Black Hawk County Green Party

“The threat of the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 was that they would win. They would steal from us our freedom, our peace, our prosperity, and all that made our nation great. This is why, according to our government, we must protect ourselves from them by surrendering a portion of our freedom for safety, so that we can safely exercise our freedom.”

Lesbian Gay

Bisexual &Transgender Rights in Iowa

Resolution Supporting

Civil Rights

WHEREAS, every person should have the right to marry the person of her or his choice; and

WHEREAS, every person should have the right to be a parent; and

WHEREAS, fair access to housing and employment are fundamental to the civil rights of citizens;

THEREFORE, we support equal rights to adoption, custody, employment, housing, and marriage for all, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered citizens.

Resolution Supporting Marriage Equality

Whereas, Marriage should be about the love of two people.

Whereas, Civil Marriage is a legal contract between two people granting them over 500 rights and responsibilities in the State of Iowa, and over 1,100 in the United States.

Whereas, Civil Marriage is how government provides protection, support, and respect for families.

Whereas, all Iowans deserve fairness, equality, and the right to pursue happiness.

Be it resolved, that we support civil marriage for same-sex couples in the State of Iowa.

Be it further resolved, that we support legal recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples at all levels of our government.

Green Party of the United States Iowa Green Party Join Contact Us

Welcome to the homepage of the Black Hawk County Green Party. We are an affiliate of the Iowa Green Party and the Green Party of the United States.

The Green Party of the United States is a federation of state Green Parties. Committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing, Greens are renewing democracy without the support of corporate donors. Greens provide real solutions for real problems. Whether the issue is universal health care, corporate globalization, alternative energy, election reform or decent, living wages for workers, Greens have the courage and independence necessary to take on the powerful corporate interests.

We are grassroots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, nonviolent resisters and regular citizens who've had enough of corporate-dominated politics. Our 10 Key Values are the ideals that provide the framework for our work. The Green Party of the United States was formed in 2001 as a reincarnation of the older Association of State Green Parties (1996-2001). Our initial goal was to help existing state parties grow and to promote the formation of parties in all 50 states.

Green Party growth has been rapid since our founding in 2001and Green candidates are winning elections throughout the U.S. In 2004, the Green Party National Convention nominated David Cobb and Pat LaMarche for the Green Presidential ticket.

The Federal Elections Commission recognizes the Green Party of the United States as the official Green Party National Committee. We are partners with the European Federation of Green Parties and the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas

What We Advocate, Locally and Globally

DEMOCRACY:

ballot access for minority parties, right to participate in political debates for minority parties, instant runoff voting and same day registration;

EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE:

full funding for education at every level: primary, secondary, institutions for the handicapped, community colleges and public universities;
lower tuition and extension of financial aid for students to include more work study and low-interest loans;
single payer health insurance and health care for all Iowans;
enforcement of affirmative action in hiring to ensure equal treatment of applicants by race, gender or age;
the right to choice in abortion;
legislation to define and ensure safe staffing levels for health care facilities;

SOCIAL WELFARE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:

state recognition of civil unions between same-sex partners;
continued rejection of the death penalty;
repeal of Iowa's English-only law
a living wage; right to union representation and repeal of "right to work" laws that abridge it; denial of assistance to for-profit companies that fail to provide health care to their employees;
preservation of civil liberties and the right to counsel for all residents, including non United States citizens;
full funding of social services for people with disabilities;
introduction of labels for textile items that are “sweatshop free,” and requirement that state agencies and schools purchase only such items;
strict control of the licensing, selling and possession of handguns;
decriminalization of marijuana and increased expenditure on drug treatment programs;
restoration of the voting rights of former prisoners;
end of reliance on gambling revenues to support state programs;

PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT:

active state support for organic agriculture, small and midsize local farms and for incentives for sustainable agricultural practices;
local communities’ rights to restrict or ban hog lots and other large livestock factories;
low-interest loans for small businesses in rural and depopulated areas;
extension of the present bottle bill to containers not currently covered;
humane conditions for livestock, and freedom of animals to graze and exercise;
encouragement of and adequate funding of public transportation;
laws to require and enforce higher standards of pollution control in air and water;
bans on the use of any genetically modified organisms without independent testing and accountability;
establishment and extension of parklands, conservation areas, and other green space

National Platform

POLITICAL REFORM and PARTICIPATION:

We propose comprehensive campaign finance reform at the national and state level, including caps on spending and contributions, and partial public funding to remove undue influence in political campaigns.

