Cynthia McKinney on Civil Rights Green Party nominee for President (Former Rep., D, GA-4)

Keep affirmative action in college admissions

A: I have supported Federal funding and contracting preferences (in Georgia and in Congress) for women and minority owned businesses. I supported passage of the Violence Against Women Act. I have long advocated for reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans. I opposed efforts to end Affirmative Action in college admissions.

Supports gay adoptions

A: I supported the Equal Rights Amendment. I opposed efforts to ban gay adoptions in Washington DC.

Repeal the Patriot Act and end Islamophobia

Therefore, we need comprehensive federal investment in low-income families and communities, with an emphasis on people of color.

We need repeal of the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Commissions Act, and other legislation that rolls back bedrock civil liberties.

Reparations for former slaves, as promised & never delivered

Introduced MLK Records Act, to unseal assassination files

Voted NO on making the PATRIOT Act permanent.

• Assigning three judges to hear individuals' petitions concerning improper requests by the FBI for library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, book customer lists, and other records
• Reporting every year the number of library records orders that are granted, modified, or denied
• Allows Internet service providers to disclose their subscribers information and the contents of their communications to a government entity, if they believe there is “immediate danger of death or serious physical injury”
• Requires that any court that allows a “roving wiretap” under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) must describe in great detail the intended target whose identity is not known
• Allows individuals and businesses to seek legal counsel if they have received a National Security Letter from the FBI requiring them to disclose financial information and records

Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC.

Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions.

Supports reparations for slavery.

Reparations is a serious issue that should be seriously discussed. Not only can we not deny African-Americans the opportunity to discuss the issue on the world stage, we cannot deny the rest of the world the opportunity to discuss the issue with America. It is sad that the forces of the status quo have suffocated the attempts of Rep. John Conyers to have a simple hearing on a bill to authorize a study regarding reparations. It is sadder still that they are now trying to suffocate the voices of the entire world [at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa] . The damages suffered by families as a result of the slave trade are physical, mental and financial. They have long term consequences. If the world is to be a just one, we must engage in a real discussion about the resources that many people feel their ancestors were denied. Only when this is accomplished can we ever truly move beyond the wounds to focus on healing.

Ending racial profiling is part of fight for justice.

At the core of the Congressional Black Caucus priorities is its historical fight for civil rights and justice. Among other values, the CBC stresses federal emphasis on the following areas:
• Equal Justice. The CBC is committed to stopping racial discrimination in all aspects of our lives. We will continue efforts to end immediately the unjust practice of racial profiling, and the racial disparities in sentencing for both drug offenses and death penalty cases.
• Juvenile Justice. We must work with our children before they come in contact with our criminal justice system. The CBC supports conflict resolution and open communication initiatives that serve as preventive measures to violence. It is also the goal of this Caucus to properly address mandatory sentencing guidelines and racial sentencing disparities.

Constitutional Amendment for equal rights by gender.

Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women. Summary: States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Require "Privacy Impact Statement" on new federal rules.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT: It is clear that this bill's many cosponsors do not agree on every issue. The same can be said of the bill's noncongressional supporters, which include groups ranging from the National Rifle Association to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The sphere of privacy, which Justice Brandeis eloquently described as the ''right to be let alone,'' is not only rapidly diminishing, it is increasingly penetrable. The Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act takes the first--necessary--step toward protecting the privacy of information collected by the federal government, by requiring that rules noticed for public comment by federal agencies be accompanied by an assessment of the rule's impact on personal privacy interests, including the extent to which the proposed rule provides notice of the collection of personally identifiable information, what information will be obtained, and how this informational will be collected, protected, maintained, used and disclosed.

I want to emphasize H.R. 4561 will not unduly burden regulators nor will it hinder law enforcement. This bill will apply the best antiseptic--sunshine--to the federal rulemaking process by securing the public's right to know about how rules will affect their personal privacy.

EXCERPTS FROM BILL:

• Requires Federal agencies, when promulgating a rule, to publish a privacy impact analysis.
• Requires an agency promulgating a rule that may have a significant privacy impact on individuals to use specified techniques to assure that individuals have been given an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking.
• Requires each agency to carry out a periodic review of promulgated rules that have privacy impact, every ten years after the rule was published.

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME: Passed House on a voice vote; sent to Senate on Oct. 8, 2002; never called to vote in Senate.

Issue a commemorative postage stamp of Rosa Parks.

