Amanda Curtis in State of Montana Archives
On Social Security:
Against privatizing Medicare and Social Security
In this time of elections being won by those with the largest bankrolls, it is a relief to have a candidate who indeed is "one of us" and who understands what day-to-day life is like for the vast majority of Montanans. Curtis stands for transparency
and accountability in government, evidenced by her daily YouTube posts as a state legislator from Butte during the 2013 Montana legislative session. We knew on a daily basis what Curtis was doing and, most important, what she was thinking.
Curtis will work to ensure that Montana's public schools remain high quality and that financial accessibility to post-secondary education is attainable. She is for keeping our public lands public. She supported and voted for Medicaid expansion.
She will work to ensure that women are free to make their own health care decisions. She is against privatizing Medicare and Social Security. She is a determined advocate for workers' rights.
Source: The Missoulian OpEd on 2014 Montana Senate race
Sep 2, 2014
On Gun Control:
Supports expanding background checks
An advocate for gun control, Curtis attended a 2013 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Rally to pressure Sen. Max Baucus to support expanding background checks.Conservatives have pounced on her writing in a socialist newsletter, along with her video diary.
In one entry, she said she had to stop herself from "walking across the floor" to "punch" Republican legislators who voted to make gay sex illegal in Montana. In another, she wore a hooded sweatshirt to commemorate the death of Trayvon Martin.
Source: ABC News on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 22, 2014
On Abortion:
100% pro-choice voting record
NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Montana issued a statement congratulating the Montana Democratic Party for having
made "a strong choice in nominating Amanda Curtis as the next Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate." Curtis, we learn, "has a 100% pro-choice voting record with NARAL Pro-Choice Montana."
Source: LifeNews.com on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 20, 2014
On Budget & Economy:
Economy that works for all of us, not just for the richest
Speech Accepting the Party's Nomination: "For the next three months, we're going to cross this state--towns small and large--and we're going to talk to people. We're going to share this vision--of an economy that works for all of us,
not just for the richest Americans, but beyond that we're going to listen because there's a hunger--a hunger for people to have leaders who actually listen for a change.
Source: 2014 Montana Senate campaign website, AmandaForMontana.com
Aug 16, 2014
On Civil Rights:
Outspoken advocate for labor unions and women's rights
Montana Democrats have chosen a promising young state legislator to replace John Walsh in a U.S. Senate campaign she has little chance of winning but which party leaders hope can pull disgruntled voters to the polls for other races, including the state's
lone congressional seat.First-term state Rep. Amanda Curtis, 34, is a high school math teacher in Butte who won the endorsements of Montana's teachers union for her opposition to charter schools as well as the Montana Sportsmen Alliance before
Saturday's party convention in Helena. Democrats are hoping her outspoken support for labor unions and women's rights will energize the campaign against U.S. Rep. Steve Daines.
Curtis sponsored several bills that didn't make it through Montana's
Republican-controlled statehouse. Among them was legislation to increase the mandatory percentage of Montana workers hired for state public works projects. Contractors, especially in the energy industry, opposed the measure.
Source: Washington Times on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Corporations:
Wall St. is doing great; recovery hasn't reached rest of us
Curtis appealed to working-class voters and portrayed Daines as being in the camp of corporations and the wealthy. She said her Senate campaign would focus on issues that include campaign finance reform, tax reform and funding for schools
and infrastructure that would create jobs. "This is the worst job market in a generation, but the stock market is doing just fine. Wall Street is doing great," Curtis said. "This recovery has not reached the rest of us."
Source: Helena Independent Record on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Drugs:
Medical marijuana law is over-restrictive
Curtis has come out in support of "reasonable" gun control legislation that would expand background checks, and has criticized a 2011 medical marijuana law passed by the state Legislature as over restrictive, and pushed to increase hiring of
Montanans for state public-works projects, according to the AP.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Education:
Math teacher and unabashed backer of public schools
Curtis, a 34-year-old math teacher at Butte High School, an unabashed backer of labor unions, public education and the "working class,"
is seemingly fired up at the chance to take on Steve Daines, the freshman Republican congressman who has had front-runner status for months in the Senate race.
Source: Billings Gazette on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Environment:
Big supporter of protecting access to public lands
She's a big supporter of protecting access to public lands, she said, and "keeping the government out of our bedrooms and our doctor's offices." She sponsored several bills that session, including one aimed at increasing the percentage of
Montana workers hired for public works projects. She was a vocal opponent of other bills she said amounted to a "full assault on people" by taking aim at free, public education, workers' rights and access to courts and public lands.
