Justice

 

I have a picture of my grandmother holding my 3-month old daughter’s hand which defines my passion for justice and equality. My grandmother was born on a North Carolina plantation where her mother had been a slave. In the span of a single lifetime, my 100 year old grandmother could touch the hand of slavery, and with the other hand clutch the hand of my now teenage daughter.  My daughter is growing up in a NC with Bev Perdue as its Governor, Kay Hagan as Senator, and Barack Obama in the White House.  That kind of progress doesn’t happen on its own.  It only occurred because people of all races, ages, and faiths worked together toward a shared vision.  But much remains unfinished.   

The politics of our broken Senate seeks to divide us on issues like closing the achievement gap, achieving pay equity, fighting sexual orientation and gender discrimination, and promoting equity in the criminal justice system. I will bring knowledge of a greater truth to the Senate: progress on civil rights and liberties affects Americans from all walks of life. When minority populations perform at lower levels in our schools, or women experience injustice in the workplace, it hampers our national economic competitiveness, weakens our social institutions, and undermines our efforts to promote a just, diverse society. In a new Senate, I will extend the hard work of generations in the name of progress: 
 

  • I support increased funding for and reform of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind) to address disparities among school districts.

  • I would have voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and will support policies for pay equity and non-discrimination in the workplace.

  • I am opposed to discrimination in any form, including against persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered. I support full and equal legal rights for same-sex couples.

  • I support efforts to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

  • I would have voted for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

  • I support bipartisan efforts for comprehensive immigration reform.

  • I support the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

  • I am opposed to the death penalty.

  • I support the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade.