Phil Kline, incumbent in the election for attorney general in the state of Kansas, has faced much controversy throughout his first term.

Special attention has been paid to Kline’s take on several issues surrounding same-sex marriage, abortion and child abuse.

Kline, a Kansas City, Kan., native whose father abandoned him and his family at the age of 5, seems hell-bent of tracking down child abusers.

The problem of child abuse may, in fact, be an issue worth attacking; however, Kline’s tactics seem more detrimental to our youths than beneficial.

In 2003, he reinterpreted the state’s child abuse reporting law claiming that all healthcare providers, including doctors, school counselors and psychotherapists, are required to report all types of sexual activity involving a teen under the age of 16 as evidence of child abuse, even if the activity is with another adolescent. Fortunately a federal judge, claiming that this would be an invasion of sexual privacy and an enormous deterrent for teens seeking healthcare, has recently overturned this.

It is clear that these laws would do nothing to address the real issue of child abuse.

Kline further presses the issue with his attitude towards homosexuals when he is quoted saying that “the state should have harsher punishments for a boy if he had sex with an underage boy rather than a girl because the heterosexual couple may some day get married.”

He has repeatedly voiced his opinion on same-sex marriage, especially when he actively pursued the ban on same-sex marriage in 2004 in the state of Kansas.

Kline has also waged several battles over the issue of abortion by throwing several loops into the legal and medical processes, trying to further hinder anyone from receiving an abortion.

However, even when taking a stand on issues surrounding abortion, he has failed to provide anything better than a narrow interpretation of his views.

In 2003, Kline requested the medical records of more than 90 women and girls who had either given birth to a child or had an abortion.

He has weighed criminal charges against several doctors who terminated advanced pregnancies out of concern for the mother’s psychological condition. The Kansas law permits abortion late into pregnancy only if women would otherwise face substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.

Kline has been in constant battle with the abortion clinics that are appealing his rulings on the release of women’s medical records and arguing that his restrictions have been a huge deterrent to adolescents seeking healthcare. It seems that Kline appears to go far beyond infringing the rights of women and their privacy.

This candidate, who is up for re-election, seems to pose many threats to adolescents and women as a whole.

When someone is considering potential candidates for an election, he should be aware of the candidate’s political ambitions.

Take a stand on Tuesday against Kline’s personal agenda and protect the rights of Kansas citizens.