Mitch McConnell: No. "I've always felt that marriage was between one man and one woman." But sees 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage as "the law of the land."
Amy McGrath: Yes. Supports the "freedom to marry who you want to marry." "No Kentuckian should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation."
Source: CampusElect on 2020 Kentucky Senate race
, Oct 10, 2020
I co-sponsored VAWA but final version went too far
Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes is hitting Sen. Mitch McConnell on women's issues in her newest ad, the latest in a series featuring regular Kentucky citizens: Ilene Woods of Lynch KY asks McConnell why he voted
twice against the Violence Against Women Act and "against enforcing equal pay for women." After a moment of silence, Grimes says, "I can never get him to answer this one either." She adds, to McConnell: "I approved this message, because
senator, you must be forgetting that over half the voters in Kentucky are women like Ilene."
The charge that McConnell opposed the Violence Against Women Act and equal pay legislation is central to Grimes' pitch to female voters.
McConnell's team has pushed back, arguing that he was originally a co-sponsor of the bill and only voted against it twice because he felt one changed version of the bill went too far, and because once it was attached to a ban on assault weapons.
Flag-burning is free speech; no Constitutional amendment
Although the issue of an anti-flag-burning amendment to the Constitution had flared up yet again, McConnell was able to put it out without getting singed politically.
Seeing the issue more than ever before as one of political speech, he urged pressure on Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia to change his position and oppose the amendment.
Byrd did, announcing his switch in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. This gave opponents 36 votes, two more than needed to defeat the amendment.
Only two other Republicans joined McConnell in voting "no," thus demonstrating his willingness to stand against his party on matters of principle.
Although the issue of an anti-flag-burning amendment to the Constitution had flared up yet again, Mitch McConnell (R, KY) was able to put it out without getting singed politically. Seeing the issue more than ever before as one of political speech,
he urged pressure on Byrd to change his position and oppose the amendment. Byrd did, announcing his switch in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. This gave opponents 36 votes, two more than needed to defeat the amendment.
Source: Republican Leader, by John Dyche, p.153-4
, Sep 15, 2010
1963: Witnessed MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech
In the summer of 1963, McConnell served as an intern for ultraconservative Kentucky congressman Gene Snyder.
Though MLK Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963, thrilled and inspired McConnell, he dared not let his enthusiasm show around Snyder's office. "I went outside to stand on the Capitol steps.
I supported Dr. King and his cause, and wanted to witness what I knew would be a pivotal point in history. In the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial,
Dr. King issued the greatest declaration of freedom since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation a century earlier. His words moved a nation.
Rated 20% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record.
McConnell scores 20% by the ACLU on civil rights issues
The mission of the ACLU is to preserve protections and guarantees America�s original civic values - the Constitution and the Bill of Rights:
Your First Amendment rights-freedom of speech, association and assembly. Freedom of the press, and freedom of religion supported by the strict separation of church and state.
Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
We work also to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor. If the rights of society�s most vulnerable members are denied, everybody�s rights are imperiled.
Our ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization`s preferred position.
Rated 0% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance.
McConnell scores 0% by the HRC on gay rights
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 HRC scores as follows:
0% - 20%: opposes gay rights (approx. 207 members)
20% - 70%: mixed record on gay rights (approx. 84 members)
70%-100%: supports gay rights (approx. 177 members)
About the HRC (from their website, www.hrc.org):
The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of more than 700,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
Ever since its founding in 1980, HRC has led the way in promoting fairness for GLBT Americans. HRC is a bipartisan organization that works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.
About the NAACP (from their website, www.naacp.org):
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has worked over the years to support and promote our country`s civil rights agenda. Since its founding in 1909, the NAACP has worked tirelessly to end racial discrimination while also ensuring the political, social, and economic equality of all people. The Association will continue this mission through its policy initiatives and advocacy programs at the local, state, and national levels.
From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. For nearly one hundred years, it has been the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that has saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society.