Issue Position: Constitutional Freedoms

Issue Position

As head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, my job was to advance and defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for all Maine people, and that's what I will do in the United States Senate. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights unite us regardless of background, ideology and party. Washington has trampled on the Constitution over the last decade, and we need to restore trust in government with some checks and balances.

Repealing the Patriot Act

My first job at the ACLU was as a "Safe and Free" organizer working in 2003 to oppose the Patriot Act. It disturbed me then that only one Senator, Russ Feingold, voted no to the Patriot Act, and it disturbs me now that only one Senator, Rand Paul, is taking to the Senate floor to filibuster on drones. Abuses of power like the Patriot Act, REAL ID, the NDAA, NSA spying, and domestic drone surveillance threaten our democracy. When the government spies on its own people, we, the people, lose trust in our government. We can restore trust and a sense of community by restoring our constitutional freedoms.
In Maine, I led a coalition to pass groundbreaking privacy laws to require warrants before law enforcement accesses email or phone communications. As United States Senator, I will work with Republicans and Democrats alike to repeal the Patriot Act and restore checks and balances on government spying. I'm proud to have been called "the Elizabeth Warren of civil liberties," and that's exactly the kind of senator I intend to be.

Ending Our Drug War

I was the first US Senate candidate this cycle to support marijuana legalization. We need to end the war on drugs and reform our criminal justice system, and we cannot afford to wait. The United States incarcerates more people in total and more people per capita than any other country in the world, and the racial disparities are alarming. Our limited public resources would be much better spent investing in drug treatment facilities and community education in a regulated system that promotes community health and safety. Instead of spending billions on a prison industrial complex, we could invest those funds in education, prevention and rehabilitation. We should treat drug abuse as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.

Marriage Equality and Equal Protection

My commitment to civil liberties includes a passionate belief in the need for marriage equality all across the country. At the ACLU of Maine, I helped lead the Mainers United for Marriage campaign in 2012 to win the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples in Maine. All people deserve equal protection under the law, and we shouldn't have to fight this out fifty times. I support a bill to extend full marriage equality and benefits to same-sex couples no matter what state they live in. I have proposed a national Human Rights Act, modeled on the Maine Human Rights Act, to extend non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans in employment, housing, credit, public accommodation and educational opportunity. I'll be a strong advocate for equality in the U.S. Senate.

Common-Sense Gun Policies

As a former member of the National Rifle Association, I believe in the Second Amendment, and I support bipartisan reforms that make gun ownership safer for all of us. I support background checks for example. I believe reasonable safety measures are congruent with our constitutional freedoms. We should no more sacrifice security for freedom than we should sacrifice freedom for security.

Source