2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide

Transcription

1 2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide

2 The Candidates Representative Randy (R), incumbent Dennis (D), challenger

3 2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide What role would religion play in the candidate s decision making in his or her role as U.S. Representative? Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums? Does the candidate support the use of public funding for religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based initiatives, to provide services? Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving public funds? Does the candidate believe government sanctioned religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious symbols on government property.) Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education? C INL SCORE Key: Candidate s remarks and/or actions toward the Secular Coalition s stances have been: : Generally or consistently positive. B: Neutral or occasionally positive. C: Mixed, with positive and negative responses. : Generally or consistently hostile or negative. : t the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for merica was unable to verify the candidate s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate. If the SC was unable to find a candidate s stance on at least four of the six questions, the candidate was given a final score of. The above chart is based on the topics and individual public candidate responses in the following sections.

4 Individual Candidate Responses What role would religion play in the candidate s decision making in his or her role as U.S. Representative? Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums? C Rep. voted in favor of reauthorizing the DC opportunity scholarship program which took public funds away from public schools and gave them to private schools, 82% of which were religiously-affiliated. 1 On the 2010 Christian Coalition survey, he responded that he supports education vouchers for public or private schools. 2 On his campaign website, writes, I support our teachers and our public schools system, and will work to ensure that much-needed resources are not diverted to for-profit corporations. 3 Does the candidate support the use of public funding for religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based initiatives, to provide services? Rep. voted in favor of HR 592, which made houses of worship eligible for emergency assistance and disaster relief from the federal government, funds which were not made available to many other secular non-profits. 4 1 Scholarships for Opportunity and Results ct (SOR); Bill HRes186 ; vote number 11-HV200 on Mar 30, Christian Coalition Survey, ug 11, On the Issues website accessed Jun 24, Education, Dennis for Congress. Dennis s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, ederal Disaster ssistance Nonprofit airness ct of 2013; Bill H.R. 592; vote number 13-HV039 on eb 13, 2013.

5 Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving public funds? Rep. cosponsored H.J.Res. 51, proposing a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. 5 On his campaign website, he writes, Randy is fighting against federal and state laws that undermine the sanctity of marriage and subsidize the break-up of families. 6 On his campaign website, writes, Despite majority public support for legalizing same-sex marriage, there are still too many states where such marriages are illegal. The challenges that the LGBT community faces with regard to employment and housing must be addressed. 7 Does the candidate believe government sanctioned religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious symbols on government property.) Rep. cosponsored H.Res. 250, expressing support for prayer at public school board meetings. 8 5 Bill sponsored by Rep. Huelskamp; H.J.Res.51; 13-HJRes51 on Jun 28, Issues, Randy for Congress. Randy s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, Civil Rights, Dennis for Congress. Dennis s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, Expressing support for prayer at school board meetings; Bill HRes250; 13-HRes250 on Jun 6, 2013.

6 Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education? Rep. voted in favor of and cosponsored multiple bills that restrict reproductive rights. 9 On the 2010 Christian Coalition survey, he responded that he supports prohibiting embryonic stem cell research. 10 He also sponsored HR 718, which awards federal grants to groups who teach abstinence-only sex education. 11 Rep. voted in favor of barring the EP from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. 12 On his campaign website, writes, Women s access to reproductive care, including contraception, is under attack around the Nation. 13 On the environment, he writes, I believe that we all want a clean environment for ourselves and for the generations to follow and there is nearly unanimous consensus in the scientific community that climate change is real; that it is critical; and that human activities, in particular the production and use of fossil fuels play a very real part in creating the problem of climate change. If we are truly concerned about what sort of world we leave to future, we must be willing to address climate change now. 14 Methodology Candidates were graded only on questions for which the Secular Coalition was able to identify the candidates' position either through statements or previous actions. or each response, the candidates were given a grade of, B, C or. n "" grade earned the candidate 3 points, "B" earned 2 points, "C" earned 1 point and an earned 0 points. n average of the candidates' grades for each question were averaged for each section. Grades of "" indicate that the Secular Coalition was unable to identify the candidate's position on the given topic. The section averages were then averaged for the total score. grades were not factored into the candidate's score. verages were compiled on the following scale: = B = C = = No Taxpayer unding for bortion ct; Bill H.3; vote number 11-HV292 on May 4, Christian Coalition Survey, ug 11, On the Issues website accessed Jun 24, bstinence Education Reallocation ct of 2013; Bill HR718; 13-H718 on eb 14, Energy Tax Prevention ct; Bill H910; vote number 11-HV249 on pr 7, Civil Rights, Dennis for Congress. Dennis s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, Energy and the Environment, Dennis for Congress. Dennis s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, 2014.

7 The Secular Coalition for merica is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States. We are located in Washington, D.C. for ready access to government, activist partners and the media. Our staff lobbies U.S. Congress on issues of special concern to our constituency. Our member organizations are established 501(c)(3) nonprofits who serve atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheistic mericans. Their purpose in founding the coalition was to formalize a cooperative structure for visible, unified activism to improve the civic situation of citizens with a naturalistic worldview. number of additional organizations have endorsed our mission statement. Member Organizations merican theists merican Ethical Union merican Humanist ssociation theist lliance of merica Black Nonbelievers Camp Quest Council for Secular Humanism reethought Society reedom from Religion oundation Hispanic merican reethinkers Humanist Community at Harvard Institute for Humanist Studies Military ssociation of theists and reethinkers Recovering from Religion Richard Dawkins oundation for Reason and Science (US) Secular Student lliance Society for Humanistic Judaism The UU Humanists