On the Issues

Abortion

Sherman: He supports a woman’s right to choose an abortion, federal funding for abortions and subsidizing family planning clinics.

Sybert: He supports abortion rights, but opposes federal funding for what he calls “elective” abortions. When abortions are medically necessary, he believes the government should pay for them like any other procedure.

Affirmative action

Sherman: He opposes hiring quotas based on race and gender and wants to slowly phase out all affirmative action programs. He opposes the Proposition 209 affirmative action ban, saying the initiative has a provision that would allow employers to discriminate against women.

Sybert: He supports the Proposition 209 affirmative action ban, saying it is morally wrong to have any type of discrimination based on race and gender. But he believes an individual’s background should be considered in hiring decisions.

Crime

Sherman: He supports the 1994 crime bill, which is adding 100,000 officers to police forces across the nation. He supports the death penalty and three-strikes law requiring mandatory life imprisonment for criminals convicted of a third felony.

Sybert: He wants to step up the war on drugs and redirect more money to local police departments. He supports the death penalty and three-strikes law requiring mandatory life sentences.

Education

Sherman: He opposes vouchers that take money from public schools to subsidize children attending private schools. He vows to fight for more federal dollars to improve California schools, cover the extra costs of educating illegal immigrant children and teach them English.

Sybert: He supports making private school expenses tax deductible or some other financial mechanism to help parents with children in private schools. He supports more federal dollars for education, but wants the money sent directly to school districts. He also wants to abolish bilingual education.

Environment

Sherman: He supports maintaining strong federal laws to ensure clean air, clean water and favors the ongoing protection of endangered species. He vows to fight for money to buy more land for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Sybert: He wants to keep strong federal environmental laws, but make them more flexible so they are easily adapted to different states and less burdensome to business. He promises to fight for money to complete the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Guns

Sherman: He supports tighter restrictions on handguns, including a ban on Saturday night specials and restricting an individual’s purchases to one gun a month. He supports keeping the Brady bill’s mandatory waiting period during the background check before buying a handgun, and maintaining a ban on assault weapons.

Sybert: He supports gun controls such as the Brady bill’s mandatory waiting period and the ban on assault weapons. He wants to abolish hollow-tipped “cop-killer” bullets, and require firearms safety training, but otherwise sees no need for additional gun restrictions.

Illegal immigration

Sherman: He supports sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, but also wants a better system to verify job candidates’ immigration status. He wants to double border patrols, but opposes proposals to ban illegal immigrant children from public school or deny medical treatment to those with communicable diseases.

Sybert: He supports Proposition 187 efforts to strip illegal immigrants of welfare, medical and education benefits. He favors repealing automatic citizenship to children of illegal immigrants and allowing states to ban illegal immigrant children from public schools. He wants to deploy the Army and National Guard to protect the borders.

Taxes

Sherman: He opposes a 15% federal tax cut, saying it would irresponsibly balloon the deficit. Instead, he favors eliminating capital gains tax on home sales, making college tuition tax deductible, allowing tax-free savings accounts to cover a college education, and rolling back taxes on Social Security income.

Sybert: He supports a 15% across-the-board tax cut, a $500-per-child tax credit and a 50% reduction in the capital gains tax. If that does not fly, he wants to repeal the 1993 tax hike, and make the tax code simpler and more fair.

Tobacco

Sherman: He supports a federal ban on cigarette vending machines, prohibiting the sale of single-cigarette packages that he calls “kiddie packs” and wants to classify tobacco as a drug so it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Sybert: He favors federal efforts to crack down on teenage smoking but opposes any new federal restrictions on tobacco, saying he is not thrilled with the government acting as “a nanny.”