Rep. O'Neil explains his legislative positions

I want to thank Larry Wilson for faithfully putting together another North Fork Views column last week. I realize how hard it must be to come up with an interesting subject to write about each week and should be pleased to find he considers me to be interesting.

He states that I introduced a bill that would “treat corporations as people.” I never did such a thing, even though I strongly support and protect our rights to band together under corporate structures to influence how our government runs. How else can my friends and I, with little power or money separately, hope to straighten out our government?

Rather than ask for corporations to be treated as people, I introduced a bill that would repeal the 17th Amendment to reduce corporate spending and influence in elections for our United States senators. When the 17th Amendment was passed, it put these elections in the hands of the king-makers, such as banks, Federal Reserve System, pharmaceutical companies, unions, the insurance industry, the military/industrial complex (including General Electric) and foreign nations such as China, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

I have consistently voted against corporate welfare, which allows the government to pick winners and losers in the business world. Yet I believe Citizens United v. FEC was decided the correct way to preserve our constitutionally protected freedoms. What I have publicly stated is, “If every single one of my constituents wants me to implement I-166, I will still refuse to neuter our First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition that it calls for.”

Mr. Wilson, a trustee of School District No. 6, also states, “Federal law requires a principal to suspend any student caught with a gun on school property and to recommend expulsion for a minimum of one year.” This belief is in error, as the Gun Free Schools Act states, “nothing in this section shall apply to a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, or if it is for activities approved and authorized by the local educational agency and the local educational agency adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.”

Larry also belittles my using bill draft requests and other means to give attention to issues such as corporal punishment. When Montana spends around $190 million per year locking up our young, immature citizens, taking them away from their families for years and then paying welfare to the spouse and children remaining at home, it begs us to think outside the box.

If you had the choice between 10 years in prison and 20 lashes, which would you chose? I have several letters from prison inmates and their spouses who want to know how they can accept corporal punishment instead of prison so their families can be together again. I killed the bill because it sounds too draconian and do not believe society is ready to embrace the concept yet. Maybe sometime in the future.

As for payment in gold and silver, I would be remiss if I did not do all in my power to bring the public’s attention to what the $17 trillion national debt is likely to do to the value of the dollar.

Larry asks, “What do (I) think?” I think I will still vote for him next time he runs for the board of School District No. 6 and will continue to read his columns. Hopefully he will get the next one right.

Rep. Jerry O’Neil, R-Columbia Falls, represents House District 3.