My personal views, which are not necessarily the newspaper’s.

It’s only appropriate that a column on transparency begins with this full disclosure: I stole the idea from another columnist.

The Orlando Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell begins each year by explaining to readers his personal and political beliefs. He credits former Sentinel columnist Charley Reese with starting the tradition, on the grounds that “if opinion columnists are going to spend all year telling you what they think, they should first tell you where they stand.” The Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Henderson picked up on Maxwell’s missive and published his own revelation a few days later.

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Keep in mind that these represent my personal views, which are not necessarily the newspaper’s (hence “My View” vs. “Our View”).

I’m a registered independent (No Party Affiliation). I used to be a registered Republican, but I left the party of Reagan years ago (or it abandoned me and the Gipper). Today I identify more as a “conservatarian,” a mixture of conservative and libertarian beliefs. I vote for Republicans and Democrats, even though most eventually disappoint me.

I believe in constitutionally limited government, with more responsibilities exercised at the state and local levels rather than in Washington — although I am skeptical of most government power. Too often it wastes money and restricts freedom.

I abhor the relentless toxicity of today’s politics. I reject tribalism and identity politics. I wish we would focus more on the things that unite us, rather than those that divide us. Twitter and Facebook depress me; I often force myself to take breaks from them.

I am a near-absolutist on free speech. I believe the First Amendment was designed to protect unpopular speech, and that offensive ideas either should not be given the attention they crave or else be countered with more speech, not censored. I’m a “sticks and stones” originalist: I don’t think “hate speech” is equivalent to acts of violence.

I believe the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms, even though I’ve never owned a gun and have never fired anything more powerful than a .22-caliber rifle (once).

I think the War on Drugs has been a failure, and has done more harm than good by incarcerating too many people, militarizing law enforcement, and damaging communities.

I have changed my opinion on two major issues of the last quarter-century. I used to be in favor of the death penalty, but several years ago concluded that the government could not be trusted to impose the ultimate punishment consistently, fairly and accurately, nor could it reverse an error after the fact.

About 15 years ago I switched to support same-sex marriage, based on the writings of Andrew Sullivan and my friendship with a gay colleague who was (and still is) in a long-term, committed relationship.

Speaking of spouses, I have been married for 25 years to my high school sweetheart. We rent a home in DeLand. We have two sons, one who graduated Florida State University in December and the other who is a freshman at the University of Florida.

My wife teaches second grade in the Volusia County school system. She has taught 27 years, all in public schools. Most were Title I schools, those with high numbers of poor and minority children. She also taught a handful of years in a high-achieving charter school. Through her I’ve appreciated many of the challenges teachers face, and seen the effects, good and bad, government policies have on public education.

I believe in God and consider myself a Christian of the Anglican tradition, although I haven’t attended church regularly in several years.

I cheer for the sports teams of my alma mater, the University of Missouri, as well as the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs.

My biggest pet peeve is how many people use “less” in situations when “fewer” is correct.

I enjoy a fine cigar and fine single-malt scotch, preferably after a meal of grilled steak and a robust Cabernet.

My favorite rock groups are Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, The Who and Porcupine Tree. But I’m also a fan of the Carpenters.

I truly appreciate everyone who reads my column, even those who disagree with it.

Kent is The News-Journal’s Opinion page editor. His email is scott.kent@news-jrnl.com. His phone number is 386-681-2248. Follow him on Twitter @DBNJskent.