Go to the 2018 Gubernatorial Videos main page to find out more about the letter the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) sent, the questions we asked, and the process we followed in making sure as many candidates as possible participated in this video voter guide.
Each candidate was given the choice of either coming into FACT’s headquarters for interview-style videos with FACT President David Fowler or shooting the videos themselves. Kay White decided to have FACT shoot the videos.
To view the transcribed text from the video, click on the plus sign. To collapse the text window, just click the minus sign.
QUESTION 1
What do you think is the primary function of civil government?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, I believe that our government was originally set up for the people to represent the people, not to hover over the people and make the people become slaves of the government. The government was to be our voice together, and our government has not been that, David.
QUESTION 2
Do you think that either the concept of “gender,” as distinguished from “sex,” or “gender identity” should be included as a protected class in Tennessee’s civil rights laws? Why or why not?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, no, I do not because, David, God doesn’t make mistakes. He made us what we are born to be, be it male or be it female. And I do not think that either should be a protected class. We’re all protected under God’s laws, and we shouldn’t start trying to change what God Himself ordained in His books and in our identity.
I do not agree with the transgender bathrooms, and I feel that mostly people who are transgender are predators if they are wanting to go into the bathroom that is not their gender. And that’s my concept of it, and I have even spoken with some gay people who have said to me, “Oh, I want to go into the bathroom of the gender that I was born to be.” But I do have friends that feel the same that are transgender, but they do not go into the other bathrooms. They’ve expressed to me that they too think that it’s more of the class of people who are predators and want to prey upon our young, defenseless people.
QUESTION 3
Do you think the concept of sexual orientation should be included as a protected class in Tennessee’s civil rights laws? Why or why not?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
No, I do not. There, again, I believe that we are born what we are born to be. And I think all people should be protected, but I don’t want people to get the wrong ideal [idea] that I think one class should be protected any more than any other class of people. We are all to be protected under the laws of our land, but I do not think that we should, for instance, in government or in the courts of our law, should we have certain people that are protected under Sharia Law, for instance, and others that go by our Constitution. No, we live in America. We have our laws; they are set. And I think if the civil rights-type people had left this alone, there would not be the problems we have today, David.
QUESTION 4
If litigation over a new or existing law in Tennessee or even in some other state gave the United States Supreme Court an opportunity to reverse its 2015 decision regarding same-sex marriage, would it be your hope that the Court would do so? Why or why not?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, first of all, I have to say the Supreme Court, by our Constitution, did not have the right to make any law, so that was an illegal decision on their part when they tried to make a law that they didn’t have the right to make, David. I just tell it like it is, and this is the truth. But, yes, as far as reversing that, I would be for them reversing that because they had no business making that law, and we as citizens set back and allowed this to happen. This should be—In each individual state, we have government set up, and they had no business interfering in what they were elected to do. They did something totally illegal, totally unconstitutional, and I am by the Constitution for our United States.
QUESTION 5
If Roe v. Wade were ever overturned, what law or laws regarding abortion would you be willing to encourage the Legislature to enact and why?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, David, as Governor, I would tell our Legislature in Tennessee abortion is wrong on all counts. The only, only exception would be if a doctor determined that the life of the mother were endangered, and that decision had to be made by that family and by the woman herself. Do I want to give life, or do I want to take the chance that my life will be lost in the process?
I’m a mother, you know. I have given birth to five children. I have lost two babies, and I know that I’ll see them again in heaven. So, I believe that if that question had ever been proposed to me, Do you want us to abort the baby or do you want to risk your own life? David, I would have chosen my baby, because I’ve lived my life. Pretty much, even back then, my other children had need of me as a mother, but I still would have felt that God would not have let me conceive if He had not meant for that child to be born. And I am very, very strong on pro-life.
I think that people will really regret someday when they realize that they had murdered their own child. In fact, I have spoken with young women about this, David, who have asked me over and over, Will God forgive me? And my answer to those people are, What did He say to the man as He hung on the cross? That was a murderer. He said, “Father, forgive them.” That was talking about the people who were crucifying Him. But the man that asked His forgiveness, He said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” And I believe that if we ask forgiveness, no matter what we’ve done, God never turns a deaf ear and He has a forgiving heart. And we as people, we need to be the same way. If you know someone that has committed this act, you still need to love them because it’s not up to you to forgive. You need to love them and try to show them God’s grace.
