I think everyone in the United States knows by now that there is a presidential election going on for 2016, and if not, then do you live under a rock? Regardless, I sometimes question how many people are actually paying attention to the debates or the news or the election itself. Everyone knows talking about politics isn’t something you bring up at dinner, but how are people nowadays going to draw opinions on candidates for themselves if nothing is being discussed? Besides the few professors who blame a tired and unresponsive class on watching the debates Mets the night before, the entire election has been flying by with little discussion. So if you are a young student like me and have no idea who’s running for what party or who believes in what stand on an issue, don’t worry. Here’s a list of the top five candidates everyone is talking about and my interpretations of what they stand for in terms of abortion, marriage, immigration, the economy and gun control.

1. Hillary Clinton: Democrat, Previous First Lady and Secretary of State under President Obama

Abortion: Strong advocate for abortion rights. She told a Congressional hearing that, "Family planning is an important part of women’s health and reproductive health includes access to abortion.”

Marriage: Although not always her main viewpoint, her stance on same-sex marriage has evolved. According to her website,she led the effort to pass the first-ever U.N. Resolution on LGBT Human Rights, launched the Global Equality Fund, ended State Department regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families equal rights, helped implement LGBT-friendly workplace policies, and updated the State Department’s policy so that transgender individuals’ passports reflect their true gender.

Immigration: Believes deporting all illegal immigrants would be impossible. According to pbs.com, she believes the President should waive deportation for some immigrants. Clinton also supports comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.

Economy: Hillary will cut taxes for hard-working families to increase their take-home pay as they face rising costs from child care, health care, and sending their kids to college. Not only that, but her New College Compact will invest $350 billion so that students do not have to borrow to pay tuition at a public college in their state. Her plan will also significantly cut interest rates on student loans and enable an estimated 25 million Americans with student debt to refinance at today’s lower rates, saving the typical borrower $2,000 over the life of their loans.

Gun Control: Strongly disagrees with the notion that everyone has the right to own a gun. According to her website, Hillary will fight to improve existing law prohibiting persons suffering from severe mental illness from purchasing or possessing a gun, support legislation in ending domestic abusers from purchasing weapons, and abolishing the chance for anyone to purchase military-style guns.

2. Bernie Sanders: Democrat, Senator for Vermont

Abortion: As stated on his website, "the decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman and her doctor to make, not the government." He wants to expand Planned Parenthood facilities and also give women full access to birth control.

Marriage: Sanders believes all LGBT citizens should have equal rights as heterosexual partners. According to his website, he plans to sign into law the Equality Act, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, and any other bill that prohibits discrimination against LGBT people. Along the same lines, he wants to ensure all students can attend school without the fear of being bullied for their sexual orientation.

Immigration: As President, he would sign comprehensive immigration reform into law to bring over 11 million undocumented workers out of the shadows. As stated on pbs.com, Sanders has supported President Obama’s use of executive orders to waive deportation for some groups of immigrants, including those who were brought to the United States as children.

Economy: Simply put, Sanders wants to raise some taxes on the wealthy and cut taxes for middle class. From pbs.com, the Vermont Senator would use some of the revenue gained from higher taxes on the rich to lower taxes for middle and lower class Americans. Taken from his website, Sanders is determined to make college free. Yes, free. Not only that, he would lower interest rates on undergraduate loans would drop from 4.29% to just 2.37%. Under the Sanders plan, Americans would be able to refinance their student loans at today’s low interest rates.

Gun Control: Sanders has a very mixed stance on gun control. According to pbs.com, In the House of Representatives, Sanders voted against the pro-gun-control Brady Bill, writing that he believes states, not the federal government, can handle waiting periods for handguns. Soon after, he voted yes for the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that included an assault weapons ban. He has voted to ban some lawsuits against gun manufacturers and for the Manchin-Toomey legislation expanding federal background checks.

3. Donald Trump: Republican, Real Estate Developer, TV personality

Abortion: His stance on abortion has evolved over the years. After witnessing friends of his decide whether or not to abort their child, he developed the view of being pro-life. However, his opinion has changed multiple times quite frequently..

Marriage: Trump recently appeared on Fox News and made his position clear by emphatically saying once again, “I'm against gay marriage.” However, years ago, Trump told CBN’s “The Brody File” that gay people were “tremendous” and that “there can be no discrimination against gays.”

