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Legislative
Principles of
California Church IMPACT
This statement represents the present thinking of the Board
of Directors of California Church IMPACT, (hereafter referred
to as we) which includes nineteen Protestant and Orthodox
denominations and affinity groups in California. This statement
reflects the consensus of the California Church IMPACT Board
and does not claim to represent the viewpoints of all church
members in California.
PREAMBLE
Our scripture
and traditions proclaim the efforts of God's people to seek
harmony with the environment, to proclaim justice and to learn
how to live in peace in the human community. (Micah 6:8)
We believe that the government, as a legitimate arm of society,
has a special responsibility to promote and secure the well
being of its most vulnerable members.
We recognize the difficulty of giving specific social application
to the truths of our faith, for there will be hon-est differences
of viewpoint among Christians.
We have therefore sought to speak to current issues under
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, believing that these principles
reflect the will of God as fully as we understand it at this
moment of history.
I.
LIBERTIES
A. Religious Liberty
We affirm our support of the special protection afforded to
free-dom of worship, freedom of con-science, freedom of thought
and free-dom of religion, realizing that these freedoms are
the core of our American heritage and rights.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- maintain
the proper separation of church and state.
- recognize
that congregations, and all agencies of the denominations
are free from any government secret investigations, surveil-lance,
intimidation or any other acts that attempt to interfere
with God's call to justice and peace.
- recognize
the privilege of clergy to refuse to disclose penitential
communi-cations.
- guarantee
institutional residents the right to have religious services
pro-vided by chaplains who have met standards of preparation
and who are recognized by their denomination.
- guarantee
a trained, permanent and continuous civil service chaplaincy
for residents of publicly funded institutions.
We oppose policies that:
- use
government resources to undo the Constitutional protection
of the free exercise of reli-gion or to interfere with the
free exercise of religion.
- would
impose on all Americans the religious viewpoint of any one
denomination or religious group.
B. Civil Liberties
Freedom of thought, freedom of association, and the right
to privacy are basic to human dignity. Full access to in-formation,
to diverse points of view, to religious, literary and artistic
communi-cation, is essential in a free society.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- provide
the civil rights and equality of all persons in employment,
state licensing, public housing, and public services.
- protect
the integrity of the family unit by providing necessary
economic supports so that parents are able to care for the
basic well being of their children.
- promote
citizen-supervised procedures for the public review of complaints
against law enforcement agencies.
- protect
the right of dissent.
We oppose policies that:
- allow
wire-tapping and electronic eavesdrop-ping except under
court order in limited circumstances.
- allow
the maintenance by government agencies of secret files on
lawful organizations and individuals.
II.
CHILDREN
We believe that society bears a certain responsibility to
ensure that every child has access to the benefits of human
provisions of intimate nurture, safety, health care, learning,
guidance, and reasonable economic support.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- protect
children from social, sexual, developmental or economic
exploitation.
- provide
services necessary to ensure placement of a child in a stable,
functional home.
- provide
adequate, convenient quality child care programs with uniform
standards for low-income families.
- ensure
child support payments by a legally responsible non-custodial
parent.
- provide
programs of diagnosis and treatment for problems of child
abuse and neglect.
- provide
temporary shelters, group homes, foster homes, and other
residential treatment programs for children and youth in
need of services.
- provide
trained advocates for children within the juvenile justice
system with the child's interest in mind.
III.
CIVIL RIGHTS
We believe that discrimination due to age, race, nationality,
gender or sexual orientation in employment, education, housing,
banking and the criminal justice system are fundamental civil
rights issues and of deep concern to people of faith.
A. Gender Issues
Both men and women are created to grow into mature persons
who develop their own particular abilities, choose their own
life plans, and accept others in a spirit of cooperation,
becoming both independent and interdependent. We believe that
public policies should encourage women to develop and exercise
their full potential as per-sons created in the image of God.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- include
women in decision-making roles and change behavior which
treats women as subordinate persons.
- facilitate
equal rights for women, specifically in these areas:
a.
Equal pay for work of compa-rable value;
b. Protection against sexual harassment at home, in the
work place, and through media and advertising;
c. Affirmative action programs for women;
d. Family leave for both parents;
e. Supportive handling of vic-tims and full prosecution
in rape assault cases;
f. Provision of shelters for bat-tered women and their children;
g. Job training and placement for displaced homemakers;
h. Credit and loan opportuni-ties;
i. Conversion rights for previ-ously-covered dependents
of group health insurance plans.
B.
Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Persons
Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender persons are created
in the image of God and are to be treated with dignity and
as valued members of society.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- affirm
civil rights and equal protection under the law in housing,
health care, and employment.
- establish
state recognition of domestic partnership, with full legal
rights and responsibilities, as the means for promoting
stable, monogamous, life long relationships among couples
of the same gender.
C.
Aging
We believe that society has a responsibility to make adequate
provision for aging people.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- ensure
older persons are not deprived of affordable housing.
- provide
adequate and appropriate health care.
- support
the right of older persons to employment without discrimination
on the basis of age.
D.
