Mike Parson on Civil Rights

	Mike Parson on Civil Rights

Governor bans reporters from briefings, questions by email

Parson's ban on reporters from daily state capitol briefings represents an assault on Missourians' First Amendment rights, PEN America said. Said Nora Benavidez, director of U.S. free expression programs. "His mandate that press may only submit questions in advance of briefings makes it impossible for journalists to question policies announced in the briefings and, alarmingly, allows Gov. Parson's staff to pick and choose which questions the he will answer at all." Source: PEN America on 2020 Missouri gubernatorial race , Apr 14, 2020

Overlooking minority, women businesses during health crisis

State Rep. Alan Green wants Parson to stop overlooking minority-owned businesses in the manufacture and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. "I have received communications that concerned me about the lack of effort being made to pursue business opportunities with Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise companies during the state's massive COVID-19 response," Green wrote in a letter. Source: St. Louis American on 2020 Missouri gubernatorial race , Apr 14, 2020

OpEd:Exempting church from coronavirus rules could be deadly

Parson's decision to exempt houses of worship from his ban on gatherings of more than 10 people is unwise and dangerous -- and as a Baptist minister, I wish Parson would eliminate the religious exception in order to save lives. While Parson encourages churches to avoid gatherings of 10 or more, he hasn't shut them down as other states have. Parson's religious exemption sends the wrong message and could prove deadly. Source: Kansas City Star on 2020 Missouri gubernatorial race , Mar 25, 2020

Allowed Roman goddess statue to return to Capitol dome

A 1,400-pound bronze statue of Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility, was returned to its perch atop the state Capitol building after a year of renovation. State Rep. Mike Moon decried the move as sacrilegious and tried to stop it. Parson did not respond to the appeal and pronounced the statue "pretty," adding that a slight delay in replacing it would allow Missourians to see a piece of the state's history up close before it was hoisted aloft to the dome. Source: Patheos.com on 2020 Missouri gubernatorial race , Feb 3, 2020

Moves primary due to virus, won't extend voter registration

Municipal elections in Missouri will be held June 2 instead of the regular election date of April 7, Parson ordered as part of the state's effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. The order directs local election authorities to maintain some dates for the election process, so voter registration, which closed March 11, will not be re-opened. And the date for declaring write-in candidacies will remain March 27 and only people who will be 18 or older by April 7 will be allowed to vote. Source: Columbia Daily Tribune on 2020 Missouri gubernatorial race , Feb 3, 2020

Gay people go to hell, but don't discriminate on earth

Parson has cleared up concerns about his views on gay rights after having suggested last year that he believed gay people go to hell. "I don't believe in discrimination against anyone," he said at a recent gathering in Springfield. Parson went on to explain that he does not believe in a gay life but that people who do should be free from discrimination, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch on 2018 Missouri Gubernatorial race , Jun 21, 2018

Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights. Click here for a summary of all issue stances of Mike Parson. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of Mike Parson. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of Mike Parson. Click here for VoteMatch responses by Mike Parson. Click here for issue positions of other MO politicians. Click here for MO primary archives. Click here for MO secondary archives.
*Other governors on Civil Rights:*			*Mike Parson on other issues:*
[Title7]	*Gubernatorial Debates 2023:* KY: Incumbent Andy Beshear(D) vs.State A.G. Daniel Cameron(R) vs.Ambassador Kelly Craft(R) vs.State Auditor Mike Harmon(R) LA: Incumbent John Bel Edwards(D,term-limited) vs.Jeff Landry(R) vs.Shawn Wilson(D) vs.John Schroder(R) vs.Sharon Hewitt(R) MS: Incumbent Tate Reeves(R) vs.Bill Waller(R,withdrew) vs.Brandon Presley(D) *Gubernatorial Debates 2024:* DE: Gov. John Carney (D, term-limited); vs. Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long (D) vs. Matt Meyer (D) vs. State Rep.Mike Ramone (R) IN: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R, term-limited); vs. Sen. Mike Braun (R) vs. Suzanne Crouch (R) vs. Jennifer McCormick (D) MO: Gov. Mike Parson (R, term-limited): vs. Jay Ashcroft (R) vs. Bill Eigel (R) vs. Mike Kehoe (R) vs. Crystal Quade (D) MT: Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) vs. Ryan Busse (D) vs. Tanner Smith (R, lost June 4 primary)	*Gubernatorial Debates 2024 (continued):* NC: Gov. Roy Cooper (D, term-limited); vs. Mark Robinson (R) vs. Josh Stein (D) vs. Dale Folwell (R, lost March 5 primary) vs. Michael Morgan (D, lost March 5 primary) vs. Andy Wells (R,withdrew) ND: Gov. Doug Burgum (R, retiring) vs. State Rep. Rick Becker (R) vs. U.S.Rep.Kelly Armstrong (R) vs. State Sen.Merrill Piepkorn (D) NH: Gov. Chris Sununu (R, retiring) vs. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) vs. Joyce Craig (D) vs. Chuck Morse (R) vs. Cinde Warmington (D) UT: Gov. Spencer Cox (R) vs. State Rep. Phil Lyman (R) vs. Minority Leader Brian King (D) VT: Gov. Phil Scott (R) vs. Selectman Peter Duval (D) vs. Commissioner Esther Charlestin (D) WA: Gov. Jay Inslee (D, retiring); vs. WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) vs. U.S.Rep.Dave Reichert (R) vs. State Sen. Mark Mullet (D) vs. County Chair Semi Bird (R) vs. Hilary Franz (D, withdrew) WV: Gov. Jim Justice (R, term-limited); vs. WV Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) vs. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams (D) vs. WV State Auditor JB McCuskey (R, withdrew) vs. WV Secretary of State Mac Warner (R, lost May 14 primary) vs. State Del. Moore Capito (R, lost May 14 primary)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Local Issues Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty [Title9]