Alison Grimes on Civil Rights

Supports allowing gay marriage

AdWatch: VAWA and equal pay for women

The charge that McConnell opposed the Violence Against Women Act and equal pay legislation is central to Grimes' pitch to female voters. McConnell's team has pushed back, arguing that he was originally a co-sponsor of the bill and only voted against it twice because he felt one changed version of the bill went too far, and because once it was attached to a ban on assault weapons.

Both supportive and apprehensive about marriage equality

Grimes' campaign issued a virtually identical statement in February when the same federal judge ruled that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. This isn't the first time Grimes has seemed reluctant to discuss the issue: In August, she declined to express her views on marriage equality in an interview with Politico. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whom Grimes is attempting to unseat, opposed the ruling.

Fight for pay equity for women

ACHIEVING PAY EQUITY: Women are half of the labor force in this country yet still make 77 cents for every dollar--23% less than their male counterparts. In Kentucky, women lose nearly $5 billion in wages each year--a statistic that is staggering and unacceptable. With that money a working woman in Kentucky could purchase 78 more weeks of groceries, pay 14 more months of rent, make 8 more months of mortgage and utilities payments or buy 2,477 additional gallons of gas. In contrast, Mitch McConnell has called equal pay for equal work just another "special interest vote" and voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act--not once, but twice.