Where Phil Stands

School Vouchers

I will work to end school vouchers. But if I can't, I will try to amend the law so that anyone who had children previously enrolled in private school before the voucher program started is not eligible — they were already affording it.

Vouchers were sold to us as a way to help those in public schools get into "better" schools with smaller class sizes. I will also work to switch the funding to come from the state lottery instead of the public school budget, which was already too low before Governor Lee cut it further. Taking money from public schools only makes them worse.

Voter ID

Everyone who registers to vote receives a State Government issued Voter Registration Card. Whenever I present it at the polling place I'm told, "Oh, we don't need to see that" — they want my Driver's License instead. Why? Are you saying people are not properly vetted for eligibility before being sent the Voter Registration Card?

I will work to strengthen this process so that the Voter Registration Card is the ID you need to show. Requiring a Driver's License or passport excludes anyone who doesn't drive or travel internationally from being able to vote. Voting is a right and a responsibility. We should make it easier, not harder.

Separation of Church and State

The Pilgrims came to this land for freedom of religion. More than 100 years later, our Framers knew that religion was something personal the government should not dictate. The 1st Amendment's freedom of religion clause makes it clear: you can worship in your own way, or not at all. The government does not have the authority to tell you how to worship — and therefore, it is unacceptable to use the government to force your religious beliefs onto others via secular laws.

The call to "bring back prayer in schools" is a misnomer. Your child is allowed to pray on their own during school. What the Constitution prohibits in public schools is faculty-led prayer. If a teacher is Church of Christ and you are raising your child Mormon, or Catholic vs. Baptist, or Christian vs. Jewish — we don't want someone else's version of religion forced on our children. There are reportedly over 300 denominations of Christianity alone in this country. To be fair to all, it can't be led by an authority figure.

This same principle of not imposing beliefs on others extends to LGBTQ+ rights and personal freedoms. Everyone deserves to live their life without the government weaponizing religion against them.

Welfare Reform

"People are too lazy to get a job." Some people cannot work because of disabilities — some that cannot be seen on the outside. The system is in desperate need of an overhaul, but we shouldn't start by punishing those who use it.

One major problem is the monetary cliff. You cannot earn enough money to survive before you reach the point of losing your benefits. There's also a lag in funding when you do work: if you work in month 1, it's reported in month 2, and you get a smaller check in month 3. But what if you unexpectedly hadn't worked during months 2 and 3? Suddenly you're without enough to live on. It would be less expensive to help people before they reach that point in the first place. Sometimes we all need a little help — but the system is set up to not help until it's financially too late.

Gun Responsibility

I am ex-military. The 2nd Amendment clearly references a "well regulated militia." While SCOTUS ruled long ago that this applies to individuals, I firmly believe several things about gun ownership:

• Most everyone has the right to own a gun. But not every gun should have the right to be owned. Military-style weapons designed to cause maximum casualties in wartime should not be sold to the general public. If you need an assault rifle to hunt, I suggest spending more time at the gun range.
• If you own a gun, you should have to license it — just as you license your car. You should be required to complete annual certified training to maintain that license.
• Gun owners should be required to carry liability insurance, just as you carry auto insurance.
• If you do not safely store your weapons and someone — like a child — accesses them and does harm, the gun owner must be held accountable. This includes crimes committed with a gun stolen from your vehicle.

Personal Freedoms & Equality

I have long said that your freedoms stop where mine begin. You have the right to your personal freedoms as long as they don't take away someone else's. Others have just as much right to live their lives by their beliefs and choices as you do. If your personal freedom depends on diminishing someone else's freedom, you are not seeking freedom — you are seeking power over others.

No one says you have to like or "accept" someone else's life choices. But you do not have the right to make their life more difficult because you disagree.

The same holds true for equality. Equality is not a pie. Treating others with equality does not diminish your own.

Charlie Kirk Martyrdom

When Charlie Kirk was killed, I had no idea who he was. As I researched him, I realized that for all his religious piety and calm demeanor, he was not a good person. Saying his racist and misogynistic opinions in a pleasant voice does not make them any less racist or misogynistic. He is just another white supremacist hiding behind religion. But since his death there has been a nationwide trend to push a religious narrative in his name.

Here in Tennessee, the GOP Governor and Legislature have been pushing their religious agenda. They began last year by forcing schools to have Turning Point USA chapters and threatening to fire staff if they openly object or obstruct the implementation. Thankfully, a lot of students have rejected it. On July 1st of this year, a new law called "The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act" -- HB1822 -- went into effect. It lays out a long bullet point list of "Judeo-Christian" talking points to be taught as American History. While not required, it is made clear that it is highly encouraged and that they do not see it as against the 1st Amendment to do so. While they are trying to get around it by claiming it as "historical," it definitely goes against the spirit of the law.

Thanks in large part to current State Rep and Federal Rep candidate Johnny Garrett, "Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway" signs have also been installed along Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, TN 386. Most veterans in Sumner County, and beyond, that I have talked to find this very insulting. There are plenty of honor signs with veterans' names and rank along 386, but none of them say "memorial highway" on them. Kirk is not a Vietnam vet, nor is there evidence he ever served in the military. This is outrageously disgraceful.

Charlie Kirk is not an example of someone to revere or emulate. I will fight to have all of these rescinded.

Meanwhile, his widow, Erika, has been raking in millions off his death by touring TPUSA rallies. She and other women stand on stage in designer clothes with professional makeup and hair telling other women they should be subservient, stay-home wives and mothers, not have bodily autonomy, and give up freedoms like the right to vote.

Two questions I have:

1. Why isn't she at home taking care of Charlie's children like he said she should?
2. How many women that fought and sometimes died in the suffragette movement were Christian but still demanded their right to vote?