Family Values
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” These words recognize that God grants us our rights, and we don’t receive them from the government. We acknowledge God and who he is. We understand the natural order that He has created. We know that marriage is between and man and a woman, and that the nuclear family is the best way for children to be raised. We also know that there are only two genders and that a person cannot change their gender. These are truths that the world understood from the beginning of time, until a few years ago. These beliefs are under constant attack now. Not only are there people who disagree with these beliefs, but now some think that people with these beliefs should be cast out of society and silenced. As your legislature I will always stand up for traditional family values and your right to practice those in the manner you see fit. I will not allow any government entity to step in and try to punish families and parents for living that out.
In this country we all have the freedom to practice our faith or beliefs. I will always protect that right, but we must have societal guardrails to prevent abusive practices on minors. No minor should be allowed to permanently change or alter their body even if the parents support that change. If it is illegal for a minor to get a tattoo, then it should be illegal to cut off their genitalia.
I believe that life begins at conception and that that this new life should be protected just like any other life. This is one of the most controversial topics in our time and needs to be handled with care. The people of Montana have many spirited debates on this issue, and it should be settled by the legislature(who represent the people). In any case, we need to support life and families. We need to ensure that children have the best opportunity to thrive in life. Regardless of one’s beliefs on family structure, all research shows that a child’s best opportunity for success in life is growing up in a two-parent household, finishing high school, getting married and then having children - all in that order. We should incentivize that through the tax structure, through breaks for “married, filing jointly” tax filing status, child tax credits and education savings accounts.
Families are what hold communities together and help them to succeed. Families are what built Montana in the beginning, with family ranches. We should do all we can to encourage families, as it will be a great benefit to the next generation to grow up in a strong family.
