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LeRoy Collins (R)
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Why do you want to be United States Senator for Florida?
2006 Primary Election Special Report About this report Gubernatorial Candidates Charlie Crist Tom Gallagher Rod Smith Senatorial Candidates Katherine Harris Will McBride LeRoy Collins Editorial It’s our Christian duty to vote on Sept. 5 |
I want to provide leadership which I think that the Florida delegation needs especially at this very critical time in our lives. I think that while we are at war we have some very vexing issues which are international in scope and I see the Senate as the best place you deal with international matters.
That’s where all the treaties originate and so, I want to be involved in that and my background is largely international through 34 years in naval service.
Why are you the best-qualified candidate?
I think my experience is much broader and at a much higher level than the others. I was in the naval service for 34 years and retired as a two-star admiral and so I’m accustomed to some decision making involving lot of people and lots of resources. And also, I have an extensive business background, over 39 years of that including a large business and small business and I originated with this business in 1969 that I was the very first employee and the by-products of that business now employ about 5,000 people in Pinellas County. So I’m accustomed to how you create jobs and how you manage things involving more than just Florida.
What is your personal religious faith?
I’m an Episcopalian. I have been all my life.
Are you involved in a local place of worship? If so, in what way?
I belong to St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Tampa and I am on the Vestry there and I have been on the Vestry, I think this is my fifth term which means I have a very vested interest in what’s going on in the church. I chaired the organ committee about 15 years ago, so I’m very involved.
Some day all of us have to give an account before God for what we have done. Are you certain in your own heart that when you come to that point of accounting that you’ll spend eternity with God in Heaven?
I certainly hope so and I’ve been conducting myself with that in mind. But my ledger is clean. I think I have spent most of my life doing things for other people and so I think that that’s very important and that should be an objective in our lives and I’ve always thought in terms of how does this impact other people and what can I do for them rather than myself and that’s very gratifying.
One day when you stand before God, if He says to you, “Why should I let you into my Heaven?” What you would say in response?
Wow. I think that I would say, “I’ve done my best and I hope that was good enough.”
How does your faith impact the way you view your responsibilities as a public official?
Every time I make a decision, I think in terms of how it is going to impact others. I don’t have any interest in doing things that are politically correct. I do have a deep interest in doing things that are right for all people involved.
What role do you think people of faith should play in politics and government?
I think they should be as active at whatever level they feel comfortable. And that is all the way down to the local precinct. If you are running for a statewide office, of course, that’s a different level, but I think you have to be careful it does not become de-personalized because there are people out there you are affecting and you have an identity with those people and keep contact with those people so that you’re not out in left field.
Do you support civil rights protections on the basis of sexual preference?
I support civil rights of all throughout the whole spectrum of humanity and I think that it has nothing to do with sexual preference as far as I’m concerned. Are you talking about gay marriage or something like that? Yes, I do.
Do you support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as being only between one man and one woman? Why or why not?
I support that as a statute and if I was there and it was put forth as a constitutional amendment, I would support that. I probably wouldn’t originate that simply because the Constitution is something we amend very, very rarely. I would support that but not being a lawyer, I realize the Constitution is quite sacrosanct. So I would probably support it but I wouldn’t originate it because I wouldn’t feel qualified to defend it as an amendment. I think that would require a constitutional lawyer to do that and there are lots of those up there and I’m not one of them.
Do you support the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment?
I am not familiar with that. So, I don’t feel qualified to pass judgment on that and I have been concentrating more on federal issues. I just don’t feel qualified to comment on it.
Setting aside for the moment the public policy questions related to abortion, is abortion a moral evil? Why or why not?
My position on abortion goes like this. My advice is always, to a young woman, to carry her baby to full term. And that’s the advice I’d give to my own daughter. I do, however, recognize that we’re always going to have, whether you and I want that or not, we’re always going to have young women who make mistakes and get pregnant by mistake. And many of those are going to be quite young and just frightened by the whole process and maybe the first time or whatever, and they are just frightened or embarrassed or whatever. I don’t want young, frail women like that who are so impressionable, to be classed as criminals. So, I think they are going to make those mistakes. They shouldn’t make them, but they will and so I don’t want young women like that going to jail. So my feeling is that we must provide a way for them to come to a dignified resolution or acceptance of whatever decision they make. I do not want them going to back-alley practitioners which will threaten their own lives because it is illegal. Now having said that, when we get to the third trimester, I think that’s murder. So, that may be a mixed answer for you, but that’s where I am and I think I’m there for a good reason and I think it’s a pragmatic reason, although it goes contrary to my faith. So, I don’t know if that’s something you can identify with it, if you understand what I’m saying, but that’s where I am.
What public policy limits on abortion have you supported or will you support in order to decrease the number of abortions in our nation?
I support a strong educational program which will explain to young women taking departure with the sanctity of life which is so a part of our American way of life. It needs to be strengthened. And frankly, the most obvious way to strengthen it is through Christianity. I do not support any government program in order to foster this through Christianity. I do support a government program that explains what’s happening here because the few people that I’ve known who had abortions regretted it the rest of their lives. ...
What is your view of Gov. Bush’s efforts on behalf of Terri Schiavo?
I thought that he ventured beyond the law and I think that our existing laws, while it conveyed a great sensitivity for a human being, I admired that, but I felt that the emotion of the occasion was carrying him probably further than he should have gone as a chief executive. And it’s difficult for me to appraise because I wasn’t involved, but I think we have ample laws to cover the situation that involved Terri Schiavo.
Is there something wrong with Florida and federal statutes when a severely brain-damaged woman who’s not in the process of dying can be starved and dehydrated to death by her husband with the assistance of the courts?
Well, of course, that puts it in a very—that taints the question. ... I think that an abundance of civility needs to be exercised, but I don’t think that we should go beyond the law. She had a situation that the law covered and we tried to intervene there in a special case and it went all the way to the Congress. And I understand the sensitivities involved, but I think they were overstepping where they should have gone.
Should food and water be defined as extraordinary care, thus permitting such care to be denied to persons like Terri Schiavo?
We have to go to the absolute limit that we can that’s permitted by law. When we start to interfere with the law, then I think we’ve gone too far. (Should food and water be defined as extraordinary care?) No, I don’t think food and water is extraordinary care, but if there’s just no way that this woman is going to survive, I think that God needs to take over. And if we artificially prolong this person’s life and only through artificial means are going to preserve it, seems to me like we are contravening what God’s intention is. (So artificial means are food and water?) I see where you are going with this. (Should food and water be defined as extraordinary care, thus permitting such care to be denied to persons like Terri Schiavo?) I guess so. Yeah. (So should, food and water should be defined as extraordinary care?). Yes.
What is your view on government funding of embryonic stem cell research?
To the extent that it can be proven that it has the potential, a good potential, based upon qualified scientific evidence that it can prolong life of those who are infirmed, I favor that. I’m like Nancy Reagan in that one and I favor the use of that.
Why should Florida Baptists care about this primary election?
Because it’s something, we are at, like I said earlier, we are at a very critical time in our lives and I think that we must be smart enough to anticipate some very, very vexing demands upon our people and they need to understand that if they don’t participate—if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. So, they need to get out and study the candidates and they need to vote. And if that’s not good enough for them, then they need to run for office. I just think the most gratifying thing to me is that faiths such as yours are that interested in interviewing the candidates and holding them accountable and reminding them of their points of view and if you have someone who cannot put this in a faith context, then I would say they have a real shortcoming. And I think I do that and so I’m just gratified that your organization is interested in what we have to think about these things.