Githens
Hall
1. Current state gun safety laws are sufficient. Support or oppose. Please explain your answer what, if any, action you would take.
Penny Githens (D): Oppose. We should repeal Indiana’s permitless carry legislation. If individuals cannot legally buy alcohol until their 21st birthday, the age to purchase a gun should also be 21. There should be a ban on the sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Background checks should be done on the sale of all guns, including at guns shows. Adults should be held responsible for any crime committed with a gun by their minor children. We need secure storage in cars. I support legislation on such issues.
Dave Hall (R): N/A
2. What, if anything, are you willing to do on the state level to protect individual privacy rights and bodily autonomy regarding reproductive health?
Githens: I testified in the Statehouse against SB-1. I believe no one, not even a fetus, should have the right to use a person’s body against their will. The State cannot force people to donate blood, bone marrow or organs, even though individuals on waiting lists die every year. The state cannot harvest someone’s organs after they die without their written, pre-death permission. Denying people the right to an abortion means they have less bodily autonomy than a corpse. I will work tirelessly to reverse this bill as I believe in each individual’s right to privacy and bodily autonomy.
Hall: N/A
3. Discuss three priorities that you would work on regarding social and racial equity such as affordable health care, homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, and child abuse.
Githens: Many of the issues revolving around social and racial equity are related to, or the result of, one’s income. I have repeatedly stated that I support a living wage for all Hoosiers, along with pay equity and paid family leave. If we can enact legislation that increases incomes ensures pay equity and paid family leave, we should see a decrease in homelessness, poverty, and child abuse, perhaps even a decrease in domestic violence. I also back increased treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders as these are linked to homelessness and children being adjudicated as CHINS.
Hall: N/A
4. What actions are needed, if any, on environmental issues and climate change (land use, transportation, energy, etc.)?
Githens: We should do the following: Create a commuter rail system to reduce pollution and reliance on cars. Institute, where possible, HOV lanes on interstate highways. Install electric vehicle charging stations in rest stops and parks. Reinstitute full net metering and provide tax incentives for businesses and individuals that install solar panels. Strengthen laws against pollution and increase fines. Require caps and liners on all coal ash ponds. Stop clear-cut logging in our state forests. Allow local governments to enact ordinances discouraging/prohibiting the use of single-use plastic bags.
Hall: N/A
5. What commitment, if any, will you make to hear and respond to constituent and community concerns before legislative decisions are made?
Githens: I will attend community events, read constituent emails, take calls, seek input through polling constituents, attend the legislative updates held by various groups while the legislature is in session, and hold regular constituent meetings. As I sat through the committee meetings on SB-1, I realized that almost all of the legislators who voted on this bill had their minds made up prior to when the vote was taken. I am currently a county commissioner, and one more than one occasion I have changed my mind on how to vote based upon constituent input.
Hall: N/A
6. School curricula on history and human rights should be developed by educators to teach factual, thorough, age appropriate information. Support or oppose. Please explain your answer.
Githens: Support. We need to understand the roots of racism, sexism, elitism, ageism and all other “-isms” so that we do not repeat them. Understanding is also necessary in order to devise ways to overcome the biases we hold and any resultant behavior. I believe in full equality for all. Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy what is written in the Declaration of Independence: “…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Hall: N/A
ABOUT THE OFFICE
To be eligible to run for State Representative, a person must be registered to vote in the election district the person seeks to represent, be a United States citizen at the time of election, have resided in the state for at least two years and in the house district for at least one year and be at least 21 years old upon taking office. The term is two years and there are no term limits. Legislative authority and responsibilities include: passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.
SOURCE: The League of Women Voters