Source: Billings Gazette on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Government Reform:
When wealthy in Congress, playing field tilts to wealthy
"I might have the chance now to go across the state and say with a loud, aggressive voice that Steve Daines is wrong for Montana," Curtis said.
Not because he was successful in business and earned millions, she says, but wrong in part because Congress has enough of those people already.
"We all need to remember that Washington, D.C., is full of folks that have done incredibly well for themselves and when you send folks to
Washington, D.C., who have done incredibly well for themselves, they take votes that tilt the playing field to the wealthy and against us regular working folks," she said.
Source: Billings Gazette on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Health Care:
ObamaCare: don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
Curtis has supported a state expansion of Medicaid--something Republicans who control the Montana Legislature have blocked--and says now there are good things and bad things about the
Affordable Health Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. "I'm not a person who will throw the baby out with the bathwater," Curtis said.
Source: Billings Gazette on 2014 Montana Senate race
Aug 16, 2014
On Gun Control:
Common-sense solutions like expanding background checks
Speakers at a rally at the Capitol urged Sen. Max Baucus to change his stance and support expanded background checks before people can buy guns. The Democratic senator voted against mandatory background checks earlier this year. State Rep. Amanda
Curtis, D-Butte, told how at age 17, in May 1997, she and her family were awakened by a call from the police in the middle of the night telling them to come to a Billings hospital. They learned her 16-year-old brother had shot and killed himself playing
Russian roulette at a party.
"I would be willing to bet that every single one of you that's here today either has been directly affected or knows someone who has been directly affected by gun violence." Curtis, who is considering a race for the
U.S. House, called for common-sense solutions. "If Montana has 2.5 times the suicide rate of states with comprehensive background checks, maybe we should try that out," said Curtis, a high school math teacher.
Source: Billings Gazette on 2014 Montana Senate race
Jul 23, 2013
On Families & Children:
Oppose needing written parental permission for sex education
HB 239: Define scope/boundaries of human sexuality/reproduction education K-12.Analysis by Rewire.News: HB 239 would have required a school district to obtain written consent from a parent before instructing students in human sexuality
education. HB 239 would have also prohibited school districts from allowing any abortion services provider from offering any materials at schools.
Veto message:The Montana Constitution vests supervision and control of our public schools
in locally elected school boards. HB 239 would improvidently intrude upon the constitutional authority of the Board of Public Education and local boards. If parents are concerned about matters relating to the education of their children, they can and
should address those concerns with their local school board.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 28-22-0 on Apr/8/13; Passed House 56-41-3 on Apr/13/13; State Rep. Amanda Curtis voted NO; Vetoed by Governor Steve Bullock on Apr/25/13
Source: Rewire.News on Montana legislative voting record HB 239
Apr 13, 2013
On Civil Rights:
Repeal criminalization of gay sex under state law
SB 107: To revise deviate sexual conduct laws.Analysis by The Atlantic: Under Montana's state legislation, gay sex, [before this bill, was] a felony punishable with up to 10 years in jail and a $50,000 fine. SB 107 would change the
definition of "deviate sexual relations" in the state--a full 16 years after the state Supreme Court ruled that the language criminalizing gay sex as unconstitutional--and no longer lump in gay sex as the same kind of crime as having sex with an animal.
The bloc of 36 Republicans want to keep the law in place: "Sex that doesn't produce people is deviant," says Rep. Dave Hagstrom. Rep. Jerry O'Neil, who also voted against the bill, said. "If some 2nd-grade teacher wants to introduce her lover to the
kids, there isn't anything that the school board can do to stop that."
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 38-11-1 on Feb/20/13; Passed House 64-35-1 on Apr/10/13; State Rep. Amanda Curtis voted YES; Signed by Governor Steve Bullock on A
Source: The Atlantic on Montana legislative voting record SB 107
Apr 10, 2013
On Civil Rights:
Repeal state ban on sodomy; make gay sex legal
38 legislators in the Montana state House voted on Monday to keep sex between gay people illegal, a fact that elicited a stinging rebuke from state Rep. Amanda Curtis in a video:"The good news," according to Curtis, is that that the bill--designed to
repeal a law that targets gay individuals--will move forward in the state House after a 60-38 vote. "The bad news is that there are 38 people in the House who think that's how their district wants them to vote, or they are not listening to their district
and believe so strongly that gays should be felons that they have a moral obligation to keep it that way."
