Properly dealing with crime means dealing with both the immediate safety needs of society and the long-term causes of crime. Gene Nichol believes the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for persons convicted of the most serious murders. These long-term solutions lie in revitalizing our traditional social institutions, family, school, church and the like. Every cop on the beat will tell you that law enforcement needs help from citizens in watching out for crime and in apprehending and prosecuting criminals. Similarly, in the big picture, the only way to really address the crime problem is for each of us to make sure that we, as citizens, do everything we can to pass on to each other and to our children the moral code that keeps us law-abiding.
Families are the cornerstone of America and of our future.
Ensuring the vitality of American families should be one of our top priorities. Our streets and parks and cities are safe for our children. State and local governments should take primary responsibility for these efforts, as they are closer to the problems and can experiment with a variety of programs to achieve these goals. The role of the federal government should be to support, not regulate or control, these efforts. Abortion is a difficult issue because people on both sides have strong personal and moral beliefs, but the debate has, in many instances, become far too divisive.