Rights come from God, NOT government.
Government only exists to protect our Rights.
This was my sole philosophy as a County Commissioner and oneI will apply as your next State Representative.
Government only exists to protect our Rights.
This was my sole philosophy as a County Commissioner and oneI will apply as your next State Representative.
Constitutional Rights
The right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness cannot be denied by any government. Nor especially can the 1st and 2nd Amendments. When governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency and dozens of executive orders, the People of Michigan became confused at what they could and could not do. They should not have: those are OUR rights. Abortion clinics remained opened while the sex offender registry was shut down. Gun shops were deemed non-essential and force to close, so people who wanted to arm and defend themselves could not. The Right of representation in state and local government, and to address those representatives were hampered.
The legislature should have made a formal resolution, line by line, declaring many of Whitmer’s orders to be Unconstitutional and moved to pull any and all funding from any department or agency that bowed down to her authoritarian powers. At the same time, the legislature, on behalf of We the People, should have immediately filed a lawsuit against her from Day 1 for violating our Rights.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, we especially became slave to the “Stay At Home Order”. People may stay home if they feel they are physically or medically vulnerable. Those of us who are healthy have a right to go to work and engage in commerce.
The legislature should have made a formal resolution, line by line, declaring many of Whitmer’s orders to be Unconstitutional and moved to pull any and all funding from any department or agency that bowed down to her authoritarian powers. At the same time, the legislature, on behalf of We the People, should have immediately filed a lawsuit against her from Day 1 for violating our Rights.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, we especially became slave to the “Stay At Home Order”. People may stay home if they feel they are physically or medically vulnerable. Those of us who are healthy have a right to go to work and engage in commerce.
Life
A gift given by God may not be taken away by government or any other person. Tax-payer funding to abortion clinics must cease. In the rare one in a million cases where an expecting mother is in mortal peril of giving birth, that should be left to a discussion and decision between the patient and doctor.
People also have a right to preserve life by seeking medical treatment under advice of their doctor. During governor Whitmer’s Shutdown, many people went without the treatment they should have had, even while abortion clinics remained in operation.
People also have a right to preserve life by seeking medical treatment under advice of their doctor. During governor Whitmer’s Shutdown, many people went without the treatment they should have had, even while abortion clinics remained in operation.
Marriage
Government should have no role or say what goes on in the most important and intimate of relationships. We know marriage is between a Man, Woman, and God: government should not insert itself into a relationship that God himself created. Marriage is a personal relationship and government has no place in it.
During the Covid-19 Shutdown, public Marriage’s were banned. If a couple wanted a wedding with family and friends they have that right, just as family and friends who felt medically vulnerable had a right to not attend if they felt it wise.
During the Covid-19 Shutdown, public Marriage’s were banned. If a couple wanted a wedding with family and friends they have that right, just as family and friends who felt medically vulnerable had a right to not attend if they felt it wise.
2nd Amendment
In the recent 2A Sanctuary County Resolution push around the state, I was not only a county leader, but the county commissioner who introduced the resolution. The 2nd Amendment is clear: the right to keep & bear arms SHALL NOT be infringed. Article 1 Section 6 of the State Constitution makes the matter clearer: “Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.” One of the first casualties to Governor Whitmer’s order was our 2nd Amendment rights. Gun shops, gun shows, and shooting ranges, should never have been closed. Handgun registration, itself an encroachment, was deemed non-essential so only those with a CPL could easily purchase and own a handgun.
Roads
Prior to Covid-19, the state legislature, led by some republican state representatives you know, tried to pass a series of bills that would ALLOW US TO TAX OURSELVES to fix local roads. This is Lansing once again solving a problem with a problem. They already generate enough tax. What we need to do is reorganize the distribution of tax revenues in a more local and logical way.
Every tax dollar at the pump first goes to Lansing, where the state skims a little off the top. Every tax dollar you pay for vehicle registration first goes to Lansing, where it too is skimmed off the top before returning to local road commissions. Rather than doing this, let us use the state regulated fuel pumps where we accurately gauge the volume of sales. Let local units of government immediately capture fuel sold in their own areas first BEFORE it goes to Lansing. Additionally, not every dollar of fuel tax even goes to roads. A portion goes to “Mass Transit”, which means primarily Detroit and its failed Metro System. Some will also go to “Alternative Transportation” projects, such as hiking and bike paths. Recreation projects are fine, but should NOT come from fuel tax dollars – motorists pay this tax to repair and upgrade the roads they drive on. Fuel money should ONLY be spent on roads.
Every tax dollar at the pump first goes to Lansing, where the state skims a little off the top. Every tax dollar you pay for vehicle registration first goes to Lansing, where it too is skimmed off the top before returning to local road commissions. Rather than doing this, let us use the state regulated fuel pumps where we accurately gauge the volume of sales. Let local units of government immediately capture fuel sold in their own areas first BEFORE it goes to Lansing. Additionally, not every dollar of fuel tax even goes to roads. A portion goes to “Mass Transit”, which means primarily Detroit and its failed Metro System. Some will also go to “Alternative Transportation” projects, such as hiking and bike paths. Recreation projects are fine, but should NOT come from fuel tax dollars – motorists pay this tax to repair and upgrade the roads they drive on. Fuel money should ONLY be spent on roads.
Auto-Insurance
The highest portion of our astronomical auto insurance rates have NOTHING to do with damaging our cars or to cover property damage. It is Health Insurance. It is horrible what an automobile accident can do to other people, resulting in injury and even death. The same is true for anything else that can happen in life but we pay no insurance for. When someone injures another person, either intentionally or through neglect, we have a court system that should administer justice, the best they may, to the victim. What we should NOT have is an auto-insurance system created by lobbyists that make ALL of us a victim. Many in our area cannot even afford the auto-insurance so go without! Let’s keep auto-insurance limited to vehicle and property damage. Injury claims should be handled the same as other personal injury claims.
Driving is a Right we all enjoy and should not be a Purchased Privilege under current Auto Insurance Laws. But with every right goes Responsibility: for those who feel they may be the injured party it should be treated as medical insurance; the person pays for their own coverage. Like an infection, we pick it up because we take the risk of going out and picking up a disease, but we do not sue the sick person.
Driving is a Right we all enjoy and should not be a Purchased Privilege under current Auto Insurance Laws. But with every right goes Responsibility: for those who feel they may be the injured party it should be treated as medical insurance; the person pays for their own coverage. Like an infection, we pick it up because we take the risk of going out and picking up a disease, but we do not sue the sick person.
Citizens First, Lobbyists Last
We have the right to know when legislators travel out of state or to tropical destinations to be "educated" by special interest groups. The only people who have a right to meet privately with a legislator should be the people of their district or residents of Michigan. All travel out of state for "educating" OUR representatives must be required to be disclosed and made public.
Education
Local school districts need a greater hand in determining their policies to re-open. The state of Michigan should never apply a one-size fits all approach to our schools or our kids.
Emergency Management Laws
We already saw how these decades old laws were never reviewed and thoroughly vetted for misuse. They need to be compiled into one law and specifically enumerate what a governor can and cannot do, including interference of businesses and peoples' employment.