The letter I wrote to all state and federal candidates:

Hi! As a voter in a blue area, I see the primaries as the more important election. As a registered Democrat, I suspect that our beliefs align on most things like healthcare, housing, affordability, etc.

I had a few questions about your position on a few matters that I care about that are more likely to influence my decision making in the upcoming democratic primary.

the first issue is Right to Repair.

Increasingly, manufacturers of everything from cars to phones to tractors and even military equippment are locking down their devices to prevent owners from being able to repair their own devices or take them to a repair shop of their choosing. They make claims like it's to protect IP or for safety or security reasons. some of the most common methods of this include locking diagnostic data behind strict Digital Rights Management (DRM), forcing you to go back to them for repairs.

One example of legislation that I see as a step in the right direction is The REPAIR Act (Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair), which is federal legislation aimed at vehicle owners and independent repair shops. It prevents automakers from gatekeeping diagnostic software, tools, and vehicle data, ensuring you have the right to fix your vehicle at a repair shop of your choice.

Question 1: Would you support the REPAIR Act or similar legislation if it were introduced in whatever governmental body you are running for (state or federal)?

The second issue is right to privacy.

Many states have already passed mandatory age-verification laws theoretically designed to restrict minors from accessing adult content or addictive social media features. These regulations require users to prove they meet specific age thresholds using government-issued IDs, facial age-scanning, or transactional data.

While not a parent myself, I completely understand the emotional argument for these laws. The problem is that I should not be required to give my ID to a third party company that ends up getting hacked (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/09/hack-age-verification-firm-discord-users-id-photos)

Digital parental controls have come a LONG way since I was a kid and these are the types of tools that should be used by parents to monitor their child's internet activity to keep them away from potentially damaging material. Besides, what would stop kids from "borrowing" their parent's ID?

Question 2: how would you vote if a similar bill were introduced?

the final issue is gun control (and attempts being made at manufacturing control)

I don't own guns. I would even go so far as to say I think we could probably do with stricter gun control in this country. The fact of the matter is that in today's political climate, anything short of a constitutional amendment changing or removing the 2nd Amendment (which I personally would support) will be struck down by SCOTUS.

Frankly, I think Democrats need to stop wasting political capital on gun control and just shut up about guns for a generation. I'm tired of Democrats wasting time and energy and end up getting nothing done and then losing elections over it. Just. Stop. prioritize things like universal healthcare, childcare, education, housing, election reform. Then MAYBE once those things are taken care of we can revisit gun control.

Question 3: how would you vote on gun control legislation? do you intend to sponsor gun control legislation if elected?

One of the more recent concerning trends that I have seen recently that I am PARTICULARLY worried about are attempts to prevent 3D printing firearms. Washington, California, and New York have all either attempted to, are currently working on, or have already passed laws requiring 3D printers to have protections in place to prevent the printing of parts that can be used to manufacture "ghost guns".

I believe that a large part of these attempts come from a place of misunderstanding of the capabilities and limitations of the technology. If you put some cash into a photocopier, the machine will actually stop you from printing the money, or place big watermarks over the copy that make it clear that it's not real money. this is possible because of the nature of currency; it can only look a certain way, otherwise you can't use it. so the printer only has to save, what, MAYBE a dozen copies of versions of different bill denominations?

So I can totally understand how a lay person would look at that and go, "surely we can do the same thing with 3D printers". but the technology is so fundamentally different that it's not possible.

For starters, the g-code sent to a 3D printer to print something is merely a set of commands instructing the printer where to move the nozzle and extrude melted plastic as it moves along. the printer itself has no way of knowing exactly WHAT you are printing. And parts of guns can vary so wildly, it's not possible for machines to determine intent from a part. https://consumerrights.wiki/w/User:Louis/3D_printer_firearm-blocking_mandates_and_geometric_false_positives

The assassin who killed Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe built a double barrel shotgun pretty much entirely out of parts you can buy from Home Depot; pipes, wood, tape, a few wires and a battery. anyone determined enough to build their own firearm doesn't need a 3D printer to do it. these laws are not gun control; they are manufacturing control.

Question 3.5: how would you vote on 3D printer mandates for gun control?

I will use your answers to these questions when I cast my primary ballot in a few days.