The Democratic Platform for America: on Civil Rights

Strengthen some parts of Patriot Act and change other parts

Guarding liberty. We must always remember that terrorists do not just target our lives; they target our way of life. And so we must be on constant guard not to sacrifice the freedom we are fighting to protect. We will strengthen some provisions of the Patriot Act, like the restrictions on money laundering. And we will change the portions of the Patriot Act that threaten individual rights, such as the library provisions, while still allowing government to take all needed steps to fight terror. Our government should never round up innocent people only because of their religion or ethnicity, and we should never stifle free expression. We believe in an America where freedom is what we fight for - not what we give up. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.18

Support affirmative action to redress discrimination

Our commitment to civil rights is ironclad. We will restore vigorous federal enforcement of our civil rights laws for all our people, from fair housing to equal employment opportunity, from Title IX to the Americans with Disabilities Act. We support affirmative action to redress discrimination and to achieve the diversity from which all Americans benefit. We believe a day's work is worth a day's pay, and at a time when women still earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, we need stronger equal pay laws and stronger enforcement of them. We will enact the bipartisan legislation barring workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. We are committed to equal treatment of all service members and believe all patriotic Americans should be allowed to serve our country without discrimination, persecution, or violence. We support the appointment of judges who will uphold our laws and constitutional rights, not their own narrow agendas. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.35

Racial and religious profiling is wrong

Racial and religious profiling is wrong and we will work to stamp it out. Hate crimes desecrate sacred spaces and demean good people, and we support a strong national law to punish them. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.36

Keep marriage at state level; no federal gay marriage ban

We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a "Federal Marriage Amendment." Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.36

*The above quotations are from The Democratic Platform for America: Strong at Home, Respected in the World, the Party Platform of the Democratic National Committee, approved July 2004.* Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights. Click here for more quotes by Democratic Party on Civil Rights. Click here for more quotes by John Kerry on Civil Rights.
*Other candidates on Civil Rights:*
George W. Bush Dick Cheney John Edwards John Kerry *Third Party Candidates:* Michael Baradnik Peter Camejo David Cobb Ralph Nader Michael Peroutka	*Democratic Primaries:* Carol Moseley Braun Wesley Clark Howard Dean Dick Gephardt Bob Graham Dennis Kucinich Joe Lieberman Al Sharpton
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