Issue Position: Civil and Constitutional Rights

Issue Position

Our nation is facing many challenges to ensure that justice is served for all citizens during these difficult times. Congressman Blumenauer is working towards this end in Congress in several arenas.

The Congressman opposed the passage of the PATRIOT Act in the fall of 2001, and has urged restraint by the Bush administration as these new provisions are implemented.

The abolition of the death penalty is one of Blumenauer's top priorities. Regardless of a person's personal feelings on the morality of the death penalty, it is clear that this highest of punishments has been frequently misused. Capitol punishment is unevenly applied to individuals convicted of crimes of the same severity, based primarily on the wealth, race, and social status of the defendant. It is far more expensive to apply than life in prison and the death penalty is not a successful deterrent to crime.

Congressman Blumenauer is a leader in maintaining Oregon's Death with Dignity law. He has actively opposed Congressional attempts to preempt the Oregon law, both in Congress and by bringing Oregonian's support for the law to the attention of Presidents Clinton and Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft. He recently submitted an Amicus Brief in support of Oregon's position on the Death with Dignity law.

Congressman Blumenauer has supported legislation throughout his career prevent racial profiling and hate crimes, and he is a cosponsor of several resolutions condemning such acts, including the "Anti-Racial Profiling Act of 2003."

The Congressman has supported the rights of individuals in the labor force, including the rights of gays and lesbians. As a member of the Oregon State House of Representatives, he chaired the legislature's first hearing on gay rights in 1973. In Congress, he continues his efforts to defend human rights for every individual regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. Congressman Blumenauer is a longtime supporter of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, which would protect gays, lesbians and transgendered citizens from being fired simply for who they are.

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