§ 2011: Said that the issue of prayer in public schools should be decided by local governments.
§ Cosponsored a bill that would allow any employer or any insurer to discriminate and deny insurance coverage for a broad range of health care services – including but not limited to contraception – based on the CEO’s own religious or moral beliefs.
§ 2011: Said the Constitution ensures our country is not a theocracy and that “Congress should never prohibit the expression of your Christian faith in a public place.” Does not, however, believe the Constitution says anything about church and state.
§ 2010: Supported the right to construct Park51, an Islamic community center with a prayer room in downtown Manhattan, as a fundamental right to assembly and religious expression, saying that opposition is “all about hate and Islamophobia.”
§ 2003: Said that the “Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously tolerant America.”
§ 2011: Voted for the creation of a federally funded private-school voucher program for students with special needs and sponsored bills to create tax-code vouchers for public, private, religious, and home schools.
§ 2011: Voted against a bill to reauthorize a private and religious school voucher program in Washington, DC.
§ 2001: Said that federal funding of religious organizations was wrong.
Racial Profiling (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes “Islamaphobia” and the racial profiling of Muslims, and said in September 2010, “this blame of all Muslims for the atrocities of 9/11 only makes things worse.”;
§ Has denied he was the author of racist and discriminatory statements against African Americans, Jewish Americans and gays and lesbians in newsletters published under his name in the 1980s and 1990s.
Humane Immigration Policy (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes the completion of a US-Mexico border fence;
§ Opposes privacy intrusions created by Arizona’s SB 1070 anti-immigration law, which criminalizes the lack of immigration papers; gives police broad authority to arrest people and promotes racial profiling;
§ Wants to end birthright citizenship and effectively repeal the 14th Amendment for one class of people.
Closing Guantanamo Bay & Indefinite Detention (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes a two-tiered system where suspected terrorists – not convicted terrorists – are held indefinitely without charges or trial;
§ Says new detention powers under the pending National Defense Authorization Act should “scare the living hell out of every American.”
Gays & Lesbians Serving Openly In The Military (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Voted in December 2010 to repeal the law. “You just have the same rules for everybody and treat them all the same,” he said.
Ending Torture (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Said that “waterboarding is torture” and “illegal” and opposes all “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
Ending A Surveillance State Under The PATRIOT Act (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes the PATRIOT Act because it is “unpatriotic” and wants the broad powers it grants revoked;
§ During a November 2011 GOP presidential debate in Washington, DC, he said, “If you advocate the police state, yes, you can have safety and security and you might prevent a crime, but the crime then will be against the American people and against our freedoms.”
Freedom To Marry For Gay Couples (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes a federal constitutional marriage amendment;
§ Supports the Defense of Marriage Act as a matter of states’ rights;
§ Refused to sign the conservative Family Leader’s “marriage pledge.” The pledge asks candidates to support the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, back a constitutional marriage amendment and encourage legislative changes to “anti-marriage” aspects in divorce, tax and welfare laws;
§ Appears to support something like civil unions.
Reproductive Choice (Read more on this)
Ron Paul's Rating:
§ Opposes the federal government’s authority to regulate abortion, yet, in October 2003, voted in favor of a ban on so-called partial birth abortion;
§ Signed the Susan B. Anthony List’s “Pro-Life Pledge” in June 2011 that mandates a pro-life agenda in office;
§ Believes states should be given free rein to ban abortion.
ACLU Liberty Watch 2012 is the voice for the Constitution in the this year’s presidential election.
We're watching the issues, the candidates and the media to hold them accountable to the Constitution and our civil liberties. Because words matter. Because our rights matter. Because we're choosing a president, not our liberties.
