Kirsten Gillibrand in The New York Times 2010s

On Abortion: Abortion is the human right to bodily autonomy

Asked by an audience member whether she believed third-trimester abortions should be legal, Ms. Gillibrand spoke instead about abortion rights in general, reiterating a promise to appoint only Supreme Court justices who would uphold Roe v. Wade.

Ms. Gillibrand, long a prominent advocate for issues affecting women, has placed herself at the forefront of the debate, hoping that some primary voters may factor the new measures into their decisions. "Why should male legislators across this country decide when you are having children, how many and under what circumstances?" she asked Sunday, her voice rising. "I don't understand it. It's a human right. It's about having bodily autonomy. It's about being able to control your physical self."

She did not specifically address third-trimester abortions (which account for less than 1.5% of abortions), even when the audience member asked a second time.

Source: New York Times on 2019-2020 Fox News Town Halls Jun 2, 2019

On Gun Control: Ban bump stocks; reduce lobbying power of NRA

An audience member asked Ms. Gillibrand what she would do to combat gun violence that previous presidents had not. The three points she suggested were longstanding goals of gun control advocates: universal background checks; a ban on bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and military-style firearms; and a federal law against gun trafficking. Ms. Gillibrand argued that she could achieve them by reducing the political power of the N.R.A.

She said she would do so by creating public financing for campaigns, though the N.R.A.'s power is not quite so simple: It comes not only from direct donations to candidates but also from its ability to mobilize a reliable base of single-issue voters. Ms. Gillibrand did not hold back in denouncing the N.R.A., which she called "the worst organization in this country."

Source: New York Times on 2019-2020 Fox News Town Halls Jun 2, 2019

On Immigration: We need a humane asylum application process

Ms. Gillibrand called Mr. Trump's immigration policies -- including his separation of families and rejection of asylum seekers -- counterproductive. "We need to be able to fund the part of Homeland Security that's focused on antiterrorism, cross-border crime, anti-gun trafficking, anti-human trafficking and anti-drug trafficking," she said. "The funds that would normally go to fund those operations under ICE and under Homeland Security have been taken away, and they've been placed into other efforts, particularly for-profit prisons that are locking up mothers and children."

She called for a "humane" asylum application process, for immigration judges to be independent from the attorney general's office, and for "comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship."

Source: New York Times on 2019-2020 Fox News Town Halls Jun 2, 2019

The above quotations are from Media coverage of political races in The New York Times, 2010-2019. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of political races in The New York Times, 2010-2019. Click here for other excerpts by Kirsten Gillibrand. Click here for a profile of Kirsten Gillibrand.
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Page last updated: Dec 02, 2021