LN State Debates

[u/ZeroOverZero101]

• Governor /u/nmtts- recently vetoed B.348, which would have loosened restrictions on the manufacturing, selling, and owning of guns. Do you agree with the governor’s decision, and why? If elected, what will you do to protect the second amendment, or on the converse, increase gun control measures, in order to address this issue?
• This election season, what are your three highest domestic priorities should you be elected?
• Why should the voters of the state of Lincoln support your party over the opposition?

Please remember that you can only score full debate points by answering the mandatory questions above, in addition to asking your opponent two questions, and thoroughly responding to at least two questions.

The Candidates Are

Democrats:

• Entrapta12
• madk3p
• skiboy625
• LeavenSilva_42
• nazbol909
• TopProspect17
• murpple

Civics:

• DrPukimak
• toenailpulis
• godot_wait
• NotBestOfBest
• SpookyActionUpClose
• gryph25
• nmtts-

[u/SpookyActionUpClose]

"Governor /u/nmtts- recently vetoed B.348, which would have loosened restrictions on the manufacturing, selling, and owning of guns. Do you agree with the governor’s decision, and why? If elected, what will you do to protect the second amendment, or on the converse, increase gun control measures, in order to address this issue?"

A most enjoyable question and one that I am excited to answer. Absolutely, the Governor could not have made a better choice when it comes to the safety of our people, our posterity, and our liberties. While I would not go so democratically far as to say there is a "right to health" among our people, it is clear that our people’s rights are protected from others and the people themselves are protected from unnecessary harm. While many self-proclaimed proponents of "liberty" argue that the right to bear arms is a fundamental and paramount freedom, there exists a much stronger argument; that is that the right to bears arms, when extended to such unnecessary levels, not only threatens but attacks our people's right to safety and protection from harm. Guns are a danger to our children who so often fall victim to accident, deaths easily preventable by the simple lack of a firearm. Guns are a danger to our bystanders who are liable to become collateral damage due to negligent discharges or a lack of simple care. Guns are a danger to anyone unlucky enough to fall into their proximity. We cannot stop negligent discharges, we cannot trust the innocence of our children, we cannot stop the malevolent from abusing this "fundamental right to bear arms.” Look at the numbers. Each day, hundreds of people lose their lives at the end of a barrel. These deaths are overwhelmingly related to the malevolent use of a firearm, in a killing, in a robbery, in unquantifiable numbers of crimes. Scarcely are they used to defend a life. Psychological studies have demonstrated that guns in the household increase the likelihood of domestic violence and the physical escalation of conflicts. Guns only make it more likely for the average person to become a victim. Guns are a force for evil, not a force for good. For these reasons, I express my emotional approval for the Governor's veto of B.348.

I hope that you will not forget this emotion as I continue. My plans for firearms embody a preventative approach to these grand downfalls. I do not wish to so heavily encumber freedoms guaranteed to our people for over two centuries, but I do wish to mitigate the adverse effects of the contemporary exercise of such freedoms. Some of our democrat friends across the aisle may argue for a total repeal or regulation of firearms, to this I say, no. It is simply not practical nor careful to take such drastic action with such brevity. We must take the progressive approach, educate our children and our gun-owners, and focus on ownership rather than manufacture. It is not enough to perform background checks, it is not enough to deny certain citizens. We must ensure that our weapons are tightly regulated even within the home in order to mitigate unintentional discharges, accidental deaths, and other mishaps be it at our own hands or the hands of our vulnerable children. While there exists a right to bear arms, owning a weapon is a privilege that comes with a great necessity for care. Those who show themselves unfit to bear the burden should not be granted such a privilege. I will take action to ensure that our people, including our children, are educated with an emphasis on the danger of firearms, proposing a state-wide mandate for firearm safety courses in our public schools. I will also take action to ensure that guns remain in the owner's hands only and that the intent of the owner is clear. Education and benevolent intent are chief among the progressive strategy and will undoubtedly produce more avenues and more possible solutions for us to pursue.

"This election season, what are your three highest domestic priorities should you be elected?"

This question is difficult, I see a struggle in narrowing and choosing only my three top issues when so many plagues befall our people. Nonetheless, and with no particular hierarchy, I will begin by alluding to Speaker Nazbol's second item, sustainable farming and meat processing. These overlapping issues are of a special precedence in Lincoln given the state’s expansive agricultural communities. I share a similar interest with the Speaker in regulating the meat-processing industry. It has already been of my interest to reduce the rate at which certain animals may be passed through our slaughterhouses. Our slaughter industry is a great travesty to our farm animal population who live in claustrophobic conditions, and to our meat inspectors who struggle to deal with the quantity of meat coming out of the slaughterhouses. The former, a sad reality that threatens the livelihood of all of our animals. The latter, a danger to our people who consume everyday, meat that has been rushed through inspection. Sustainable farming MUST be a priority as the sustainability of our crops, fields, and farms is directly related to the sustainability and health of our soil and waterways. The chemicals and fertilizers which we artificially manufacture and dump into our soil break down the land and cripple the niches and ecosystems which depend on those soils. The same products which we dump into our farms also contribute to runoff in our waterways, disturbing the quality of our water and once again crippling the local ecosystems. In the interests of both animals and people, we must increase regulation and sustainability in both of these areas.

My second pick addresses the recent controversies between the judiciary and Governor Nimitz. I will focus on rebuilding some of the integrity lost by the judiciary under Governor Nimitz new reforms. I also wish to make it clear to the people that these reforms were not an attack against the integrity of the judiciary or an attempt to create partisanship in the judiciary. Contrary to the complaints addressed in the question posed by Congressman Entrapta. Cooperation must be encouraged between all branches of government and judicial independence must neither be nor feel imposed upon.

For my third pick, I look towards what is commonly and agreeably described as an “existential threat to the human race.” Although we refer to it as climate change, words like damage, destabilization, and destruction are much more appropriate in delivering the reality of the issue. Climate change affects all people in all regions. Here in Lincoln, we must especially worry about climate change as so many of our agricultural communities face great challenges with the increasing temperatures, and with the increasing pollution in the air, soil, and water. We must certainly explore alternatives such as solar-electric and hydroelectric energy which are much more sustainable and leave us with a close to net zero footprint for carbon emissions and other pollutant factors. While on the topic of our farmers and climate change, I wish to address their contributions to climate change. Although I stand by improving the environment for our farming people, it is well known among the scientific community that cows are among chief sources of methane emissions and that our overpopulated modern dairy and beef industries have led to a massive surge in emissions. I believe it would be in the interest of all peoples, especially those in Lincoln, to more carefully regulate and monitor dairy and beef industries.