Jim Risch, currently serving as Idaho's 28th Senator, holds a longstanding commitment to public service and a passion for good government. Known for "pragmatic decision-making," Risch is what his peers call a "no-nonsense, get-the-job-done leader" with more than four decades of experience in elected office. He has been recognized by the National Journal as the “Most Conservative” Senator in the United States Senate for two years in a row.
Abortion:
The most basic right we humans have is the right to life. I am strongly pro-life and always have been. I will, therefore, only support legislation that protects and promotes human life, including the unborn.
Marriage:
States have typically determined their definitions of marriage.
In the 1990s, long before I was elected a senator, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which allowed states to refuse to acknowledge the laws of other states regarding same-sex unions and it defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. In recent months, DOMA has been compromised in the U.S. Supreme Court and marriage laws in many states, including Idaho, have been struck down in the federal courts rendering them ineffective.
At different times, a constitutional amendment on the legal definition of marriage has been proposed. Should an amendment defining marriage in the same way as DOMA come before the full Senate, I will support it.