Gary G Howell
Election Information:
Party:
Republican
District:
87
Office:
State House or Assembly
Contact Information:
https://www.facebook.com/DelegateHowellCampaign
Survey Responses:
S = Support
O = Oppose
NR = No Response
O = Oppose
NR = No Response
|
Life
|
S | O | NR |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Protecting Life: Protecting the right to life of an unborn baby with a beating heart. |
X | ||
2.Taxpayer Funded Abortion: Allowing taxpayer dollars to fund organizations that provide abortion. |
X | ||
3.Physician-Assisted Suicide: Allowing voluntary physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. |
X |
|
First Amendment
|
S | O | NR |
|---|---|---|---|
4.Conscience Rights for Professionals: Prohibiting the government from denying required licensure or certification to individuals because of their religious or political beliefs. |
X | ||
5.Conscience Rights for Faith-Based Organizations: Exempting faith-based organizations (e.g. adoption/foster care providers, private schools) from regulations that cause them to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. |
X | ||
6.Prohibiting De-Banking/Insuring Based on Beliefs: Prohibiting financial institutions from shutting a customer’s bank account or canceling their insurance because of their religious or political views. |
X |
Candidate's Comments:
I support protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans, including the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. Government licensing decisions should be based on an individual's qualifications and compliance with applicable laws, not their religious or political beliefs. Faith-based organizations should be free to operate consistent with their sincerely held religious beliefs while serving their communities. Likewise, financial institutions should not discriminate against customers based on their lawful religious or political viewpoints, and access to essential financial services should not be conditioned on ideological conformity.
|
Family
|
S | O | NR |
|---|---|---|---|
7.Protecting Kids from Social Media: Requiring platforms to by default prevent underage accounts without parental permission, preserve parents' authority when access is allowed, and remove addictive design features and data exploitation from underage accounts. |
X | ||
8(a).Parental Rights: Allowing parents to obtain professional counseling for a child struggling with gender confusion to help the child find comfort with his or her biological sex. |
X | ||
8(b).Parental Rights: Protecting parents from losing custody of their child solely because they treat their child consistent with his or her biological sex. |
X |
Candidate's Comments:
Parents have the primary responsibility and constitutional right to direct the upbringing, education, and medical care of their children. I support giving parents meaningful authority over their children's online experiences and protecting children from exploitative practices by social media platforms. I also believe parents should be free to seek licensed, professional counseling for their child and should not lose custody solely because they raise or treat their child consistent with the child's biological sex, provided the child is not being abused or neglected.
|
Education
|
S | O | NR |
|---|---|---|---|
9.School Choice: Allowing the use of tax credits, vouchers, and/or education savings accounts to cover the cost of children attending the school of their parents’ choice, including private religious schools. |
X | ||
10.Free Speech at School: Protecting teachers and students from being forced to refer to a person by inaccurate pronouns that do not align with the person’s sex. |
X | ||
11.School Healthcare Disclosure to Parents: Requiring schools to inform parents of any mental, physical, or emotional health information and treatment that a child is receiving at school. |
X | ||
12.Transparency in School Curriculum & Activities: Giving parents access to the curriculum, presentations, and activities that their children are learning in school and allowing them to opt their children out of school extra-curricular activities, presentations, or specific lessons to which the parents object. |
X |
Candidate's Comments:
West Virginia has made significant progress in strengthening parental rights and educational freedom, and I have been proud to support those efforts. I supported legislation expanding educational choice, including the Hope Scholarship program, giving parents greater flexibility to choose the educational environment that best meets their child's needs, including private and faith-based schools. I have also supported measures protecting parental rights, increasing transparency in education, and ensuring parents have access to information about what their children are being taught and the services they receive at school. I believe parents are the primary decision makers in their children's education and upbringing, and government should respect and reinforce that role while ensuring schools remain accountable to the families they serve.
|
Health and Welfare
|
S | O | NR |
|---|---|---|---|
13.Medical Rights of Conscience: Protecting health care workers from losing their jobs if they decline to participate in a procedure or treatment that violates their personal beliefs and conscience. |
X | ||
14.Women’s Privacy: Preventing males who identify as female from entering sex-separated spaces intended for females, such as showers, locker rooms, bathrooms, dormitories, women’s shelters, prisons, etc. |
X | ||
15.Protecting Pregnancy Centers: Ensuring pregnancy centers that provide life-affirming support to women and their families are not targeted or penalized by government officials. |
X |
Candidate's Comments:
I believe every human life has inherent value and deserves legal protection. I oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion providers because citizens should not be compelled to subsidize procedures that many consider morally objectionable. I also oppose physician-assisted suicide, believing that our focus should be on expanding access to high quality palliative care, hospice care, and compassionate support for patients and their families while protecting the integrity of the medical profession.