be an insane idea that occasionally police and federal law enforcement officials investigate places of worship and various sects.  I definitely am not one of those Republicans who thinks Islam is conspiring to take over America but we should stop blaming ourselves and racism and start considering that maybe there is a (again) radicalized and violent portion of Islam in this country that seeks to hurt people.

Immigration:
Not an easy fix.  I think The Wall was an overkill idea.  We already had a border fence put up about a decade ago, what happened to that?  I think a much easier solution would be to have law enforcement officials enforce the laws they have on the book instead of creating more draconian laws that officials are going to ignore anyway.  That said this country is not some free-for-all that people can just come over to and give nothing back in return.  If you are going to live here you better be ready to contribute.  WE should continue to issue work visas and the like (if not increase them) and help immigrants find jobs to support and legitimatize their status.  Okay with amnesty if the people naturalized promise to find jobs and stay in the US for at least 10 years.

Death Penalty:
Strongly Support.  Let's dispel with this notion that there aren't evil people in this world who just had a bad life.  There are terrible evil people.  People who lack a conscience and wouldn't think twice about breaking into your house and killing everybody in it (including the dog).  That is why we have the death penalty.  So while a lot of you are guilt ridden over the prospect of some mass murderers blood being on your hands I can guarantee you many of them sleep like a freaking baby after what they do.

Confederate Flags/Monuments:
Not a fan of them.  If a government entity wants to remove them from government owned property they should be able to do that just like a private entity would.  Private citizens should have the right to fly the flag if they want to.  Frankly the Confederate Flag issue is the Flag Burning issue of our times.  Nobody cares.

Drugs:
Legalize Marijuana NOW!!!!!!  It's a harmless drug, it helps people with cancer treatments, and prohibition has only resulted in overcrowded prisons and fatherless neighborhoods.  How can anybody seeing those results conclude there is anything "just" about our drug laws?  We should be prosecuting real criminals, like those monsters who sell actual dangerous sh*t like heroin to children.

Education:
Definitely should be more authority given to state and local governments.  I'm definitely not a fan of the national testing standards tests or one size fits all solutions like Common Core.  Public school teachers definitely need a lot more independence in their course materials so that they can with their own unique perspectives encourage kids to think critically and independently.  Route education is BAD for this country.

Affirmative Action:
I'm sure it had a purpose at one time but now days not so much.  That and I'm not comfortable with some of the inherent racial implications in AA policy, namely the idea that blacks and Hispanics are just stupid or Asians having to score higher on the test due to some IQ algorithim.  Ideally this needs to be reworked from having race as a qualifier to being income based.  A lot of working class people do not have the time or the energy to fully dedicate themselves to studying to get the best grades in school vs. upper class kids who are practically coached on how to get the highest test scores possible to get into the best schools possible.

Economic Issues

Taxes:
I'd say keep taxes kind of where they are at.  The issue isn't really with the revenue we're getting but more with how it's being used.  We need to get much smarter with how we allocate our resources so that each tax dollar is being used efficiently.  However, I definitely do not support the old logic of pushing reduced taxes to force people to reduce spending because that has been proven to not work and be counterintuitive.

Trade:
Pro-Free Trade in theory.  We need to do a much better job negotiating trade agreements rather than just getting them pushed through for the publicity.  We definitely should not return to protectionism (which didn't prevent millions from losing their jobs during the Great Depression) but it's becoming clearer that Free Trade isn't the silver bullet solution people made it out to be.  There are obviously benefits and drawbacks to it.  A more balances approach like Fair Trade might be ideal policy.

Minimum Wage:
Should be indexed to the cost of living.  With the explosion of housing costs we can't continue having an economy where someone earning $10/hr is expected to somehow live in an area where the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment is $1500 a month.  However, we shouldn't push for a $15 minimum wage in an area where that wage is practically middle class.  Again, we need realism in our economic policies and not just Talking Points liberal or conservative solutions to everyday problems.

Foreign Policy

NATO:
Definitely in support of.  We also need to encourage other countries in NATO to increase spending so that our defense networks over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean is much stronger.  I want to emphasize though that NATO needs to be a strictly defensive organization and not one that goes into the business of nationbuilding.

United Nations:
Mixed.  The UN Peacekeeping Forces are a vital part of the UN in intervening in humanitarian crises in Africa, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the third world.  However, in a lot of cases the UN has also made some joke decisions and it's bias in regards to some countries (especially Israel) is suspect.  We should stay involved and assert our right to protest bad decisions by the UN Security Council.

Israel:
I support Israel.  For all of the bad things a lot of activists say about it it is still one of a very few areas in the Middle East where LGBT individuals can live safe and free lives.  Obviously as a gay man I consider that an important factor, especially considering a lot of the radical Muslim countries surrounding it have extreme anti-LGBT laws (some even consider engaging in homosexual relations to be a capital crime, meaning death).  Israel also has a lot more respect for civil liberties and democratic institutions.  With that said we should take a lead in encouraging Israel to find more humanitarian solutions to the Palestinian issue rather than just resettling them in the Gaza Strip.  The US should continue to provide financial, military, and humanitarian aid to Israel.

Interventionism:
Against as a general rule of thumb.  We're still paying the consequences for our intervention into Iraq in 2003 and now a lot of the Middle Eastern's problems are spilling over into Europe.  Generally when you break something you fix it.  That wasn't done when we left Iraq.  Ideal military policy should only be focused on defending us and our allies from external attacks.  There is no such thing as a "defensive invasion".

Defense/Military Spending:
We need to be much smarter with defense policy.  It does not look good when Congress is taking years to get a good healthcare policy down but will thrown hundreds of billions of dollars to a fighter jet program.  We need to scale back on our military presence overseas and bring a lot of those troops back home where they can contribute to help building our communities.