1. Do you support legal recognition of marriages between persons of the same-sex?
A. Yes. Two people should have the right to declare their lifelong commitment to each other. In addition to the important benefits of mutual love, support, and companionship, civil marriage also has many very tangible economic and social benefits which help promote stability in our society -- all good things which lesbian and gay couples should certainly share in as equal citizens of our nation.
2. Will you oppose efforts by Congress or other parties to stop the District of Columbia from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in Hawaii or other places?
A. Yes. I will actively lobby on Capitol Hill against any effort Congress may make to interfere with any states' recognition of same sex marriage. I look forward to working with the members of GLAA, The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and the DC Coalition of Black Lesbians, Gay Men and Bisexuals during my term on the City Council.
3. Do you oppose efforts by Congress or other parties to outlaw or restrict adoptions by unmarried couples in the District of Columbia?
A. Yes. More support is needed for adoptions of children in our community -- not less. Should there be restrictions of any type, they should, of course, apply equally across the board, without regards to the sexual orientation of the prospective parents. Unlike Newt Gingrich, I believe that children belong in a loving home rather than languishing in foster care or in institutions. Many lesbian and gay couples in our city right now are proving every day how capable they are to the very important task of raising children. I will continue to work closely with the community to see to it that Congress does not overturn our policies.
4. If Congress ever repeals the D.C. Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 that established the registration of domestic partnerships, will you vote to reenact the same law?
A. Yes. The lesbian and gay community very wisely, I think, has sought to establish domestic partnership policies in jurisdictions, union contracts, and corporations around this nation over the last decade. These policies can benefit senior citizens and extended families as well. The reality of family life today in America is that it is a diverse one. We must continue to respond to and address issues that that diversity raises. This is one way. Not only will I lobby Congress to make them allow us to use our own tax dollars to fund this program, but I will personally reintroduce the law as passed by the Council in 1992 should the Republicans retain control of the 105th Congress and completely disrespect democracy in DC and outright strike the law from our books.
5. Do you support the re-establishment of the Office of Human Rights as an independent, Cabinet-level agency whose Director has direct access to the Mayor?
A. Yes. There are a variety of plans in the city to consolidate the various business promotion and regulation activities that the city undertakes. I would support separating out the Office of Human Rights from the Office of Minority Business Development in this context. Human rights is a full time job and should have an agency head who is at least conversant in the topic. The City's financial condition at this time makes me reluctant to commit to spending new funds on this task. It is my understanding that OHR may not currently seek all of the federal money which may be available to process cases -- this situation must change and I will work wo see that it does. This will help make the job of processing backlogged cases easier.
6. Do you agree that the Boy Scouts of America is violating the D.C. Human Rights Law's ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by excluding gays from participating either as scouts or as leaders?
A. Yes. The District has a standard which is higher than many jurisdictions around the country -- the Boy Scouts, under our law, is not a distinctly private organization. They benefit from the use of our school facilities and other types of public accommodation. In turn they should fully obey our laws.
7. Will you vote to repeal the Armstrong Amendment, which allows religiously-affiliated private educational institutions in the District to discriminate against student clubs that promote equal rights for lesbians and gay men?
A. Yes, although it is not a live issue at this time. Should the Republicans retain control of Congress, any such Armstrong Amendment repeal effort in the 105th Congress would be doomed to failure. The sad irony of the situation is that Georgetown never sought Armstrong's actions and chose to make an out of court settlement with the gay student group trying to establish itself there. I do not believe that we need, nor should we tolerate, Congress' intervention on this and many other matters.
8. Will you oppose efforts by Congress or other parties to abolish or restrict the right of our public school students to form clubs that promote greater understanding between gays and others?
A. Yes. As a four year member of the School Board (At-Large), I hold a strong belief that in the public schools, our students need the right of free expression and association. I was appalled by the actions out in Salt Lake City to ban all student groups rather than to allow one gay-straight student club to come into existence. That kind of raw bigotry will not be tolerated by me or by the people of DC. I find it heartening that support for lesbian and gay civil rights goes up in the polls when people actually know a gay or lesbian person. Starting with people while they are in school is one way that we can all work to change minds and stop bigotry from developing.
9. Do you support the designation of a third party to act as a fiscal agent for the distribution of federal AIDS money, such as the system recently adopted by the Financial Control Board?
A. Yes, unfortunately, because D.C. has paid numerous AIDS service providers late resulting in the closure of several organizations. I will work to increase the Council's oversight responsibilities on matters such as these to see that they do not occur in the future.
10. Do you agree that our own elected officials, past and present, bear much of the responsibility for the District's current financial plight because of their reluctance to make tough budgetary decisions, to establish priorities, and to demand maximum efficiency and productivity (rather than political loyalty) from all District government agencies and workers?
A. Yes. The pain of the necessary budget cuts has been extended and prolonged by the lack of swift and decisive action. I will work to establish priorities in the budget and improve the management of city agencies. Having spent the last four years as a leading advocate for fiscal responsibility in the DC Public School system, I have the knowledge to create more effective oversight authority on the Council.
11. Do you support the condom availability programs that have been established in the District's public schools and prisons?
A. Yes. This program has two very important aims -- to reduce the spread of HIV and to reduce teen pregnancy. I support both objectives. In the corrections setting, it is very important to reduce the skyrocketing rate of HIV infection, especially since many inmates will one day rejoin their families and the community.
12. Will you support legislation that will establish an effective civilian complaint review system for our Metropolitan Police Department?
A. Yes. I think it was irresponsible of the Council to dismantle the Civilian Complaint Review Board and I opposed it at the time. Effective civilian participation in the police complaint review process is important, and the diversity of our city, including lesbians and gays, should be represented on the board. I support the current efforts of GLAA and others to create a new board if we can do it in a cost effective way that is offset by an increase in revenue or a decrease in some other programs which may be unnecessary. There very well may be some source of federal money that we can use to accomplish this goal as well.
13. Do you support sensitivity and community relations training for all elements of our public safety system (police, fire department, etc.) that includes strong recognition's of gay and lesbian community concerns, so that the District will never again tolerate the kind of insensitivity and incompetence reflected in the Fire Department's handling of the Tyra Hunter case?
A. Yes. The Tyra Hunter incident and the more recent incident on P Street have shown how important such programs are. I commend the work of GLOV, GLAA and others in providing training to the MPD. I will insist that members of the community be involved in the design and implementation of a sensitivity training program for the fire department as well.
14. Do you oppose legislation or initiatives that would authorize organized prayers in our public schools, thereby encouraging the harassment of individuals who choose not to participate?
A. Yes. I oppose organized prayer in the public schools. Students currently have every right to pray in school now as they choose and when they wish.
15. Do you oppose efforts to abolish or drastically curtail the powers of our elected Board of Education?
A. Yes. Having served for the last four years as an At-Large School Board member, I know first hand that elected school boards allow the greatest input by citizens. While some public officials fear public input, I am not one of those. I do support the recent decision to cut the salaries of the school board as well as curtailing the size of our staff. I want more money to go into instruction and services for children, and the physical plant of the schools, and less to bureaucratic inefficiencies that have escalated under the present Superintendent, Dr. Franklin Smith.
(Signed,)
Valencia Mohammed