Justin’s Priorities

After decades of failed liberal leadership in Annapolis, Maryland desperately needs change. These common sense reforms will help turn things around.

Putting an End
to Wasteful Spending

As your Senator, Justin knows it’s his responsibility to watch every dollar that is spent. It’s your money, and he’s committed to ensuring it’s being spent wisely. When the government is too large and tries to do too much, it ends up doing everything poorly. When it comes to government spending and the State budget, Justin is committed to:
  • Eliminating wasteful spending
  • Defunding programs that are not working
  • Ensuring that government is doing its key jobs well

Protecting Our Second Amendment Rights

Justin is a strong supporter of 2nd Amendment rights, and has led the fight against legislation like 2023’s SB 1 which limits law-abiding citizens rights to utilize wear and carry permits instead of targeting criminals who use illegally obtained firearms – which is the main source of violent crime in our region. Every Maryland citizen has a Constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms. Gun ownership is not just about hunting, and Marylanders deserve a government that understands and respects that fact. In Annapolis, Justin is a leader in protecting and defending law-abiding Marylanders’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Preserving Maryland’s Agricultural Economy

Maryland has a rich heritage of farming and a number of significant agricultural achievements. From produce to dairy, and horses to livestock, family farms are a key part of our state’s economy. But thanks to a generation’s worth of tax-and-spend government in Annapolis, it’s harder to succeed in Maryland’s agricultural economy than ever before. Unfortunately, many farmers are forced to sell their land rather than being able to pass it on to their children or another farm. And as a result, Maryland is at risk of losing this rich heritage forever. Justin’s proud to have co-sponsored legislation to re-couple the Maryland estate tax to the federal estate tax. This is one of the most important issues facing family farms because Maryland taxes estates at a different level and forces farmers and business owners to keep two sets of books on depreciation of equipment and property value. Maryland’s high taxes and unwillingness to be flexible have hit agriculture hard. You can’t be for open space and land preservation and against farmers. You can’t say you support family farms, but support taking away development rights entirely which diminishes the land’s value. We need leadership in Annapolis who understands the value of Maryland’s agricultural community, and who’ll have their backs when it counts.

Fighting Crime & Restoring Public Safety

Maryland is currently experiencing severe violent crime. We have to get serious about consequences for those who commit violent criminal actions. Senator Ready has presented legislation to target repeat violent offenders – who have hurt people multiple times has also focused on getting real jail time for those who steal firearms or traffic them. Justin is fighting to change the focus in Annapolis from excusing criminal behavior to holding them accountable. He’s also stood strongly with our law enforcement, opposing attempts to “Defund the Police” and make it harder to do their jobs. Instead, Justin has led the fight to give police the resources they need and work with prosecutors on law changes to protect our families and community. Much of the focus of the Maryland General Assembly is to target law-abiding citizens and limit their rights to defend themselves. However, Justin supports going after the bad guys and will continue fighting for a safer Maryland.

Reducing Our Tax Burden & Promoting Local Job Creation

Maryland is one of the highest taxed states in the nation. Our sales, income, and business taxes make Maryland inhospitable to working families, small businesses, and economic growth. Our seniors and business owners are leaving Maryland in droves for states with friendlier tax policies. In the Senate, Justin has worked tirelessly to find ways to relieve the burden on our pocketbooks. In every year’s legislative session, he’s proposed meaningful tax relief that will allow us to keep more of our hard-earned money. We need to reduce everyone’s tax burden and do things in our tax code that encourage job creation and investment.

Protecting the Dignity of Human Life

Justin is 100% pro-life. He believes that life inside and outside the womb should be protected and valued. In Annapolis, he’s worked on parental notification, attempting to stop abortion coercion and greater safety and resources for pregnant women. This includes passage of “Laura & Reid’s Law” in 2019 that gave landmark protections to women and their unborn babies when someone commits a crime of violence against them.

Preserving Local Control and Parents Rights in Public Education

As the son and husband of school teachers, Justin has seen firsthand the successes and failures of Maryland’s school system. A very large percentage of state spending is allocated to education. Taxpayers have the right to expect results and parents have the right to know what is happening with and being taught to their children during the school day. At the same time, we must also ensure that we have local control in education. We should oppose attempts to have education bureaucrats, many of whom have never taught in a classroom, to force local school boards to submit to a “one size fits all” curriculum with no flexibility. In addition, school classrooms are not the place for radical politics and gender theories. We must focus on the key technical and cognitive skills that our students need to learn to lead them to success in their future. Justin’s priority in education spending is to ensure that the vast majority of our dollars are spent in the classroom, not on administration and bureaucracy. Taxpayer money should be spent where it belongs: on teaching our students!