From chemtrails and book bans to transgender athletes and anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses, Republican candidates for House District 11, Don Fallin and Heath Allbright, addressed a bevy of hot-button issues at a forum Tuesday, less than five weeks before the special election primary.
Members of the capacity crowd at the Cullman VFW hall asked questions covering various local and state issues. While many questions dealt with budgets or general policy, others touched on controversial issues.
On removing sexually explicit books from children's libraries:
Fallin said, "I think that's already a movement that's in place. I think we're doing a good job on making sure we have the right material… I think we're making good progress, and I would certainly continue to support that as we move forward."
"I would support book bans on a local level," Allbright said.
While on the Cullman County Board of Education, he said they would elect a book review committee comprised of teachers and administrators to analyze and determine what books are appropriate for students and what should be removed.
"I think that needs to be pushed down to the local level," Allbright outlined. "Power at the local level works, and I think that the people in Cullman and Blount County can decide what books we want in our schools."
On boys participating in girls' sports:
Allbright said he would do everything he could to protect his 14-year-old daughter and potential future granddaughters.
"On the flip side of that, having a 16-year-old boy that's 6'4", 240 pounds, I would not want him playing football against a girl either," he said.
Fallin said, "Certainly, I support men being men, women being women, and that they're in the sports they're biologically associated with. I think it's really simple."
On the dangers of chemtrails:
Allbright said, "Obviously, there is a theory out there. I have done some reading on it. And there are some states that have passed legislation to not allow that to happen in their state. If the theory is true and there are people spraying stuff up in our atmosphere, and it's causing harm to others, then I would push for that as well in Alabama. Obviously, I don't know all the data of the stuff that's coming out of those planes or if the theory is true, but I know there has been a lot of talk in several other states about passing legislation to prohibit that, and I would go along with that."
Fallin said, "I think the first thing you have to do is identify what are the legal pesticides or chemicals that are allowed to be used. Certainly, they're not putting something out there that hasn't had some kind of regulation on. Hopefully, that is not happening, but if it is, we'd have to do some research and certainly turn that off. But that's the first I've heard of that one, too."
On the prevalence of anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses:
Allbright said, "This started probably about 20 years ago when my wife was at the University of Auburn. I think it's the indoctrination of liberal professors at our institutions that we've allowed to get in there. And that's not the only one. You've seen it all over our district, where kids come from very conservative homes, and they go off to school, and they come back, and they're not as conservative anymore. I think it comes from the indoctrination through our major universities."
Fallin said, "That's a tricky one because it's such a small percentage. The thing with media is you can have a small percentage of a population, and boom, it gets sensationalized. I don't know how you would get into a kid's head and say — you're talking — that's a major topic. Israel has been an ally and a part of the United States for years… I literally have a team deployed to Beruit right now that I will talk to first thing in the morning, so I am extremely familiar with both the Hezbollah fight that's going on and the Syrian crisis that's going on at the border. I was at the Syrian border less than six months ago…. But how that affects kids in school? Every aspect of our country and every socioeconomic status is represented across universities, so that's a very difficult question to answer, but that's my best."
On the deportation of illegal aliens:
Fallin said, "It's against the law to be an illegal immigrant, so the obvious answer is yes. My son-in-law is currently on the border supporting the illegal [alien] mission right now, so I know the impact on folks at this time. So yes, it's against the law. It's what we're doing."
Allbright said, "Not only are they breaking the law, but they're straining our resources through our local sheriff's departments, our hospitals, our schools, even our insurance companies."
Allbright said his stepfather was recently involved in a wreck where a group of about "six or eight illegal aliens" were at fault.
"I'm not sure who's going to fix the bumper on his truck, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be them. So yeah, Cullman and District 11 should be a part of fighting against illegal immigration and aliens," he said.
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