Race and Ethnicity
All human beings, regardless of ethnicity, are created in
God's image and represent the full expression of God's creative
diversity.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- re-spect
treaties and support the rights and opportunities of American
Indians, particularly in relation to their land, water,
treaties, culture and reli-gious heritage.
- ensure
the rights and opportunities of African, Asian, and Hispanic
Americans and all other racial and ethnic groups to full
participa-tion in California life.
- promote
affirmative action programs for persons of color.
- support
equal pay for equal work.
- provide
equal protection under the law and equal access to adequate
legal counsel.
E. Disabled Persons
As God's creations, we are fashioned uniquely; each endowed
with individuality of body, mind and spirit. Each has abilities;
each seeks fulfillment and wholeness. Each of us has disabilities;
each knows isolation and incompleteness.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- pro-vide
adequately for the basic needs of persons with men-tal,
developmental, physical and/or emotional handicapping conditions.
- bring
down barriers that inhibit persons with disabling conditions
to fully participate in California's social, economic, spiritual,
and cultural life.
IV.
IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
We believe that God's love embraces every member of the human
race, and therefore we are called to extend help to those
in need without regard to nationality, ethnic origin, religion,
culture or legal status. "Welcome one another as I have
welcomed you." (Rom 15:7) "I was a stranger and
your welcomed me." (Mt. 25:35) Biblical stories relate
that encounters with strangers may have divine significance.
Because we believe that all people are made in God's image
and exist under the reign of God, nations and their borders
do not claim our ultimate allegiance. We support policies
that promote the value and dignity of immigrants and refugees,
recognizing the many and important contributions they make
to our diverse state.
Therefore,
we support policies that ensure:
- adequate
housing, nutrition, health care, safe working conditions
and schooling for children on the move.
- access
for permanent residents to the same benefits citizens receive
- full
protection of human rights for all.
V.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
We affirm the importance of quality public education for persons
in California requiring all levels of government to comply
with constitutional guarantees of equal educational opportunity
for all children, youth and adults. We support the right of
free quality public education for every child in California.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- provide
for preschool child development programs with trained, certified
teachers to ensure that children will be ready for elementary
education.
- provide
funding for reduced class room size in all elementary grades.
- provide
funding for free before- and after-school programs for students
attending schools which qualify for free and reduced school
lunch programs.
- ensure
that special resources exist so that children may successfully
move from grade to grade.
- require
teachers to be trained and qualified to teach and be required
to demonstrate competence in the subjects they are assigned
to teach.
- mandate
all classrooms be equipped with current textbooks, technology,
instructional materials and supplies.
- ensure
that school building are renovated and brought up to basic
state and local building codes.
- provide
sufficient funding so that each school district may offer
equal education to its students regardless of the level
of wealth in the district.
- allocate
funding for professional and competent counselors for students.
- allocate
funding for social and health services.
- promote
equal access to higher education for all by affirmative
outreach and support for students from low income status.
VI.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
A. Employment
We believe that all people are created in the image of God
and have the right to economic resources necessary to enable
them to live with dignity.
Therefore,
we support polities that:
- ensure
decent, safe jobs with livable wages sufficient to support
a household's basic needs.
- ensure
adequate protections for vulnerable workers such as seasonal
farm workers.
- ensure
equal employment opportunities for all people without regard
to race, age, creed, national origin or ancestry, gender,
martial status, disability, or sexual orientation.
- advocate
the right of workers to bargain collectively.
B.
Food and Nutrition
We believe that adequate food and basic nutrition are essential
for human existence. It is the responsibility of society to
provide these necessities for low income persons.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- improve
nutrition, especially for children, the elderly and those
who are disabled.
- provide
for distribution of food among the most marginalized.
C.
Housing
We believe that everyone has a right to decent shelter.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- increase
very low, low and moderate income housing development and
preservation.
- enable
renters to become homeowners.
- provide
funding for transitional housing programs for homeless families
and individuals and adequately fund shelters as a temporary
measure for California's homeless population.
- provide
adequate, affordable supportive housing for people with
mental and physical disabilities, and the elderly.
D.
Public Assistance
We believe that adequate support services which enable people
to move from public assistance to employment must be created
and maintained. When jobs are not available or people are
unable to work, society has a responsibility to provide adequate
income for a minimal living standard.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- provide
quality child care and health care for parents and children
which continues into employment until such time as wages
support living costs.
- provide
adequate job training and employment supports to assist
individuals moving from assistance to livable wage jobs.
- provide
transportation for people in job training programs.
VII.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it...(Ps. 24:1a)
Earth-keeping today means insisting on sustainability--the
ongoing capacity of natural and social systems to thrive together.
This requires human beings to practice wise, humble, responsible
stewardship, after the model of servanthood that we have in
Jesus. No interpretation of justice and sustainability is
complete without an emphasis on frugality as a norm for all,
especially the prosperous.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- fund
research to determine population levels that can be adequately
sustained.
- protect
human health and the environment from pollution, particularly
in vulnerable communities.
- promote
planned urban and regional development with a priority of
preserving prime agricultural land.