EXCERPTS OF RESOLUTION:

• Whereas in 1955, Rosa Parks's quiet, courageous act changed the United States and its view of African Americans, and redirected the course of history;
• Whereas at that time, in Montgomery, Alabama, as in other cities in the Deep South, the treatment of African Americans on public buses had long been a source of resentment within the African American community;
• Whereas White busdrivers, who were invested with police powers, frequently harassed African Americans;
• Whereas on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took her seat in the front of the 'Colored' section of a Montgomery bus, but was asked, along with 3 other African Americans, to relinquish her seat to a White passenger;
• Whereas although the 3 other African American passengers relinquished their seats, Rosa Parks refused to do so, and was arrested for that refusal;
• Whereas because Rosa Parks's act of disobedience launched the Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted for 381 days and propelled the civil rights movement into the national consciousness, she is widely known as the mother of the civil rights movement; and
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved that it is the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the late Rosa Parks.

Rated 80% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance.

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 HRC scores as follows:

• 0% - 20%: opposes gay rights (approx. 207 members)
• 20% - 70%: mixed record on gay rights (approx. 84 members)
• 70%-100%: supports gay rights (approx. 177 members)

The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of more than 700,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

Ever since its founding in 1980, HRC has led the way in promoting fairness for GLBT Americans. HRC is a bipartisan organization that works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.

Rated 97% by the NAACP, indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance.

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 NAACP scores as follows:

• 0% - 33%: anti-affirmative-action stance (approx. 177 members)
• 34% - 84%: mixed record on affirmative-action (approx. 96 members)
• 85%-100%: pro-affirmative-action stance (approx. 190 members)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has worked over the years to support and promote our country's civil rights agenda. Since its founding in 1909, the NAACP has worked tirelessly to end racial discrimination while also ensuring the political, social, and economic equality of all people. The Association will continue this mission through its policy initiatives and advocacy programs at the local, state, and national levels. From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. For nearly one hundred years, it has been the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that has saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society.

Supported legislation on violence against women & safety.

The teams of the Women’s Caucus are charged with advancing action on their designated issues in a bipartisan manner. Legislation from Team 1: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN/SAFETY ISSUES:
• HR764—Child Abuse & Prevention Enforcement (CAPE) Act—To reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect, and for other purposes. (Pryce) STATUS: Passed House, 10/5/99
• HR1248—Violence Against Women Act of 1999 (VAWA Reauthorization)—A bill to prevent violence against women. (Morella) STATUS: Hearing held, 9/29/99
• HR1352—Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victims’ Housing Act—A bill to provide housing assistance to domestic violence victims. (Schakowsky) STATUS: Amended version added to HR 1073 (Homeless Housing Programs Consolidation and Flexibility Act), which passed Banking Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, 4/15/99
• HR1869—Stalking Prevention and Victim Protection Act of 1999—A bill to expand the prohibition on stalking, and for other purposes. (Kelly) STATUS: Hearing held, 9/29/99
• HR2130—Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act of 1999—A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to add gamma hydroxybutyric acid and ketamine to the schedules of control substances, to provide for a national awareness campaign, and for other purposes. (Upton/Stupak/Jackson-Lee/Bliley) STATUS: Passed House, 10/12/99
• Protection of Women in Prison Act of 1999—A bill to require that facilities receiving federal funding develop and implement policies to restrict the role of male staff with regard to female inmates, address the particular health needs of female inmates, prohibit the routine shackling of pregnant women and women in labor, and provide additional protections to female inmates who report violations in order to protect them from retaliation. (Waters)
• HR3083—The Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999—A bill to provide protection for battered immigrant women. (Schakowsky/Morella/Jackson-Lee)

Supported funding for women's and disadvantaged businesses.

The teams of the Women’s Caucus are charged with advancing action on their designated issues in a bipartisan manner. Legislation from Team 9: WOMEN IN BUSINESS:
• HR413—PRIME Act—Grant program. Authorizes qualified organizations to provide technical assistance and capacity building services to microenterprise development organizations and programs and to disadvantaged entrepreneurs using funds from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (Rush/Leach)
• HR1496—Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs (ACE) Act—A bill to help reduce the number of uninsured self-employed persons, and their employees, by giving them better access to affordable health care options. This bi-partisan bill includes Association Health Plans (AHPs) and 100% tax deductibility of health care costs for the self- employed. AHPs allow the small businesses to join together through their trade associations to obtain the purchasing clout and administrative efficiency that employees of large employers currently enjoy. The ACE Act also includes a provision for 100% deductibility of health insurance costs for the self-employed. Currently, the self- employed are allowed only a 60% deduction, while large businesses enjoy a full 100% deduction. (Talent/Dooley)
• HR1497—Women’s Business Centers Sustainability Act of 1999—A bill to amend the Small Business Act with respect to the women’s business center program. (Udall-NM) H.RES. 15—A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding Government procurement access for women-owned businesses. (Kelly)
• HR2334—Access to Contract Equity Act (ACE)—A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to extend and make improvements to the provisions relating to procurement contract goals for small disadvantaged businesses and certain institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. (Velazquez)