Promoting Equality of Opportunity
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
We have struggled for more than two centuries to make good on the premise contained in the Declaration of Independence and to secure our “unalienable rights.”
Our work is not done. Discrimination on the basis of age, ancestry, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other factors continues to prevent millions of Americans from enjoying “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
A Record of Leadership
Shortly after he turned 21, Andrew moved to Montgomery, Alabama to work for the Southern Poverty Law Center. He joined the Center’s Klanwatch Project, researching Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi activities around the country and producing intelligence reports for law-enforcement officials. It was one of the most rewarding jobs he ever had – a chance to protect the victims of hate groups and help bring the perpetrators of violence to justice.
Five years later, Andrew accepted a position with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, a state civil rights agency. He designed and supervised an undercover investigation of employment discrimination in the Boston-area labor market, using “testers” to ferret out racial bias in the hiring process. That work reaffirmed Andrew’s commitment to use the law as a means of guaranteeing equality of opportunity.
The same goals guided Andrew’s service in the Colorado House of Representatives. He voted to ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, strengthen hate-crimes legislation, and extend full legal rights to same-sex couples. He has consistently opposed attempts to deprive women of their constitutional right to choose.
A Plan of Action
Andrew will bring a lifelong passion for social justice and human rights to Washington. As our U.S. Senator, he will fight to:
- Strengthen the enforcement of federal civil-rights laws, removing barriers to employment, housing, and public accommodations.
- Protect the right to privacy, including reproductive rights.
- Secure full equality, including the right to marry and to serve openly in the military, regardless of sexual orientation.
- Preserve religious freedom.
- Ensure equal pay for equal work.
- Expand access to educational opportunities.
- Prohibit racial profiling and promote a more equitable criminal-justice system.
