The Democratic Party has been, and will
continue to be, the defender of individual rights, while remaining
a strong champion for the common good.
We strongly oppose
the use of discriminatory racial profiling practices in law enforcement. It is not only unfair, it is a violation
of the basic American principle of innocent until proven
guilty.
We are deeply concerned
by evidence of striking racial disparities in certain
sentencing patterns among persons convicted of similar or
identical offenses.
We reaffirm our intolerance
for verbal and physical assaults against any person on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, gender
or sexual orientation. We support legislation to combat
hate crimes, and the collection and dissemination of information
about their prevalence by governmental agencies such as
the U.S. Department of Justice
.
We will petition our
elected representatives in the State Legislature
and in the U.S. Congress to stand firm for our civil liberties
and Constitutional protections at all times, including as
they work to meet the threat of terrorism.
We will continue to
lead the fight to end discrimination on the basis
of race, gender, religion, age, ethnicity, disability and
sexual orientation. The Democratic Party has always supported
the Equal Rights Amendment and will continue to do so.
We support the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act, to end workplace discrimination
against gay men and lesbians. We will fight for full funding
of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other
civil rights enforcement agencies.
We know there is still more we
can do to ensure equal opportunity
for all Americans, so all people willing to work hard can
build a strong future. We support affirmative action so
that it promotes equal opportunity for all, but does not
accidentally hold others back in the process.