Immigration: I think this is an obvious one...According to his campaign site, Trump believes there should be a wall across the southern border to keep immigrants from entering America. And who would pay for this wall? Mexico themselves. Trump believes Mexico continues to make billions on not only our bad trade deals but also relies heavily on the billions of dollars in remittances sent from illegal immigrants in the United States back to Mexico. Along the same lines, any immigrant caught should be detained until sent home. Harsh.

Economy: According to pbs, in his 2011 book “Time to Get Tough,” Trump outlined a plan to end corporate taxes and significantly reduce individual taxes with a five-tier income tax system. In his proposal, the lowest earners would pay a 1 percent income tax and Americans earning more than $1 million would pay 15 percent. In the book, Trump proposed a one-time 14.25 percent tax on America’s wealthiest residents in order to pay down the national debt.

Gun Control: Trump outlines his beliefs by stating law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own. He also wishes for the background check and waiting period for people wanting to purchase guns should not exist anymore. Trump believes if all Americans can carry around their drivers license – which is a privilege, not a right – then anyone can do the same for concealed weapons.

4. Ben Carson: Republican, Neurosurgeon

Abortion: As seen on nbc.com, Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said he would "love" to see Roe vs. Wade overturned and make abortion illegal nationwide with almost no exemptions. While the Republican candidate said he opposes abortions for unwanted pregnancies and in cases of rape and incest, the retired neurosurgeon told moderator Chuck Todd he might be open to allowing abortions to preserve the life and health of the mother.

Marriage: In a statement issued after the Supreme Court ruling, Carson wrote that he disagrees with the decision to legalize same-sex marriage but that it is now the law of the land. The physician previously has argued that homosexuality is a choice and that he personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

Immigration: According to pbs.com, Carson’s immigration position is best laid-out in his 2014 National Journal Op-Ed, which proposes a national guest worker program. Under the plan, Carson would allow those in the U.S. illegally to apply for guest worker status if they leave the country and then show they have a guaranteed job awaiting them upon to return to the U.S. He would also increase penalties on employers and others who break immigration rules.

Economy: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said on Monday he favored a flat 15 percent tax rate and an end to all tax deductions, among other steps, in an effort to boost the U.S. economy and balance the budget. Carson said he would also trim the federal government spending by between 2 percent and 3 percent while also increasing revenue by repatriating corporate income from abroad.

Gun Control: Carson has said he wants to keep semi-automatic weapons out of the hands of violent criminals and the mentally ill, especially in urban settings. Otherwise, he wants to give Americans as much access as possible to the weapons and argues that gun ownership is an important right and protection.

5. Marco Rubio: Republican, Florida Senator

Abortion: On abortion, Rubio co-sponsored a 2013 Senate bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks since fertilization, making exceptions for the life of the mother, rape or incest.

Marriage: Mr. Rubio opposes same-sex marriage, saying he believes “the institution of marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman.” He has criticized judicial rulings overturning bans on same-sex marriage, but he says he opposes discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Immigration: Rubio believes we should start making our legal immigration system a merit-based system that encourages innovators will have broad benefits for our economy. Transitioning to a merit-based, high-skilled immigration system would help immigrants assimilate more quickly and easily into American economic and civil life. The first step must be enforcement measures that are effective and verifiable. Such measures would include securing the most vulnerable and most trafficked sectors of the southern border, mandatory E-Verify and the full implementation of an entry-exit tracking system.

Economy: Marco wants to cuts taxes, letting taxpayers keep more of their own money instead of sending it to Washington. Dramatically simplifies the tax code by eliminating all itemized deductions and tax “extenders.” Under Marco’s tax reform plan, the charitable contribution deduction and a reformed mortgage interest deduction would be available to all taxpayers. It would also consolidate the maze of higher education tax incentives into a single, $2,500 universal tax credit for the first four years of post-secondary education and costs related to eligible job skill training

Gun Control: Rubio strongly supports the right to own weapons. He has proved this by voting to block the expansion of background checks, fighting to end funding the Department of Justice’s attacks on law-abiding gun manufacturers and dealers, pushing to bring fundamental Second Amendment rights back to D.C. residents, protecting the Second Amendment rights of veterans and their families, etc.