Issue Position: Civil Rights and Equality

Issue Position

I believe every person should be treated with dignity and have equal rights under the law. No person in a free and fair society should make less money, be denied government services, pay more for healthcare, lose a job or housing opportunities, or face discrimination in the community or workplace because of their gender, race, creed, national origin, disability, whom they love, or anything else that defines them.I support protecting women's access to reproductive healthcare and federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other providers that ensure essential healthcare to women and men. I will work to protect marriage equality and LGBTQ rights. I also support the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. I support the rights of individuals with disabilities and will work to preserve the protections afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).We must pursue criminal justice reform. We are five percent of the world's population, but have 25 percent of the world's prisoners. We need criminal justice reform to ensure that our justice system is fairly sentencing offenders regardless of race or economic status, and that we're addressing issues related to addiction in our jails and prisons. I also support bolstering reentry efforts, which reduce recidivism and ensure that those who have paid their debt to society have the knowledge and resources necessary to become employed and engaged community members.

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