Interviews during 2017-2019: on Civil Rights

Jo Jorgensen: Some laws disproportionately victimize people of color

A: Yes, certain laws and policies disproportionately victimize people of color, such as the War on Drugs, no-knock raids, qualified immunity, militarization of police, and civil asset forfeiture. They also violate our constitutional rights and must be repealed.

Donald Trump: Agrees vibrant economy key to addressing racial tensions

TRUMP: That's right. We had the best African American employment numbers in history by far, not even close. We had the best Hispanic American, the best Asian American, the best numbers in history. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world and we had to close it because of the China virus.

Joe Biden: Our nation is at an inflection point

Jo Jorgensen: Add gender identity to anti-discrimination laws

Jo Jorgensen: Yes. "Gender identity" should be added to anti-discrimination laws.

Howie Hawkins: Yes. "What is needed now are federal and state laws that provide protection from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation under the Equality Act and equivalent state and federal laws."

Gloria La Riva: Oppose making English an official language

Gloria La Riva: Lower voting age to 15

Joe Biden: Require suburbs to open up to low-income housing

Howie Hawkins: Support International Bill of Rights for Women

We call for equal representation of women in Congress instead of the current 17% in 2012. We support the inclusion of an equal number of women and men in peace talks and negotiations, not only because these efforts directly affect their lives and those of their husbands, children and families, but also because when women are involved, the negotiations are more successful.

Kanye West: Never registered to vote before; Democrats "threatened" him

The reason why this is the first day I registered to vote is because I was scared. I was told that if I voted on Trump my music career would be over. I was threatened into being in one party. I was threatened as a celebrity into being in one party. I was threatened as a Black man into the Democratic party. And that's what the Democrats are doing, emotionally, to my people. Threatening them to the point where this white man can tell a Black man if you don't vote for me, you're not Black."

Rocky De La Fuente: Reform Party takes no stance on gay marriage

Jo Jorgensen: Oppose government aid to or attack of any religion

Jo Jorgensen: State licensing any marriage is illegitimate practice

Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Until such time as the government stops its illegitimate practice of marriage licensing, such licenses must be granted to all consenting adults who apply.

Justin Amash: The Fourteenth Amendment is my favorite amendment

Donald Trump: Treat Judaism as nationality, not just religion

Elizabeth Warren: Federal government helped create racial divide, must fix it

Rocky De La Fuente: Successfully challenged ballot access laws and regulations

Gloria La Riva: Longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights; in first march in 1979

Joe Walsh: It's racist to say "go back to where you came from"

"To say 'go back to where you came from' is gross. It's offensive, ignorant, anti-American, and racist," Walsh tweeted. "The most racist thing Donald Trump said yesterday? Of Baltimore, he said: 'No human being would want to live there.' So all those black Americans who live in majority black Baltimore aren't human beings? That's really ugly. That's really racist.

But it was not that long ago that Walsh thought Trump's language made him a bully, but not a racist, and that Walsh was still making racist claims about Obama: "Trump treats everyone like shit. Not just black women. He's not a racist. He's a bully."

Justin Amash: Proposed amendment to curb warrantless surveillance

Justin Amash: Real threat to marriage & religion is government, not gays

Bill Weld: Republican Party should reject immoral choice of racism

He added: "The national Republican Party, has a choice. And a lot of them like to think that it's a political choice. But it's not a political choice. It's a moral choice. Unless the Republican Party in Washington expressly, expressly rejects the racism of Donald Trump, they're going to come to be universally viewed as the party of racism in America."

Amy Klobuchar: Government must address integrity of elections

Julian Castro: Supports reparations commission, we need healing process

Kirsten Gillibrand: Let ex-cons vote; address racism in criminal justice

Pete Buttigieg: Problem about me being gay means problem with my creator

Pete Buttigieg was campaigning to be re-elected mayor, when he came out as gay in 2015--a first for his state, which was then governed by Mike Pence, a self-described religious conservative. At the time, Pence, who has a history of anti-LGBTQ positions, spoke warmly of Buttigieg after his announcement about his sexuality. This was despite the fact that Buttigieg had criticized Pence's support of a controversial religious liberty law that some groups said would give legal cover to discrimination.

"If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade," Buttigieg said while speaking at an LGBTQ event this week, making a direct appeal to the same religious beliefs that Pence has said support his social conservative.