Curtis said it was hard for her to hold herself back from walking "across the floor" during debate on the bill in order to "punch" her colleague,
state Rep. Krayton Kerns, who "insinuated that if you are gay you do not have a moral character." In 1997, the state Supreme Court ruled that the 40-year-old ban on sodomy was unconstitutional, but the state legislature has yet to repeal the statute.
Source: Huffington Post on 2014 Montana Senate race
Apr 9, 2013
On Abortion:
Oppose "ministries" outside of birth control insurance law
SB 181: Exempt health care sharing ministries from insurance lawsSummary by The Montana Post, May 25, 2018: Under SB181, reproductive health care options can be refused in the same manner Hobby Lobby refuses to cover birth control for
their employees. The Democratic State Auditor's office noted the measure would strip consumers of health insurance protections under state insurance law and prevent the agency from investigating complaints.
Governor's Veto Message, Apr/5/13
: SB 181 creates a loophole in the insurance code for any entity calling itself a "health care sharing ministry." By exempting these ministries from the same regulations governing other insurers, SB 181 opens the door to fraud and abuse. It would
distort the charitable purpose of health care sharing ministries and leave Montanans vulnerable.
Legislative outcome: on 2/22/13: Passed Senate 31-18-1; on 3/20/13: Passed House 58-39-3; Rep. Curtis voted NO; Vetoed by Gov.Bullock 4/5/13.
Source: The Montana Post on Montana legislative voting record SB 181
Mar 20, 2013
On Gun Control:
Don't bar state enforcement of any federal semi-auto gun ban
HB 302: Prohibit state enforcement of any federal ban on semi-auto firearms/magazinesAnalysis by Associated Press in The Missoulian, March 28, 2013: House Bill 302 was backed by gun advocates who argued the state should be ready in
case Congress enacts a gun ban. But Bullock said in his veto message that it does not appear Congress will ban assault weapons, calling the bill "unnecessary political theater."
Veto Message : HB302 puts law enforcement in the position
of violating laws they have sworn to uphold. Public safety officers take an oath to "enforce or apply all laws and regulations" and also to "work in unison with all legally authorized agencies" [including federal laws and agencies]. HB 302 would subject
our peace officers to criminal sanctions for upholding their oath.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 28-21-1 on Mar/13/13; Passed House 62-35-3 on Mar/20/13; State Rep. Amanda Curtis voted NO; Vetoed by Gov. Bullock on Mar/28/13.
Source: A.P./The Missoulian on Montana voting record HB 302
Mar 20, 2013
On Energy & Oil:
Disclose state property energy efficiency on website
HOUSE BILL NO. 227: An Act Establishing a State Property Energy Performance Website; Introduced by A. Curtis:- WHEREAS, state government is a significant owner and operator of buildings in Montana and a major consumer of energy; and
- and
WHEREAS, the energy-efficient operation of state facilities should be a highly visible model for citizens, businesses, industries, and local governments;
- Disclosure of energy performance [via a] state property energy performance website administered
by the department.
- The website must allow a person who has internet access to use the website without paying a fee; allow the public to search energy performance data on an annual basis for each state property; [and show] a comparison
of the relative energy performance of a state property as compared to similar buildings located in similar climates.
- By January 1, 2014, the website must be operational.
Source: 2013 Montana Legislature voting records, HB227
Feb 1, 2013
On Crime:
No to capital punishment; yes to alternative sentencing
Q: Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?A: No.
Q: Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
A: Yes.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
On Education:
No vouchers; no charters; yes Common Core
Q: Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
A: No.
Q: Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
A: No.
Q:
Do you support state funding for charter schools?
A: No.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
On Government Reform:
Limit campaign contributions; and no photo ID's to vote
Q: Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates: Individual?A: Yes.
Q: Political Action Committee?
A: Yes.
Q: Corporate?
A: Yes.
Q: Political Party?
A: Yes.
Q: Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
A: No.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
On Gun Control:
No gun licensing; allow concealed carry
Q: Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?A: Yes.
Q: Should a license be required for gun possession?
A: No.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
On Immigration:
Illegal aliens eligible for in-state tuition
Q: Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?A: Yes.
Q: Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
A: Yes.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Increase income taxes on wealthy, but not others
Q: Indicate what state tax levels you support by general categories.
A: Slightly Increase income taxes for high-income families.
Source: Montana Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2012
Page last updated: Oct 13, 2021