I saw this questionnaire on Nobody's journal. Thought that I would give it a go as well.

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Abortion?: As most people know, I'm pro-choice. In fact, I'm pro-choice at any stage of the pregnancy. While I would probably only choose to have one if my life was in danger during a pregnancy (which sadly is a very real threat to me), I think women should be able to have them regardless of their reasons. I might not agree with why someone would choose to have one, but I think it's their right to do so. Women are no longer considered to be property - they have (almost) equal rights to men, therefore why shouldn't they have a say over what happens to their bodies? As long as the child is in utero and cannot survive on its own, the women should be allowed to choose what happens to the fetus.

Death Penalty?: A barbaric practice that needs to be done away with. I am in no way for this. If our society wishes to say that killing another human is wrong and is a crime, then it should be that way no matter what the circumstances are (except perhaps self defense - and even the self defense laws are getting tougher). I don't care how badly a criminal has violated our laws, death should never be a punishment. Besides, in some ways death can be seen as an escape. And I know that if someone killed those I love I would much rather see them rot away in prison then have them get a quick escape from everything. The death penalty might have worked a long time ago, but our society has progressed beyond that and our laws need to reflect this. Killing is wrong - no matter what the reason in.

Prostitution?: No matter what laws are in place, there are always going to be women practicing this trade and men at the ready to buy their services. Some women don't have enough of an education to get a decent paying job and this is their only way of making a living. I do feel that prostitution should be legalized, but it should also be controlled. There should be certain areas that they can work in and mandatory STD testing. Legalizing it with some control is a much safer way to go for both the prostitutes and the johns.

Alcohol?: Not for me anymore, thanks. After a rather bad night during bar review I pretty much can't drink anything harder than wine anymore. But that's probably for the best. For the other people out there - let them make their own judgments. Keep it legal and trust in the population to use their best judgment.

Marijuana?: If cigarettes and alcohol are going to be legal, then marijuana should be as well. It doesn't f*ck people up much more than a night of moderate to heavy drinking and it's not all that worse for your lungs and health than a cigarette. There really aren't any compelling reasons to keep this illegal. Legalize it and tax it.

Other drugs?: Most of them are much worse for you than anything that is legal. I think we should keep the harder drugs illegal, however I think the punishment for doing drugs is out of whack. I can see prison time for the dealers, but for the users - what the hell is up with that? Stop sending drug addicts to prison and instead have a government subsidized program where the addicts go. Spending time in drug rehab will do much more for an addict then spending time in prison will. And in the end, it will probably cost less for the state as well.

Gay marriage?: *VERY* much for it. Two consenting adults who wish to be married and spend the rest of their lives with each other should be allowed to do so. Who cares if it's not a male and a female? If religions don't want to marry gay couples we can't force them to do so, but they should be able to get married by the state (through a judge) and have the same rights and responsibilities as straight couples who marry. I have yet to hear even one argument as to why gay couples should not be allowed to get married that's even remotely compelling. As times change, laws need to as well.

Illegal immigrants?: And here comes my conservative streak. This, I am actually against. Legal immigration is fine by me. This country was founded by people who fled their countries to make a better life for themselves. However, this is the 21st century and there are laws in tact. Those who come here illegally just make it more difficult for the people who wish to do so legally. There should be extremely tight crackdowns on those who come here illegally. Laws are in place for a reason and they need to be followed.

Smoking?: Let me first say, that much like alcohol I feel this should remain legalized and that people should make up their own minds on whether they wish to smoke or not. Now, on a completely personal level - YUCK!!!!! I think smoking is disgusting. I would never kiss someone who smoked and I don't think I could really be in any sort of relationship with a man who smoked. I'm asthmatic so I'm all for the laws not allowing people to smoke indoors in public places. When I have been in bars and the like where people smoke, I've been very ill for a good time after. I also abhore smoking because one of the people I care the most about - my Mom - does it. I know the problems and diseases that smoking can cause and I would give *anything* if she would quit smoking. I fear that sometime down the road she's going to become rather ill from smoking and there's nothing I can do about that. It hurts me to know that someone I love is slowly killing themselves by making the choice to smoke. So, while I do believe that people should make up their own minds about smoking and that it should remain legal, I personally abhore it.

Drunk driving?: Personally, I think the penalties for this are way too lax. I don't care if it's your first offense, you should have your ass thrown in prison for a nice long time. A good friend in high school died because of a drunk driver. Another friend of mine died a few years ago, once again, due to someone who was driving drunk. Drunk driving should come with SEVERE penalties. And to those of you who would argue "when does someone know when they're over the limit" - ONE DRINK is too much in my opinion. I don't care if you can hold your alcohol, I don't care if you KNOW you're under the legal limit, if you have had ANY alcohol use your brain and do not drive.

Cloning?: Depends on the type of cloning. Cloning organs because there aren't enough out there to save people's lives? That I'm all for. Cloning full on living intelligent beings? That I'm against. There are ways in which nature intended us to reproduce. Using something like cloning to create a living being is outside of those bounds and to me is completely unnatural. And I think that going and doing something that nature never intended us to do has the possibility of consequences that we don't even fully realize right now.

Racism?: Really has no place in our society. I don't hate those that are so ignorant that they judge someone on the color of their skin or their heritage, I just feel sorry for them that they wear their blinders of hatred. I think that one good step in the right direction would be to change the way history classes are taught to children. They need to learn about all aspects of history from all racial viewpoints. No one is born a racist, they learn it. And while it's hard to make an adult see that their hatred is misplaced, it's not so hard to make sure a child does not follow in those footsteps.

Premarital sex?: As long as it's between two consenting adults, I don't see any problem with this. Not everyone wants to get married - should they remain a virgin for life? And for those who do want to get married, it's not a bad idea to know if you and your partner are sexually compatible before going into a life long commitment. I don't think sex is something you should jump into lightly - I do think you should wait until you know the time and the person are right (and most importantly know that you won't regret it), but that time does not have to be after marriage. However, on that note I also think that younger people need to be more aware of the STDs out there and how to avoid them or an unwanted pregnancy.

Religion?: In general I think it's a good thing. It gives people hope and something spiritual to connect with. However, I don't think people should be saying that their religion is the only correct one (unless you're dead, you don't know what is correct). People need to be *a lot* more tolerant of other religions. So, I do think religion is a good idea, but only if it's taken with a grain of salt. Believing in something after death and having a set of morals is a good thing, but going insane over it (think crusades, holy wars, etc.) is not.

The war in Iraq?: Very much against it. Bush lied. Our soldiers are getting killed over there just because of a family fued between Hussain and Bush. That's not something young men and women should be forced to die for. I fully support our troops and what they're doing (hell, my brother in law is in the Navy) because they really have no choice in the matter. I do not support Bush or the war. A decision needs to be made about this war. Either we admit we were wrong and get the hell out of there (it's pretty obvious we're not wanted there) or we stay and admit that we will be the ones running things there and at least get some price breaks in oil because of our occupation there.

Bush?: An egotistical, self centered, delusional maniac. He claims he's doing God's work. I believe that about as much as I believe that the terrorists have the support of God. No one can know if God exists, let alone what a diety of that power would want from us. If Bush is hearing voices from God then he needs to see a shrink - maybe he's schizophrenic. I think Rob's little sister Donna best summed up my feeling of the up coming election with the statement "Get rid of mad cowboy disease - vote Kerry 2004." I love this country, but if that man gets re-elected I'm seriously going to look at the options of getting the hell out of here. He's driving the country's economy and safety into the ground.

Downloading music?: I've never done it and I don't see myself doing it in the future. I'd just rather buy a CD. My feelings on it though are as long as it's done legally it's cool with me.

The legal drinking age?: Is good where it is. There is a big difference between an 18 year old and a 21 year old maturity wise. And I do believe that someone 21 or over would (in general) be more responsible with alcohol than someone younger would.

Porn?: Once again, as long as the actors are consenting adults there's no harm in it. I have no problems with sex, it's natural. I own some porn and my husband and I watch it together on occasion. As long as someone's not addicted to it, there is no harm in using it to spice up a sex life, to get turned on, or to masturbate to.

Suicide?: I'm very conflicted on this subject. While I think it is a very selfish thing for someone to do, I can also sadly say that I can see why someone would do it. Sometimes you're so low that you really believe that ending your existence would be the best thing - both for you and for those around you. You just don't see that it would hurt people because you're not in a rational frame of mind. This is a very personal decision and in the end it comes down to what you want. Choosing whether to live or die is not an easy option and if someone is hurting so bad that they want and need out, all we can to is try to show them that they are loved and needed. In the end, it's that person's decision.