"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" - US Constitution

The right to keep and bear arms is the most important right we have. Without it we have no means to defend our other rights. Gun control measures do not deter criminals, it simply puts the law-abiding citizen (disarmed with no means of defense) at greater risk of attack. The criminal element will always have access to guns through dishonest means.
Study after study has shown that areas with the most crime are also the areas that have the most restrictions on firearms. In comparison, areas that have fewer gun restrictions have much lower crime rates. I am against gun control and I will fight to regain gun rights that have been taken away in the past.

Pro Property Rights

"... nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation".
-U.S. Constitution

The recent Missouri Supreme Court decision in 'Arnold vs Tourkakis' was a severe blow to all property owners in Missouri. The justices overrode a lower courts decision on this eminent domain case and set a precedent for the state that mimics the Kelo decision of the U. S. Supreme Court. Simply put, property can be taken from an individual by a private party for private gain.
The reasoning for this seems to be that a shopping center or strip mall would boost economic development which would benefit the general public, therefore qualifying as 'public use'.

Historically, eminent domain was only used for roads, bridges, schools, etc., a use where there were no benefits derived by any party, save actual public usage.
I have no doubt that is what the designers of the constitution meant when the 5th Amendment was penned. The decisions of the courts of today shows how deeply greed and disregard of individual rights have become entrenched in the corporate and political worlds.

Although eminent domain is the most visible threat, there are other property right violations that are also devastating. Should an endangered animal species be found on your property or if your area is suddenly declared a marsh or wetlands region, your rights could be in danger.
As American citizens, we have the responsibility to examine our legislators positions on these issues and use our voting power to bring them in line, or if necessary, replace them.
As your representative, I will fight for all of our individual rights within the confines of the Constitution.

Abortion may well be the most controversial issue America has ever wrangled with. Individual rights is the hotly contested focal point of this debate. Pro choice groups advocate the right of a woman to chose what to do with her own body, while Pro life groups advocates the right of the fetus to live and develop naturally. I've talked with some pro choice people and their general consensus is that life doesn't start until a heartbeat develops. My point of view is that for an organism to grow and develop, it must be alive. If the organism is human and has a soul, its life is as sacred as any other human life.

The National Animal Identification System is a federal program that requires owners of livestock, from horses to chickens, to tag their animals with electronic tracking devices, allowing government access to detailed information about their private property. Unlike large operations, small livestock producers will be forced to tag each animal, even if they only have one. They will also have to comply with new paperwork and monitoring regulations, and federal agents can enter and seize property without a warrent. NAIS even applies to children in FFA or 4-H and simply means more expense, more government, less privacy, and lost property rights. I am adamantly opposed to any intrusion into our personal lives, confiscation of property without due process of law, and the financial hardships this bill will place on livestock owners.

Scheduled to go into effect in May, 2008, REAL ID is basically a national identification card. A 'chip' in a drivers license or state id card allows the federal government to monitor all movements and transactions of every person in the U. S. Americans will be required to 'show your papers please' at certain government checkpoints, much like some foreign countries not so long ago. Besides being unconstitutional, such massive surveillance will add to the national debt, increasing the heavy tax load we already bear. Through the efforts of Representative Jim Guest, Missouri along with several other states are fighting this process on state levels. If elected, I will join with them to aggressively combat this unprecedented subversion of our individual freedoms.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and out Posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America"

Known as the Preamble, this is the beginning to the document that has provided unprecedented freedom and given rise to the greatest nation this world has ever known. Although penned thirteen years earlier, a person must read the Declaration of Independence to understand the reasoning that led the Founding Fathers to declare independence from England. By reading this, one can better see the value these early Americans placed on freedom and the wisdom they used by limiting the powers of the government to protect this vision of liberty. We the People are the ones who give the power to the government.

"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, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".

No one person has more rights than another, our rights are not 'privileges' from a central government, they are designated to us by God Almighty.

"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States..."

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people".

The people granted only limited powers to congress, the rest lies with the states or the people. Our Constitution was devised to protect our rights against foreign and domestic oppression through the checks and balances of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The 'Bill of Rights" is the first ten amendments of the Constitution.

