Civil Rights

I've worked to defend and strengthen civil rights my entire professional life. I practiced employment law in Denver with a particular focus on the rights of employees. And as a state and then as a federal legislator, I’ve strived to protect the rights of all Americans, including women, immigrants, minorities and others in Colorado and across the country.   

VOTING RIGHTS

I'm pushing for passage of strong federal initiatives to stop voter suppression tactics that block millions from exercising their right to vote. I've cosponsored the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which strengthens and restores the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were weakened through the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder. And I want to secure our elections from foreign interference, which is why I support the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which will establish a commission to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.

IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS

America is and always has been strengthened by immigrants, and I'm engaged in the fight to oppose President Trump's and congressional Republicans' efforts to close our doors to them. I'm a cosponsor of the Dream Act, which provides relief from deportation to undocumented young people who were brought to the United States as minors, and I was the first Democrat to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on the legislation on the House floor. I strongly opposed the Trump Administration's family separation policy, which heartlessly divided immigrant and refugee families at the U.S border. I supported legislation to stop it, such as the Keep Families Together Act, and visited the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2018 to witness firsthand the effects of this cruel policy. 

WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Throughout my entire career, I have fought to secure women's constitutionally-protected right to safe and legal abortion services. During my time in the Colorado State Legislature, I passed a bill that protected patients at abortion clinics from anti-choice demonstrators, which came to be known as “Bubble Bill" and survived a Supreme Court challenge. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, I've led this impassioned fight with my House colleagues at a nationwide level. Attempts by the Trump Administration and anti-choice Republicans to strip away a woman’s right to choose will continue to fail because of our advocacy. I am a strong proponent of the EACH Woman Act, which would end the ban on federal funding for abortion, a provision that continues to harm low-income and minority women. I'm also working to oppose the Trump Administration's shameful rules that would let employers deny birth control coverage for their female employees. I will continue to fight this Administration’s ill-conceived and far-right priorities to roll back women’s right to make decisions about our own health care.

LGBTQ RIGHTS

As a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, I have long been committed to ensuring greater rights and representation for LGBTQ people. Recently, the battle for equality was front and center in Colorado: The Supreme Court case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission held national implications for public accommodation protections. I joined more than 200 congressional colleagues in signing an amicus brief supporting the respondents in the case, my constituents Charlie Craig and David Mullins, who were denied service by the Lakewood cakeshop. The court’s narrow ruling in favor of the shop’s owner further underscored the need to enshrine safeguards for LGBTQ Americans. To that end, I’ve cosponsored the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, I'm pushing back on the Trump Administration’s other attacks on this community, including its ban on transgender troops in the military and attempts to roll back safeguards for LGBTQ students.