Barack Obama on Civil Rights

Obama on Civil Rights Issues

• Supports affirmative action.
• Opposes gay marriage; supports civil unions with full rights. Opposed constitutional ban on gay marriage.
• Wants to close Guantanamo and restore right of habeus corpus.
• Voted no on Patriot Act wiretapping.
• Voted yes on reauthorizing Patriot Act.
• Supports Feingold's amendments to the Patriot Act.
• Opposes 'don't ask, don't tell' in military.
• Supports better enforcement of Equal Pay Act for women.
• Supports strengthening Disabilities Act.
• Supports affirmative action in government and colleges.
• Voted no on banning flag-burning.
• Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
• Combat Employment Discrimination
• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
• End Deceptive Voting Practices
• End Racial Profiling
• Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support
• Eliminate Sentencing Disparities
• Expand Use of Drug Courts

From barackobama.com:

Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights

“The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen — they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs. . . . We have more work to do.”