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Second Amendment
Delaware Constitution Bill of Rights
Article I Section 20 - A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use.

US Constitution Bill of Rights
Second Amendment - 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.

When you are sworn into office as a State Senator, you make a pledge to obey and defend the constitutions of the United States and of Delaware.

There is no 'picking and choosing' which provisions of the constitutions you will 'obey and defend' and which you will not.

I support the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment makes it clear that this right is not to be 'infringed' upon by government.

Social Media Censorship
Delaware has an interest in helping its citizens enjoy the free exercise of their religious and political rights in certain semi-public forums commonly used for religious and political speech, regardless of which political party or religious organization they support.

Of high importance is assuring that the owners and operators of social media websites are not maliciously interfering in elections.

Online censorship should not be allowed, unless the content is obscene, is injurious to children or promotes human trafficking.

The owner or operator of a social media website that contracts with a user in this State is subject to a private right of action by the user if the social media website purposely does any of the following:

• Deletes or censors the user's religious speech or political speech.

• Uses an algorithm to disfavor, shadowban, or censure the user's religious speech or political speech.

The big tech giants should not be allowed to choose which political or religious ideologies can be censored.

Election Integrity
Delaware Republicans are committed to fair and secure elections. Every Delawarean who is legally entitled to vote should be able to do so and know that election results accurately reflect the decision made by the legitimate electorate.

As far back as 2005, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform issued their report. It included, among other things, that Photo ID was critical to securing the integrity of our elections.

The report also pointed out that widespread absentee voting easily led to voter fraud. Additionally, they found that voter files contained ineligible, duplicate, fictional and deceased voters.

Sadly, these conditions set the stage for voter fraud. Despite their best efforts, we know that the Department of Elections' voter rolls are not accurate and they are not current.

When individuals fraudulently cast ballots, it projects doubt on the outcome of one of the most important activities of a self-governed population. The right to vote is sacred.

The responsibility of voting should be undertaken after careful consideration of each candidate's position. It is critical to secure the integrity of an election and the strength of each person's vote.

Because the right to vote is critical to our democracy, we do not subscribe to any interference with a citizen's right to exercise it.

Tax policies
Policies I want changed to help make Delaware more tax friendly.

Repeal the 2017 tax hike on real estate transfers. Delaware's closing costs are the highest of any state; a tax of $10,000 is levied on a $250,000 home purchase.

Pursue a middle- and working-class tax cut. Despite its reputation, Delaware is not a "low tax" state. Tax collections are the eighth-highest per capita of the 50 states and D.C. Instead of raising the individual tax rates, as has been proposed year after year in the State Legislature, we must instead offer income tax relief to the middle class and working families.

Reinstate and increase the senior citizen tax credit on property taxes. These citizens do not usually have children in school, which is what those taxes fund, and often are on fixed incomes.

Legislate tax reform for growing business and to spur hiring and growth. This shall include, but not be limited to, incentives for training/ certification of additional workers and reform of workers's compensation with a goal of controlling Delaware's high costs.

Military retirees
Delaware should pass legislation to fully exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes, regardless of age. There are 33 states in total that recognize the value of adding newly retired military to their workforce.

The average age of this worker is 38 years old and the average rank is Staff Sergeant/E6. The average person is married with a working spouse and kids about to go to college.

By not taxing the military pension, the state will gain taxes from the incomes of the retiree and spouse. These individuals are hard-working, physically and mentally fit, and trained in valuable disciplines that are attractive to prospective employers such as computers, construction, medical fields and administration. Attracting these young retirees to our state will benefit Delaware.

Fairness in Women's Sports
I am seeking public input on a bill titled "Fairness in Women's Sports." A number of states have already introduced similar legislation and the bill has become law in a few states.

President Biden on his first full day in office signed an executive order to allow students to play sports based on gender identity, not biological sex.

Beth Stelzer, a female amateur powerlifter and founder of Save Women's Sports, said, "If biological men are allowed to compete in women's sports, there will be men's sports, there will be co-ed sports, but there will no longer be women's sports."

Part of the concern from women's groups is that biologically-male students could compete against girls for athletic scholarships to colleges. Send your comments to brichardson@mspublications.com

Education key to success
Our taxpayer dollars should only support curriculum that helps students know how to succeed in life.
I will continue to support the following curriculum:
      + Lectures on the evils of Communism
      + Citizenship test requirement to graduate
      + Drug Prevention Curriculum based on evidence-based success
      + Financial basics for success

Our focus must be on giving our young people the best chance for success by equipping them with the knowledge they need to lead a rewarding life.

When this is the focus, our state benefits from new business ventures, more rewarding career opportunities for our graduates and better communities.

Parental rights
Parents have, and should retain, ultimate authority over the care, custody and education of their children.
They should be viewed as partners with any educational staff or institution, and be provided any and all information that is presented to their children in school or through a school program.
Parents should have the authority to determine where they want their child to attend school, and their tax dollars should follow the child.
We should prepare our students for success in life and business by providing enhanced civics educations at all grade levels, and financial literacy and planning instruction.

Marijuana risks
Drug use increases the risks of mental illness and deaths.
As of mid-August of this year, there have already been 63 near deaths and 6 deaths of children. In 2021 there were 70 cases for the entire year, a 35 percent increase over the previous year. 

Why the increase?

According to reports from Texas, one of the few states to provide detailed information on drug use by perpetrators, cannabis is associated with a disturbing number of child deaths from abuse and neglect, many more than alcohol, and other drug use combined.

Is this a factor in Delaware where we allow medical marijuana use and illegal drug use is known to be widespread?

I served on the Adult Use Cannabis Task Force. What was repeated many times was that there was a lot we do not know about the effects of the long-term use of marijuana. 

What we do know about the risks is alarming.

A mountain of peer-reviewed research in top medical journals shows that marijuana can cause or worsen severe mental illness, especially psychosis, the medical term for a break from reality.

The National Academy of Medicine found in 2017 that "cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk."

Cannabis users today are consuming a drug that is far more potent than ever before, as measured by the amount of THC, the chemical in cannabis responsible for its psychoactive effects.

In the 1970s, most marijuana contained less than two percent THC. Today, marijuana routinely contains 20 to 25 percent THC, due to sophisticated farming and cloning techniques, as well as a demand by users for cannabis that produces a stronger high more quickly.

In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System reported that drugs were present in 43% of the fatally-injured drivers with a known test result. Over one-third (36.5 percent) of the identified drugs were marijuana in some form.

We are fighting a drug death epidemic. We are looking at fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases.

What we know about the dangers should convince us that the risk is too high to pursue legalization in Delaware.