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Jim Gray's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Jim Gray refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2012.

  • Jim Gray. Issues: Civil Liberties. 9 October 2012. "Life is precious and must be protected. A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video:Judge Jim Gray “ University of Connecticut. 20 September 2012. "It is a decision that a woman should be able make with her own body. [¦] It's not a federal issue. Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land and I would continue with it, but we're not going to have government funding any of it." (youtu.be)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: The Economy and Taxes. 9 October 2012. "Eliminate the costly and ineffective military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan; limit defense spending to actions that truly protect the United States." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video: Judge Jim Gray (VP Candidate) on drugs, education, gay rights, Mary Lou's coffee & Hollywood money. 10 June 2012. "We will submit a balanced budget to congress, and we will reduce spending by 43% and that includes the military." (youtu.be)
  • Jim Gray. Primary Issues. 17 October 2012. "Reform our country's Income Tax system by replacing it with a Flat Tax, FAIR Tax, or National Sales Tax. By doing this, almost everyone will receive a huge "tax break" by a reduction of fraud, administrative and accounting expenses, and favoritism, even if they actually continue to pay the same amount of taxes." (www.judgejimgray.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video: Jim Gray, VP Candidate, would abolish the income tax. 18 September 2012. "What is our approach, because we do have a plan, and that is to repeal the income tax. Now, just to have everybody catch up, to abolish the IRS [¦] Final comment on this: we must repeal the 16th Amendment. We must repeal the 16th Amendment calling for income taxes. 'Oh, Congress won't want to do that. Oh, let's just reduce income taxes to 2% and then it'll just stay there.' Nonsense. Because you know full well, we put in a retail consumption tax, they'll bring up the income tax; they want to have both. The answer to that is: never. We will repeal the 16th Amendment." (www.youtube.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Economy and Taxes/ 10 October 2012. "THE U.S. TAX SYSTEM IMPOSES AN ENORMOUS toll on productivity through high marginal rates, absurd complexity, loopholes for the well-connected, and incentives for wasteful decisions. A better, fairer system will be: Abolish the Internal Revenue Service. Enact the Fair Tax to tax expenditures, rather than income, with a 'prebate' to make spending on basic necessities tax free." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • David Montgomery. Argus Leader: Libertarian VP candidate: Ax income taxes, cut fed spending in half. 12 September 2012. "Gray also proposed major tax reform, abolishing the income tax and replacing it with a tax on sales that could be about 20 percent. Gray said the Libertarian plan would give every American a $200 credit off sales taxes, meaning people with low spending essentially would pay no taxes. Combined with eliminating payroll deductions for income, Social Security and other taxes, Gray said most people would come out ahead." (www.argusleader.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: The Economy and Taxes. 9 October 2012. "Stop spending on the fiscal stimulus, transportation, energy, housing, and all other special interests. The U.S. must restrain spending across the board." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Twitter: @LPNational. 11 October 2011. "The free market, not government, creates jobs. Support Gary Johnson & Judge Jim Gray. #GaryJohnsonAndJimGray" (twitter.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Spending and the Deficit. 9 October 2012. "End excessive spending, bloated stimulus programs, unnecessary farm subsidies, and earmarks." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video: Libertarian VP Candidate on Economy, Gay Marriage. 3 August 2012. "We will repeal the income tax [¦] And I was with an executive from Nike, you know, the shoe manufacturer. He told me, 'Judge Gray, if we were to repeal the income tax, most companies would bring their manufacturing back to the United States of America.' You can imagine the amount of jobs this would be. It would be a reverse outsourcing." [1:22] (westlake.patch.com)
  • Jon Earnest. The Sanger Herald: Jim Gray, Libertarian VP candidate, speaks at Sanger High School. 13 September 2012. "Rather than extension or shifting when it comes to tax cuts to stimulate jobs growth, Gray said the Libertarian platform is to overhaul the tax system. 'We need an institutional change, we're going to repeal the income tax [altogether],' Gray said. 'If we are going to export corn, raisins, goods and services, they are paying taxes. It's an unfair situation.' He said the party's platform would replace the income tax with a consumption tax. 'Most companies would bring manufacturing back to the U.S., you can't repeal the law of supply and demand.'" (thesangerherald.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: The Economy and Taxes. 11 October 2012. "With the Fair Tax, eliminate business taxes, withholding and other levies that penalize productivity, while creating millions of jobs." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video: Judge Jim Gray (VP Candidate) on drugs, education, gay rights, Mary Lou's coffee & Hollywood money. 10 June 2012. "So many of our agencies in federal government simply should not be there. [...] We shouldn't have a Department of Education; education should be a local thing, not a federal government thing. [¦] We should abolish the Department of Education." (youtu.be)