Pete Buttigieg: Address racial divide by showing up & building trust

Wayne Messam: We must face institutional racism across the board

Cory Booker: Yes to reparations, but as part of larger conversation

Cory Booker: Will fight for LGBTQ rights; everyone should feel safe

Andrew Yang: Supports LGBTQ rights

• Social issues: Pro-choice and supports LGBTQ rights.
• Yang says he supports a woman's right to choose, and would nominate judges who share the same opinion.
• Yang would support legislation protecting people from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
• He also would nominate LGBTQ individuals to serve in high-level jobs in his administration.

John Hickenlooper: Supports gay marriage and LGBTQ rights

Jay Inslee: Backed legalizing same-sex marriage in his state

Bernie Sanders: 1983: Approved "Gay Rights Day" in Burlington Vermont

Bill Weld: Supports gay marriage

• Weld signed the amicus brief to overturn California's Prop 8, which outlawed gay marriage, but LGBT rights advocates say he's shifted his stance on gay marriage in the past.
• Weld's liberal stance on social issues often earned him the ire of the GOP, and helped block his nomination to be ambassador of Mexico under President Bill Clinton.
• The late North Carolina Republican senator and vocal segregationist Jesse Helms once accused Weld of perpetuating a "militant homosexual agenda."

Kamala Harris: Reparations for blacks should include HBCU and reforms

"We have got to recognize [that] people aren't starting out on the same base in terms of their ability to succeed," she said. "So we have got to recognize that and give people a lift up."

As she outlined her agenda--highlighting plans for historically black colleges and universities, tax proposals to address poverty and criminal justice reforms--Harris defended President Barack Obama when asked about African Americans who say the former president didn't do enough for the black population.

"None of us can do enough. And we all know that," Harris said. "If you are a parent raising a child, you know we can never do enough. As leaders, we can never do enough. It's important to acknowledge that. But let's also give people credit for what they have accomplished."

Amy Klobuchar: Anti-gay discrimination is bad for business

Howard Schultz: Starbucks did little to stop sexual harassment of employees

Kamala Harris: Let transgender people access the bathroom of their choice

• Same-sex marriage should be legal. Transgender people should use the bathroom of their choice. States need not necessarily pay for sexual reassignment surgery.
• On gay rights, Harris refused to defend California's law banning same-sex marriage while she was attorney general.
• She believes same-sex marriage should be legal and filed a court brief supporting transgender people's position that they should have access to the bathroom of their choice.
• She does not support states necessarily paying for gender reassignment surgery of transgender inmates, and once filed a court motion seeking to block the procedure in California.

Tulsi Gabbard: Views on LGBT rights evolved; 100% rating from HRC

A: I was raised in a socially conservative household with views and beliefs and things that I no longer hold today. My views have evolved, to the point where now you can look to my record over the last six years in Congress that reflect what's in my heart and my commitment to fighting for equality, my commitment to fighting for LGBT rights. I have a 100 percent legislative voting record with the Human Rights Campaign. I'm a member of the Equality Caucus, and, again, look forward to continuing to recognize the work that still must be done towards equality and working to make that change happen.

Kirsten Gillibrand: End the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy

• Gay, lesbian and transgender Americans should be allowed to serve in the military and marry whomever they chose.
• Gillibrand pushed to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that required members of the military who identified as gay or lesbian to keep their sexual preferences secret.
• She supported same-sex marriage before it was legalized.
• More recently, she opposed the Trump administration's attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military.

Cory Booker: Parents experienced racist "redlining" at family home in NJ

"When I was a baby, my parents tried to move us into a neighborhood with great public schools, but Realtors wouldn't sell us a home because of the color of our skin," he said in his video.

"A group of white lawyers, who had watched the courage of civil rights activists, were inspired to help black families in their own community, including mine. And they changed the course of my entire life. Because in America, courage is contagious.

"My Dad told me, 'Boy, never forget where you came from, or how many people had to sacrifice to get you where you are.'?"

Howard Dean: 2004: I wore a bullet-proof vest to argue for civil unions

"To try to act as if there is a difference between 'civil unions' and same-sex marriage is dishonest, cowardly and extremely disrespectful to the people of Hawaii," Gabbard said at the time. "As Democrats we should be representing the views of the people, not a small number of homosexual extremists."

The resurfaced comments drew condemnation from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the first governor in America to support civil unions and who sought the Democratic nomination in 2004. "I was on the other side of this argument wearing a bulletproof vest while she was saying this," Dean tweeted.

Tulsi Gabbard: Regrets past anti-gay statements; now pro-LGBTQ+ rights

Although Gabbard's positions on LGBT rights have shifted dramatically in more recent years (she signed a 2013 amicus brief supporting a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act), the extent of Gabbard's past anti-gay activism has already drawn criticism from prominent Democrats and will likely be a major issue for her as she seeks the party's nomination.

