Issue Position: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Issue Position

The foundation of our country is equality and liberty. At times, some seem to forget that we should treat each person with the same respect and dignity with which we want to be treated. Maryland continues to be a national leader in protecting a woman's right to choose, supporting Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender ("LGBT") rights and promoting progressive values. Marc's support for these values has earned him the endorsements of NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland and Equality Maryland.

Notwithstanding Maryland's great strides, we cannot be complacent and there is more work to be done.

Guaranteeing a Woman's Right to Choose: Maryland enacted the Freedom of Choice Act in 1991, meaning that even if Roe v. Wade were overturned, Maryland would still protect a woman's right to have control over her reproductive health. Unfortunately, anti-choice activists have undertaken a litigation strategy to chip away at reproductive freedom. For example, innovative laws to ensure that so-called "pregnancy crisis centers" make women aware of all of their options and not just those pushed by anti-choice activists have been under siege in the courts. In other states, arbitrary restrictions are being added to when abortions can take place or where clinics can be located. These efforts must not be allowed in Maryland and Marc will fight against them.

Promoting LGBT Equality: In 2012, Maryland became the first State in the country to uphold marriage equality at the ballot box. Marc strongly supported Question 6, the marriage equality ballot question. But the work goes on to make sure marriage equality is properly implemented so that married couples get all of the benefits of marriage at the local, state, and federal levels. Maryland can serve as a model for other states as the march for equality continues.

Protecting Transgender Rights: Maryland finally passed the Fairness for All Marylanders Act in 2014, a law banning discrimination in employment, housing, and other sectors for the transgender community. Now that the law is passed, Maryland must enact and enforce it and Marc will work to ensure that happens.

Securing Our Voting Rights: Our form of government relies on voters showing up at the polls. This should be made easier and not harder through the expansion of early voting and same day voter registration. As a member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, Marc has advocated for and helped push to passage legislation to expand voting rights. At the same time, we must be mindful of security risks to our elections. Marc will support efforts to modernize Maryland's polling machines and support a verifiable voting system such as an optically scanned paper ballot system.

Guarding Our Privacy: The digital age brings many benefits and conveniences, but also great risks to our personal privacy. Marc will work to make sure that state privacy laws are updated to address 21st century technological issues including web browser tracking, social media, and facial recognition. What seemed like science fiction only a few years ago is now our daily existence and we must make sure sensible user protections keep up with the rate of technological change.

Reforming Marijuana Laws. Maryland's current marijuana policy criminalizes non-violent citizens who might otherwise lead productive lives while diverting precious law enforcement resources from other needs. Statistics show that marijuana laws are disproportionately levied against African-Americans by more than a two-to-one ratio despite equivalent levels of use. All of this for a policy that has never been shown to actually accomplish its stated goal--a reduction in the use of marijuana--and costs over $100 million a year. Marc supports reforming Maryland's outdated marijuana laws. The state has recently fixed its medical marijuana law so that those who need marijuana for reasons of health or pain to access it, as has been proven to work effectively in other jurisdictions. The state has also decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, but holes in the law must be fixed so that paraphernalia is similarly treated as a civil and not criminal offense. Furthermore, non-violent offenders with marijuana possession charges should be released if serving prison time, taken off probation, or have other collateral effects removed from their records. Marc also supports transitioning to a "legalization, taxation, regulation" model, as other states are doing. Such an approach would acknowledge that the "war on drugs" has failed, levy a tax on marijuana in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco, and maintain important regulations on marijuana based on age, public use, and advertising as applies to other, legal vices.

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