  • Jim Gray. Primary Issues. 9 October 2012. "Return our educational and healthcare systems to the control of more local governments. These systems were working effectively until the middle 1960s. Then the federal government began to take control, with disastrous results. We must get the federal government out of our educational and healthcare systems." (www.judgejimgray.com)
  • Jim Gray. Video: Judge Jim Gray “ University of Connecticut 9-20-12. 20 September 2012."The question is the Environmental Protection Agency. And Ron Paul said “ and I honestly hadn't heard that “ that he would abolish it, it would be high on his list. I agree with Governor Johnson who says 'No, we would keep it.' However, it would certainly need to be scaled back [¦] Private property rights really do this kind of thing effectively, more effectively than government. But it's a really tough area in regard to air pollution. We do need regulations, but fewer, more streamlined, more user-friendly." (youtu.be)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Energy and Environment. 11 October 2012. "Cap and Trade schemes, tax subsidies, and government efforts to steer us to one energy source over another are inherently inefficient, disrupt the market, and ultimately impose costs we cannot afford." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. "THE ANSWER IS: IT DEPENDS." 10 August 2008."One example of where a question cries out for an "it depends" answer is whether or not we should drill for oil off our coasts and in Alaska. For people to think only in terms of "drill everywhere," or "drill nowhere" is shortsighted to the extreme. Some important issues to consider are: Where is the oil? How can it be reached? What are the risks of oil spillage or other potential pollution problems at a particular site? Will the extracting company be bonded for environmental problems? Of course all of our land is sacred, but is this site particularly unique or picturesque? In addition, will new developments in technology allow the oil to be extracted a longer way from the drilling site? Only when we get answers to those and other similar questions can we begin to make intelligent decisions on the issue." (judgejimgray.judgejimgray.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Foreign Policy. 9 October 2012. "With Osama bin Laden now killed and after 10 years of fighting, U.S. forces should leave Afghanistan's challenges to the Afghan people." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: The Economy and Taxes. 9 October 2012. "Eliminate the costly and ineffective military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Foreign Policy. 17 October 2012. "AMERICA CAN ACHIEVE OUR FOREIGN POLICY GOALS without sacrificing American values. - No criminal or terrorist suspect captured by the U.S. should be subject to physical or psychological torture. - Individuals incarcerated unjustly by the U.S. should have the ability to seek compensation through the courts. - Individuals detained by the U.S., whether it be at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere, must be given due process via the courts or military tribunals, and must not be held indefinitely without regard to those fundamental processes." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Judge Jim Gray “ University of Connecticut 9-20-12. 20 September 2012. "We're not isolationists [¦] If anybody attacks us or our allies, I assure you they'll wish they had not. But otherwise, we're not going to attack anybody unless they attack us or our allies first." (youtu.be)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Gun Rights. 9 October 2012. "DO NOT NEGOTIATE AWAY OUR FREEDOMS IN the name of safety. From the United Nations to city council chambers across the nation, gun rights are constantly under attack from those who believe, mistakenly, that restricting our right to own firearms legally will somehow make us safer." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Judge James Gray - Campaign Issues For Senate 2004. 17 October 2012. "Gun Prohibition doesn't work and actually compounds problems. What works is liberty, education and personal responsibility in gun ownership." (www.judgejimgray.com)
  • Jim Gray. Twitter: @LPNational. 11 October 2011. "Gary Johnson & Jim Gray are the only candidates supporting gun rights & gay rights. #GaryJohnsonAndJimGray" (twitter.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Spending and Deficit. "Repeal President Obama's healthcare plan, as well as the failed Medicare prescription drug benefit." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Immigration. 9 October 2012. "It should be easier for a potential immigrant to get a work visa. Potential immigrants should pass a background check, and then be issued a Social Security card, which would allow them to pay income, payroll, and all other taxes workers pay. There should be a two-year grace period for illegal immigrants to attain work visas so they can continue contributing to America and begin taking part in American society openly. Immigrants with temporary work visas should have access to the normal procedures for gaining permanent status and citizenship, and should be able to bring their families to the U.S. after demonstrating ability to support them financially." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • Jim Gray. Issues: Civil Liberties. 9 October 2012. "Government should not impose its values upon marriage. It should allow marriage equality, including gay marriage. It should also protect the rights of religious organizations to follow their beliefs." (www.garyjohnson2012.com)
  • David Montgomery. The Argus Leader: Libertarian VP candidate: Ax income taxes, cut fed spending in half. 12 September 2012. "Among other policy proposals Gray advocated were selling off government land, converting Social Security into a private account system for younger citizens, and closing many U.S. overseas military bases." (www.argusleader.com)

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