In a statement to CNN provided after the initial publication of this story, Gabbard said, "First, let me say I regret the positions I took in the past, and the things I said. I'm grateful for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have shared their aloha with me throughout my personal journey."

Tulsi Gabbard: 2002: Amend Constitution to protect traditional marriage

Gabbard's father ran The Alliance for Traditional Marriage, a political action committee aimed at opposing pro-gay lawmakers and to pass an amendment in 1998 that gave the Hawaii state legislature power to "reserve marriage to opposite- sex couples." The amendment to the state's constitution passed.

Gabbard was 17 at the time of the vote and cited working with her father and the organization during her run for the state legislature in Hawaii four years later when she was age 21.

Tulsi Gabbard: 2004: We shouldn't represent views of homosexual extremists

"To try to act as if there is a difference between 'civil unions' and same-sex marriage is dishonest, cowardly and extremely disrespectful to the people of Hawaii," Gabbard said at the time. "As Democrats we should be representing the views of the people, not a small number of homosexual extremists."

The resurfaced comments drew condemnation from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the first governor in America to support civil unions and who sought the Democratic nomination in 2004. "I was on the other side of this argument wearing a bulletproof vest while she was saying this," Dean tweeted.

Tulsi Gabbard: 2012: Apologized for anti-LGBT past; pro-LGBT bills now

Since joining Congress in 2013, Gabbard has supported efforts to promote LGBT equality, including co-sponsoring pro-LGBT legislation like The Equality Act, a bill to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect LGBT individuals.

"I grew up in a very kind of conservative household. A multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-faith home," Gabbard said in New Hampshire in December 2018, speaking to her shift. "Diverse in our makeup and diverse in our views. And I held views growing up that I no longer hold."

George P. Bush: Allow Muslims in leadership roles in state Republican Party

Several prominent Texas Republicans have rallied behind Shafi leading up to Thursday's vote--a list that includes U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Shafi's supporters compared the attacks against the surgeon to rhetoric the Ku Klux Klan used in the early 20th century against Catholics and Jews running for political office.

Ted Cruz: Allow Muslims in leadership roles in state Republican Party

Several prominent Texas Republicans have rallied behind Shafi leading up to Thursday's vote--a list that includes U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Shafi's supporters compared the attacks against the surgeon to rhetoric the Ku Klux Klan used in the early 20th century against Catholics and Jews running for political office.

John Kasich: Strongly opposed "bathroom bills" against transgender people

Deval Patrick: 1985: defended community activists in Alabama voter case

While the former governor has been out of office for more than three years, he was one of a handful of surrogate campaigners for Democrat Doug Jones against Republican Roy Moore in the December Alabama Senate special election.

Patrick sat for an interview in May where he discussed his 2006 gubernatorial bid, his time campaigning in Alabama and the need for the Democratic Party to open up to outsiders. "It was so much fun. I was in places I had spent time in before, in Selma and Birmingham . going back to my days litigating Jeff Sessions way back when. Yes indeed," he said.

Howard Schultz: Race Together: conversation on race with all Starbucks staff

"We realize that four hours of training is not going to solve racial inequity in America," Schultz told CNN last week. But he said, "We need to have the conversation. We need to start."

Schultz has addressed race before. After the police shooting death of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, Starbucks asked baristas to write "Race Together" on coffee cups in hopes of starting conversations. "It's not going to solve racism, but I do believe it is the right thing to do at this time," Schultz said at the time.

Tom Steyer: African-Americans waited for centuries for civil rights

Oprah Winfrey: Define marriage to include monogamous same-sex couples

Tulsi Gabbard: Against gay marriage but no government morality

Pete Buttigieg: Freedom is personal, not about government regulation

Pete Buttigieg: Came out as gay, to inspire others to judge character

Joe Walsh: Suspended from radio show for discussing racial slurs

In a series of tweets, Walsh says: "Just got kicked off the air until further notice. Tried to have honest discussion about racist terms and management censored my language."

The WIND general manager issued a statement explaining Walsh was pulled from the air but would return: "Joe Walsh conducted a segment of his show regarding the recent controversy about the name of the Washington Redskins [football team]. During the segment Joe intended to cite several common racial slurs as examples. He did not in any way use them in a defamatory or derogatory manner, simply as examples. However, AM 560 The Answer did not allow them to go on the air. We will continue that policy."

Oprah Winfrey: Credits the civil rights movement for her pathway to success