- provide
for balanced, diversified transportation systems.
- promote
energy conservation and research for alternative energy
sources.
We support
the principle that California may establish environmental
regulations which are more protective of human health and
the environment than federal laws require.
VIII.
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
The world is becoming a holistic system of interdependent
social, economic, and environmental systems. Though many social,
economic and ecological problems can be resolved locally,
regionally, or nationally, an increasing number are transnational
in scope, and demand new expression of human solidarity that
defy the political realities of sovereign independence.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- recognize
human solidarity as essential to a sustainable global economy
requiring new levels of international cooperation and responsibility.
- recognize
that our global economic interdependence places a premium
on coordinated thought and action that puts a primary focus
on just and sustainable human development.
- call
for debt cancellation with countries where that public debt
is creating poverty.
IX. CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A. Incarceration
"Then they...will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we
saw you...sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'"
(Matthew 25:44)
We are concerned for people who are inmates of prisons. A
large percentage of these people are poor, people of color,
friendless, young, uneducated, unskilled, and products of
unstable families.
We are concerned for people employed by federal, state, and
local agencies to confine, supervise, and correct criminal
offenders.
We are concerned for the general public. Most prisoners return
to society. Surely it is in the best interest of our society
that these persons return motivated and equipped to live useful
and constructive lives.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- offer
alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders
as a viable option to incarceration.
- improve
institutional treatment, environment, rehabilitative and
correctional programs at all levels of incarceration.
- raise
the standards for employment of correctional officers and
other personnel to include psychological screening and appropriate
training in the area of human behavior.
We oppose policies that:
- incarcerate
or house juvenile offenders with adult inmates.
- try
juveniles as adults.
B. Restorative Justice
We affirm the concept of restorative justice which seeks to
repair injuries to victims, communities, and offenders, resulting
from crime. Restorative justice requires these parties to
work with government, and be actively engaged in the criminal
justice process.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- encourage
community access to institutions of detention in support
of the rehabilitation process of those detained.
- provide
better services of physical, emotional and financial support
of victims of violent crime.
C.
Death Penalty
We believe that capital punishment cannot be condoned by an
interpretation of the Bible based upon the revelation of God's
love in Jesus Christ; that as Christians we must seek the
redemption of evil doers and not their death; and that the
use of the death penalty tends to brutalize the society that
condones it.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- abolish
the death penalty.
- expand
the use of clemency.
We oppose policies that:
- would
expand the use of the death penalty.
- criminalize
the poor.
X. GAMBLING
We believe gambling is not a viable means of raising public
revenues and is not a substitute for a progressive system
of taxation.
Therefore,
we oppose policies that:
- expand
legal-ized gambling in California.
- attempt
to support the public structure through gambling & taxes.
XI.
HEALTH
A. Health Care
We believe that health and wholeness are central to the well
being of society. In the Christian tradition, "health"
is much more than mere physical well being; it is harmony
and balance in life, encompassing the physical, emotional,
and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
Therefore,
we support public policies that:
- establish
a universal health care system for all citizens of California
and provide quality health care for every person, a choice
of providers, and is focused on the needs of patients rather
than on the profits of health care institutions.
- provide
adequate substance abuse treatment for those persons who
cannot afford it.
- view
gun violence as a public health epidemic and seek to curtail
the production and sale of all weapons designed to harm
human life.
B. Abortion
We endorse the 1973 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on
abortion recognizing the responsibility of the state to protect
the life and health of the woman and of fetal life.
Therefore, we support policies that:
- provide
public funding for access to reproductive health care.
- provide
accessibility to abortion services for low-income women.
We oppose
policies that:
- seek
to restrict or limit the legal option of abortion for any
woman who, in consultation with her physician, chooses to
exercise her right to that option.
- require
parental consent for reproductive health care.
C.
End of Life Issues
We affirm the right of all persons to die with dignity.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- encourage
doctors and their patients to openly discuss medical issues
surrounding the end of life.
- empower
patients to make appropriate decisions about living wills
and pain management in consultation with appropriate medical
professionals.
XII.
GOVERNMENT AND THE PUBLIC
A. Tax Reform, the State Budget, and State Investments
The annual state budget is the collective public instrument
which is vitally important in addressing many of the problems
of our society. The state budget is a statement of our values
and is the fiscal avenue for addressing challenges to the
common good.
Therefore, we support policies that provide:
- adequate
funding for programs that will help all of California's
population live as contributing citizens in a just society.
- safeguards
to prevent waste and irresponsible spending.
- tax
reforms to ensure that all citizens pay a fair and equitable
tax in accordance with their ability to pay.
- ensure
that the investment of public and private funds honor human
rights and peace with justice in local, national, and global
markets.
B. Campaign Finance Reform
The influence of money in political campaigns and abuses of
the campaign laws has become a grave concern for California's
citizens.
Therefore,
we support policies that:
- seek
to improve the election process.
- allow
a combination of public and private funding to finance campaigns.
- provide
incentives for free political advertising as a community
service by local TV, radio, and print media
- designate
a state income tax check-off system for a specified amount
for political campaigns.
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