Where They Stand on the Issues Democratic & Republican Party Platforms

The Coach's Team ^ | 10/26/16 | Decision Magazine

[Oldpuppymax]

Many decisions are made at the president’s desk, but the major political party to which he or she belongs wields significant power over which domestic and international policies are advanced and what becomes law. Here is a summary of the parties’ positions on some of the vital issues facing the country.

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, stated, “We are a two-party system…we may not like it, but that’s a reality. A third party candidate is not going to win. The reality is that one of the candidates representing the two major parties is going to be elected president – period.”

SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE: DEMOCRATS seek to repeal the 1976 Hyde Amendment so that federal funds can be used to pay for abortions. The platform says, “We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers.” Democrats support ratification of UN efforts that affirm “the reproductive rights of women” globally.

REPUBLICANS assert the sanctity of human life and affirms, “The unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.” The party supports a Human Life Amendment making clear that the 14th Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth, and it salutes states that require informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods and clinic regulation.

MARRIAGE: DEMOCRATS applaud last year’s Supreme Court ruling that “LGBT people – like other Americans – have the right to marry the person they love.”

The REPUBLICAN platform condemns the Supreme Court’s rulings that removed the ability of Congress and the people to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The GOP urges the reversal of those decisions, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: The DEMOCRATIC platform says: “We support a progressive vision of religious freedom...