John P. Roco
PLATFORM
"I come from a proud family raised by a father, a surgeon who never refused a patient for having no money or insurance. His skills, known locally, became called upon whenever ER patients had difficult cases: car, motorcycle, logging accidents; and dog bites to the face. His meticulous work left little scarring, and he never inquired of ability to pay from twilight ER calls. My mother, Nellie Marcelo Roco, told me how a cancer surviving surgical patient wrote to the newspaper, 'Thank God for Dr. Roco.' I have emulated my father in my counseling practice, and will follow his lead, his example in this run for the U.S. Senate Hawaii." ~John P. Roco
MY ISSUES LIST: "Why I run"
Immigration
There is so much at stake in our country with the Boston bombing, San Bernardino attacks, and Paris assaults on Jews. My father applied and came to the United States in 1962, fulfilling a need for medical professionals in the U.S.A.
With radicals intent on destroying our lives, screening is necessary. Hate and evil have no bounds. If they can destroy more people with plane or hotel attack, bomb, gun or knife, they will. Compassion has a place but safety first.
May 12, 2016
Foster Care
The weakest in society are the most important to protect; they have no place to run. States must be given flexibility for what works regionally, but federally we must require statistics that show which children are being abused in foster care and by whom. Current practices of a simple home study, and classes, with a background check, must have basic psychological tests added. We must catch potential abusers before they are certified.
May 12, 2016
Religious Freedom
As a pianist, I can not take any job for any wedding because anti-discrimination laws now say I cannot refuse any job, even if same-sex marriage is against my religous beliefs.
I have never had a same-sex marriage couple ask me to play for their wedding, yet I cannot be a wedding pianist for Catholic mass. The only religious services I have played for are Catholic masses; yet, now I cannot even play piano for weddings at Catholic masses unless I agree to play piano for any same-sex marriage.
This is religious discrimination against bakers, musicians, florists, wedding facilities, churches, and all those whose family traditions going back hundreds of years do not believe in currently pushed through laws.
We need someone to protect religious rights.
May 12, 2016
Education
We cannot allow sexually explicit ideas of what different groups judge of their own ways to do sex the right way, to become the dogma of classroom children. Demonstrations of sexual methods by people invested in their lifestyles, do no service to children and only give platform to people who like talking about their sex lives.
The vehicle to acceptance in society is not to take hostage of kids in the classroom and show them how different groups like to do sex, but instead showing all of us in the U.S.A. that sexual abuse is wrong, will not be permitted, that children will not be used as an audience to validate sex ways.
May 12, 2016
Military
Only with a very strong military can we, the U.S.A., and the world be safe. Hawaii is proof, our history and the most visited site on Oahu, Pearl Harbor. We can never get behind in the technologies, cyberspace included.
But shows of strength only make any of us safer in conjumction with honed diplomacy that is farsighted while being rooted in knowing what has happened in far past distant history, and more recently. Why were Japanese cars in China being smashed a couple years ago? What are the Senkaku Islands? What are China's island reefs? Thorough knowledge with strength combined with farsighted negotiations make peace.
May 12, 2016
Environment
Hunting is a key component in keeping down the population of feral pigs and keep equilibrium, to keep destruction of habitat for animal and plant life to a minimum. Attacks on rights to arms can keep law-abiding citizens from family traditions, often including serving in military and law enforcement.
Hawaii's natural paradise requires attention and funding for preservation and enforcement of laws keeping invasive species from wiping out more of the species already going towards extinction.
May 12, 2016