Summary of political beliefs

[wesmoorenerd]

Realized I've never done one of these, so I'll do one now! Basing it off Lechasseur's model

Overview:
Social: Progressive
Economic: Center-left
Foreign: Lean dove, strongly globalist
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Social Policy:
Abortion: Formerly pro-life, now pro-choice although it's not an issue I particularly care about.
Same-Sex Marriage: Strongly in favor, always have been (being LGBT myself), also strongly support  stronger anti-discrimination laws and strongly oppose conversion therapy.
Drug Laws: Legalize marijuana, decriminalize all other drug use and encourage more easily accessible treatment for addiction.
Death Penalty: Strongly opposed in all circumstances for ethical reasons. Governments should not have the ability to kill their own citizens.
Gun Control: Relatively neutral on the issue, I support expanding background checks but I oppose weapon and ammunition bans for pragmatic reasons
Religious Freedom: Should never come at the expense of basic civil rights
Affirmative Action: Weakly support, although I think class should be a more important factor than race
Political Correctness: Depends heavily on the specific situation
Euthanasia: Strongly support, people should have the right to die with dignity
Prostitution: Also strongly support, it's going to be a thing either way and legalization is the best way of making sure the industry doesn't harm its workers
Pornography: Don't have a problem with it, absurd censorship laws like those in the UK are just that, absurd
Immigration: I strongly support taking actions to make the legal immigration process significantly more efficient and accessible, if that were the case then illegal immigration wouldn't be as much of a problem. Regulating immigration based on the immigrant's culture or religion is bigotry, pure and simple. The wall are incredibly stupid. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to more border security but it really depends and a wall is stupid and ineffective. I support passing the DREAM Act and I'm generally in favor of expanding amnesty.

Economic Policy:
Minimum Wage: The federal minimum wage should be raised, although I think going as high as $15 should be done on a state and local basis due to differences in the cost of living. $10 is reasonable on a federal level, and it should be raised more often.
Right to Work: Strongly oppose
Taxation: The wealthy should be more heavily taxed. Taxes should fit the needs of the budget, not the other way around, unpopular as that may be. Flat taxes are incredibly stupid. 
Healthcare: We needed a public option ten years ago at the very minimum. Single payer I'm like 90% sold on and generally support (at the federal level, not the state level) but a public option at the very least.
Education: K-12 education has a whole lot of buck and very little bang. Primary and secondary education in the US needs a massive, top to bottom overhaul that implements actual, modern methods instead of chasing the same old NCLB statistics. I support free community college, but I'm not really sold on the idea of free university, although steps should be taken to make it more affordable.
Free Trade: Support in virtually all cases. Free trade is good for everybody and protectionism hurts everybody.

Foreign Policy and National Security:
Iran: Going back on the Iran deal was a massive blunder. Even beyond the lack of trust that accompanied it, it was a decent deal in the first place. It remains to be seen what the right next step there is.
Syria: I strongly support Rojava and believe Western governments should do the same. I also believe that steps should be taken to encourage Turkey to stop intervening in the region.
Israel/Palestine: Two state solution.
Russia: We need to take a hardline stance on Russia's meddling in our elections and Russian attempts to violate the sovereignty of their neighbors.

Environment:
Climate Change: One of the gravest issues facing our nation and our world today. We needed to be reducing emissions and investing in green technology twenty years ago. Damage control should be one of the top priorities of any government.

Electoral and Political Reform:
Term limits: Oppose for Congress, although I think more fresh blood is usually better.
Electoral College Reform: Support, although I think the underlying problem here is the awful and disproportionate House of Representatives. I'd rather have, say, the Wyoming Rule than abolish the electoral college.
Voter ID: Strongly oppose, voter ID is more often than not blatant voter suppression