Issue Position: Civil Rights

Issue Position

One thing above all others in this great nation of ours is our freedom. Far too many of our heroic men and women in the armed forces have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to secure this freedom for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. Their sacrifice should not be in vain. I support our troops everywhere they're stationed as well as our veterans everywhere they're residing. This freedom we have been enjoying for so long has been gravely threatened, particularly since the horrible attacks of 9/11.

Actions taken by Congress and signed into law by Presidents G. W. Bush and Obama, such as the Patriot Act, the Patriot Act II, and the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) take away too many right from average Americans in order to address the actions of a small few extremists around the world. I believe that the powers these acts have given our government is far too overreaching and should be reduced. No American citizen on US soil should be denied due process regardless of how much our government thinks such persons are dangerous.

Although I believe in the definition of a traditional marriage where marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman, I also believe that gay people can and do love each other just the same as God's heterosexual children do. Gays aren't asking for any more than what straight people already enjoy when it comes to all the legal right in a civil union. Whether they want to call it marriage or we want to call it something else, when two people love each other, their rights should be the same regardless of their sexual orientation. A gay couple should be able to cover his/her partner under their health insurance. A gay couple should be able to visit his/her partner in an emergency room. Job discrimination against gays should be prohibited. Hate crimes against gays should be prevented. Gay couples should be able to adopt children. I firmly support gay rights. Our constitution is to guarantee and protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens - not to prevent certain people, targeted by bigots, from sharing in those rights and freedoms!

My opponent, Rohrabacher, voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation (Employment Non-Discrimination Act; Bill HR3685).
Rohrabacher voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC (Amendment introduced by Largent, R-OK; Bill HR 2587). Rohrabacher voted NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes (Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act; Bill HR.1913). Once again, he obviously feels, in this case at least, government has the right to invade our private lives by denying gays the same rights that straight folks have. Polls after polls show that the American people have grown more tolerant of gays openly functioning in our lives. Rohrabacher is once again out of touch with WE the People.

Rohrabacher's Voting Record:

NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation (Employment Non-Discrimination Act; Bill HR3685)

YES on banning gay adoptions in DC (Amendment introduced by Largent, R-OK; Bill HR 2587)

NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes (Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act; Bill HR.1913)

NOT standing up for WE the People

Varasteh's Congressional Pledge:

Support our troops
Support our veterans
Amend NDAA & Patriot Act by stripping away government's overreach into our private lives and never allow them to become permanent
LGBTQ community should have no less and no more rights than the rest of us
Label our genetically engineered food
Standing up for WE the People

Source