It was belief in the Declaration of Independence and the adherence to the Constitution that has made us the greatest nation on earth. It is also the lack of respect for the founders wisdom and the failure to follow the constitution that will lead to our demise. Our Constitution was made to assure our freedoms and the rights to pursue happiness and prosperity, but it will only work if we follow it.

As American citizens, it is our responsibility to know our rights and to remind our lawmakers on the federal, state, and local levels of their oath to uphold the Constitution. It is for this reason I support legislation to attach a constitutional note to all bills that come before lawmakers at both the federal and state levels. As a fiscal note tells what a proposed bill will cost the taxpayers, a constitutional note would state if a proposed bill is within the confines of the U.S. and/or Missouri Constitutions.

For us to continue as a free society, to bask in the liberties we have inherited, we must return to the supreme law of the land, the Constitution of the United States of America.

The United States is a Republic, we are governored by the rule of law, and there are laws that address every facet of our lives, including immigration.

I, like most Americans, welcome immigrants who come here through our legal system, learn our language and laws, and assimilate themselves into our society.
People who enter our country illegally, however, strain the very fabric of our society; every American citizen is affected, directly or indirectly.

Illegals create a cheap labor force, causing some Americans to have to accept lower wages and living standards, or forcing them out of jobs and onto public assistance.
I have met a lawn maintenance business owner here in our district that is being forced to relocate for this very reason. Large competitors from outside this area are undercutting his bids by using illegal laborers packed into cheap housing units.

Illegal immigrants affects us as individuals, since they don’t have health insurance and few actually pay their medical bills, we must pick up the slack through higher medical costs and increased insurance premiums.
Illegals affect us as taxpayers through social services, federal and state welfare programs, education, multi-lingual public officials, and the housing and feeding of the criminal element in our already overcrowded prisons.
This is a national issue that Washington apparently does not have the stomach to address, therefore we on the state level must take action to do what we can to reduce the impact to ourselves.

I support curbing this problem by providing stiff penalties for employers who hire illegals, by stopping secondary education, state aid, and social services to those who come here illegally.
We should evaluate the cost and effectiveness of a state deportation system.

I would also support a state resolution urging Congress to make English the official language of the United States, and require all persons to speak and understand it as a condition of citizenship.

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We have all heard horror stories of seniors who were forced to choose between food and medicine, or between medicine and heat. Although I haven't personally witnessed a situation that tragic, I do know first hand the financial hurdle aged adults face today, as both mine and my wife's parents were seniors for several years. My Mother-in-law is our only surviving parent today, and I see every week the financial difficulty a senior citizen faces when they retire to a fixed income and Medicare. Our seniors need a representative to voice their concerns in Jefferson City and I will work hard to be that voice.

Our veterans sacrifice far more than the average American is aware of. Not only do many of our combat veterans come home with missing arms, legs, or suffer from blindness and disfiguration, many also return with unseen wounds and diseases. How long was there a denial of any connection between the Vietnam War and the thousands of soldiers who kept coming down with the symptoms from Agent Orange? How long has there been a denial of any connection between the depleted uranium used in Desert Storm and the illness of veterans with Gulf War Syndrome? I wonder how many veterans have been denied treatment they were entitled to, until for many it was too late. I had a friend who suffered from the effects of Agent Orange, he's passed on now but I well remember his affliction and the negative impact it had on his life. The report we saw nationwide about the conditions at the Walter Reed hospital was sickening. I believe veterans deserve the best of care, not substandard treatment in a facility you would expect to find in the slums of a third world country. Many of our soldiers today are Reservist or National Guardsmen, men and women who hold down regular jobs in the private sector. For many, their combat pay is less than their civilian income. This puts a financial hardship on these soldiers who must now juggle their payments to meet the demands of their creditors. I remember seeing a disturbing story on the news where a young family was having to give up their home because they couldn't meet their mortgage payment without his civilian job. This is a situation that needs to be addressed now. Our veterans are people who not only lay their life on the line for America, their sacrifices carry over to their families as well. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the current war, or any past war, our veterans deserve the best this country can provide. Our veterans issues are always on the front page of my priorities and if elected I will represent them to the best of my ability in Missouri's capitol.