Rebecca Wilkerson is one of two Republicans running for the GOP nomination in Iowa House District 15. Here are her responses to the legislative survey:
GENERAL QUESTIONS:
Describe your worldview and how that will influence you as a legislator: My worldview is through the lens of my Christian faith. I understand we live in a fallen world and as a believer, I need God to guide me in doing His will. As a legislator, I would continue to let God guide my actions through prayer and the holy scriptures.
In your opinion, what are the three most pressing issues the legislature should address: I feel my three most pressing issues are the same as many Christian conservative candidates.
Abortion is the number one issue. We can no longer sit by and do nothing while preborn babies are killed. As Christians, many do not want to make waves but we are not innocent if we sit by as babies are slaughtered.
Medical Privacy and Freedom is the second issue. Since I had the privilege of being one of the citizens invited to help with the Medical Privacy and Freedom bill, this issue is what led me into the political arena. I do not think anyone should be forced to choose between their livelihood and getting any type of medical treatment. I do not understand how anyone would think it is okay to allow the federal government a pass to supersede state law and violate personal freedom. I believe this is just the beginning of our freedoms being taken away. It will continue to get worse if we do not take a stand on this issue now. The fact that our legislature is allowing this issue to continue unchecked, baffles my mind.
Education and schools are the third issue. While the rural areas in my district are not as bad as some, many schools across Iowa have CRT and gender issues being secretly taught to students and pedophilia and pornography readily available to children. The ‘bad actors’ in the school need to be called out and punished. Parents need to be allowed full transparency of what their children are being taught. Parents should be allowed to choose what is best for their children and the tax dollars should follow the student. If parents choose to homeschool their child, the tax dollars they pay should be used for their own children.
Feel free to explain your ideal tax policy/policies for Iowa (included in this section in order to allow for as much flexibility as possible):
I feel that Iowa needs to completely phase out the income tax. While phasing out the income tax, the budget needs to be cut. Areas of wasteful spending need to be eliminated in order to also implement lowering property taxes for ALL Iowans. I understand seniors needing a property tax freeze but in reality, most people are on a “fixed income”. Short of getting a second job, most people cannot change their income drastically, hence they are on a fixed income. Even lowering property taxes a small amount can provide some relief for hardworking Iowans.
Have you or will you sign The Big Family Pledge: Yes, I have.
FREE MARKET:
Do you believe the government should force consumers to buy a product: No
Do you believe the government should force retailers to sell a product: No
Do you support reforming or eliminating Iowa’s Certificate of Need laws: YES
Do you support periodic reviews of all government licenses and boards to ensure they’re necessary: Yes
LIFE:
Do you support the Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution: Yes
When do you believe life begins and at what stage does it deserve protections under the law: Life begins at conception and it deserves to be protected beginning at conception.
EDUCATION:
Would you support universal Education Savings Accounts for Iowa families: Yes as long as there are not government strings attached.
Do you believe obscene materials and pornographic materials belong in public school libraries: No, if it is a crime to give these materials to children anywhere else, why is it okay for it to be in the public school libraries where they have easy access.
In what grade should schools begin providing instruction to students on sexual orientation and gender identity: Never! It is the parents choice when and what to teach their children regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
Would you support a bathroom bill in Iowa, which states biological males use the boys’ bathroom and biological females use the girls’ bathroom: Most definitely!! I do not believe it is wise or safe for girls to have to share a bathroom with biological males.
LGBTQ:
Should gender identity be stripped out of the Iowa Civil Rights code: Yes, I believe gender identity in the Iowa Civil rights code has actually caused more discrimination. By creating so many special classes of people, if you are not in one of those special classes, you end up being discriminated against.
Should Iowa make it illegal for minors to undergo sex-change surgery and treatments: Yes, in my view, minors undergoing a sex-change is child abuse! If an adult wants to undergo sex-change, that is there business but until they are completely developed physically, children should not be allowed to have this surgery or treatments.
Should Iowa schools/teachers ask students for preferred pronouns: No, I do not think that “preferred pronouns” should even be a consideration so I definitely don’t think students should be asked about it.
Should Iowa require schools/teachers to share a child’s “preferred pronoun” and/or “gender identity” with the child’s parent(s)/guardian(s): As I stated above, I don’t think “preferred pronouns” or “gender identity” should be a consideration so I definitely think schools/teachers should tell parents if this happens so that parents can deal with it how they choose.
Do you support banning conversion therapy (making it illegal for a parent to take a child to a health care professional to talk about confusion as it relates to sexual orientation or gender identity)? No, because that is a slippery slope. It is their child. We do not want the state telling parents they cannot take their child to talk to a pastor if they have religious questions. If parents want to go that route with their child, that is their right, no matter how much we may disagree about it.
COVID RELATED:
Do you believe any institution – whether private or governmental – should be able to mandate a vaccination? Absolutely not. A person’s medical decisions should not be mandated by anyone.
How could the Iowa legislature have handled the COVID pandemic differently? They should have limited the governor’s emergency powers and narrowed the scope and length of the pandemic guidelines. They should have followed the Constitution and not closed churches. They should have let the people decide for themselves!
Do you believe Iowa should reform the Governor’s emergency powers? Yes. The governor should not be able to shut down an establishment of religion for ANY reason. The 1st amendment gives us that protection. If we do not limit the governor’s emergency powers while we can and a tyrannical governor was elected, it would be very dangerous!
CLOSING QUESTIONS:
Are there any issues of disagreement you have with the Republican Party of Iowa platform from 2018? I agree with it. I just wish our legislators would act like they agreed with it, especially when it comes to the freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof.
What improvements, if any, would you make to Iowa’s voting laws to ensure elections are fair and full of integrity? I believe we need to return to the larger number of precincts in each county that we had before the recent redistricting. We need to require watermarked paper ballots that are hand counted and must match the machine counts. If we do not ensure the integrity of the elections, I feel that very soon our elections will be nothing more than a formality. People will lose faith in the process and many may not bother to vote.
IOWA HOUSE DISTRICT 15:
Majority Leader Matt Windschitl is also running for the nomination. He has not yet responded to the survey.
To learn more about Wilkerson’s candidacy, follow her Facebook page.