QUESTION 6
In 2016, the ACLU filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against a local school district for discrimination because it had designated its multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms for use based on the student’s biological sex, even though it made accommodations for students who do not want to use those facilities based on their biological sex. What are your thoughts about whether schools should be allowed to have such a policy and whether the state should protect local schools from complaints and lawsuits over such policies?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
David, as Governor, I would say, yes, our state needs to protect those schools because I am here to tell you, number one, they opened up a can of worms because when you tell boys they can go in a girls’ locker room, what are they going to do at that age? They are going to go even if they hide and look. It’s nature. I’m a commonsense person, and I know that when you open up a door, it often swings too wide. And it gives an opportunity for girls to be harassed, laughed at, mocked should their bodies not be what the guys think it should be. Vice versa, with the boys it also happens. I don’t think too many girls would want to go into the boys’ locker room. I’m just being—having commonsense and telling it like it is. You remember: I’ve raised nine children. I know kind of how they think. And the boys would love, though, the opportunity to look at the girls. That’s the way it is when you’re that age.
And I am saying we need to protect our children from discrimination, from being bullied, from being harassed. This is what the ACLU should be looking at, those personalities, the character that is being developed. But I do not feel that they are looking at that. They are looking more at stirring up trouble, making noise, and having something to get on their bandstand and preach about. That is totally irrelevant to the maturing and growth of our children. So, as a parent and as Governor, as a leader in our community, I stand on what is right and what is wrong. And there’s not a lot of gray area with me, David.
QUESTION 7
Should the Attorney General continue to be appointed by the state’s Supreme Court justices or should that office be filled by popular vote of the people or by appointment of the Legislature in the same way they appoint the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer and what is the basis for your opinion?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, number one, I do not think they should be appointed by the state Supreme Court. I feel that either by popular vote or the Legislature, either one, I could live with because, certainly, we have one administration that has mostly Democrats that they appoint to these court positions. The next administration likewise does. So, there’s an imbalance. Whoever comes in as Governor needs it to be more by the people, for the people, and these legislators have been elected across our state by the people. So I would be happy with the legislators appointing—making these appointments or by popular vote because I think the people’s voice should always be heard, David.
QUESTION 8
What criteria would you apply in nominating someone to the Tennessee Supreme Court?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
Well, David, first of all, I think that they should be very knowledgeable in our state laws as well as the Constitution of the United States, which intertwines with one another. And I like the conservative views because conservative views are usually more for the people. Liberal views are liberal. The word tells it all; it’s whatever comes and whatever goes in most cases. So, I would look at someone that was conservative, that knew the law, and that was willing to lay their hand on the Bible and take the oath, that they would uphold the laws of Tennessee. Of course, I am a Republican, and I would prefer that that person be Republican and to meet my criteria. Most of them most likely would be Republican, because not too many Democrats want to uphold the Constitution and the laws of our state, David. They used to, but not now.
QUESTION 9
In some states, religiously-based adoption agencies are being threatened with the loss of their state license to do adoptions if they will only place children in homes in which the marriage is between a male and female. What position would your administration take on that issue?
Kay White’s answer transcribed from video
David, as Governor, I would certainly take the position they should not lose their license because, number one, religious-based adoption agencies are supported by the people, usually by the religious foundation that they are affiliated with. So, I really feel like, having been a parent, I will say again, every home needs a mother and a father. And I feel that adoption needs to be less expensive.
We need to place the Tennessee children in homes that will be loving. They need to be checked on. We need to know that the money that is given to them even in foster care is used correctly. We’ve recently had some cases, as you know, where the people have taken several foster children just to get the money, and they have been locked in rooms and malnutrition. I mean it’s—malnourished. And it’s just not right that we don’t oversee what happens to our children in Tennessee.
But, no, I could not in any way ever want our religious organizations to have their license taken from them. Out of the goodness of their heart, and most people that work in those are so passionate like I am about Tennessee. They’re passionate about doing what’s right for children. Why in the world would we as a state ever consider taking their license from them?
