Benjamin Franklin once said, 'A people who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.' I think we can have both. We can keep our liberties. We can have our security.

About the only gun law we have in Vermont is during deer season. If you have a semi-automatic, you can't have more than six rounds in it.

Our nation relies on immigrants.

The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court.

I'm a gun owner.

Contrary to what some believe, taking all reasonable and feasible precautions to protect civilians - and mitigating the resulting anger when we harm them - does not need to impede military operations.

Everyone in Congress wants our country to lead, to build alliances, to help American companies compete, and to protect the interests and security of our citizens. You can't have it both ways. You can't expect others to follow if you can't lead, and you can't lead if you don't pay your way.

If we harm civilians when it could reasonably have been avoided, and if we fail to fairly and promptly help the innocent victims, the local population will turn against us - and make the fight against violent extremists even more difficult.

That the Islamic State is guilty of horrific atrocities is common knowledge. But most Americans seem unaware of the human toll of our own actions, the consequences this has for our national security and our reputation, and that, too often, the civilian casualties we cause are the result of avoidable mistakes. This must change.

If the United States is to be a beacon of hope around the world, our actions have to match our ideals.