We advocate maintaining and enhancing federal guarantees in the areas of civil rights protections, environmental safeguards, and social "safety net" entitlements.

We will act to broaden voter participation and ballot access, urging universal voter registration and an election day holiday.

HEALTH CARE:

The Green Party supports universal health care, including universal access, freedom of health care choice, cost savings through annual budgets and streamlined administration, and comprehensive benefits.

We support a focus on rural health services and wider implementation of hospice care.

We advocate continued support of medical research into the quality, effectiveness and appropriateness of medical care.

We call for adequate social and health services for those who have special needs--the mentally ill, the disabled, and the terminally ill.

We believe an all-out campaign must be waged against AIDS and HIV, and will press for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on AIDS.

FOREIGN POLICY:

Greens support sustainable development and social and economic justice across the globe. Reduced militarism and diminished reliance on arms policies is the key to progress toward collective security.

We endorse ending support for repressive regimes; we believe the US and all nations should abide by World Court decisions; we support the right of Habeas Corpus for any person, anywhere, whose imprisonment violates fundamental norms of international law.

It is our belief that the massive debt owed by the Third World is causing immense misery and environmental destruction. Foreign aid must be addressed in the context of retiring this debt rather than forcing, via the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, "structural adjustments" on the economies of the underdeveloped world.

We support peace in the Mideast based on respect for civil liberties and human rights.

We must look to domestic and international regulation to protect the global ecology, utilizing the United Nations and related agencies and regional associations to advance our mutual interests.

CIVIL AND EQUAL RIGHTS:

We are committed to establishing relationships that honor diversity; that support the self-definition and self-determination of people, and that consciously confront the barriers of racism, sexism, homophobia, class oppression, ageism, and the many ways our culture separates us from working together to define and solve our common problems.

We support the rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in housing, jobs, civil marriage and benefits, and child custody.

We support affirmative action to remedy discrimination, to protect constitutional rights and to provide equal opportunity under the law.

We support effective enforcement of the "Voting Rights Act," including language access to voting.

We support the full enforcement of the "Americans with Disabilities Act."

ENERGY POLICY and RENEWABLE ENERGY:

Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy is the key to sustainability. We call for the development of state energy policies that include taxes and/or fines on energy "waste," and the funding of energy research, including credits for alternative and sustainable energy use such as solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass.

Incentives/disincentives should be put in place to move utilities toward establishing solar power stations to augment and eventually supplant fossil-fuel generated electricity.

It is essential in the long-term that alternative energy systems be put in place to produce goods that are durable, repairable, reusable, recyclable, and energy-efficient, using both non-toxic materials and nonpolluting production methods.

AGRICULTURE and RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

We call for the establishment of an ecologically based sustainable agricultural system which moves as rapidly as possible towards regional/bioregional self reliance.

We support research, within the public and private arenas, including educational institutions, for sustainable, organic, and ecologically balanced agriculture.

Price-fixing and anti-competitive actions of the corporate agricultural giants must be confronted aggressively.

We support cooperative ventures to broaden markets of local producers.

Iowa Civil Liberties Union Files Lawsuit to Expand Party Affiliation on Voter Forms

DES MOINES -- The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) has filed a lawsuit challenging Iowa's practice of limiting party affiliation on voter registration forms to political parties receiving at least two percent of the vote for governor or president in the most recent election. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Iowa Libertarian Party and the Iowa Green Party.

"This is a case where size shouldn't matter," said Ben Stone, Executive Director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union. "Arbitrary barriers to voter choice and political expression are contrary to democracy, and this case will hopefully make it possible for all Iowa voters to participate publicly in the party of their choosing," Stone said.

The ICLU seeks to reverse a 1990 federal ruling by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dealing with a similar challenge it brought on behalf of the Iowa Socialist Party. Since then, the legal landscape has changed, according to the complaint filed in the lawsuit.

The filed complaint points to a revision of Iowa's voter registration law giving the public access to party registration data as a reason why affiliation with minor political parties should be allowed. "It’s important to have a level playing field where all citizens have an equal opportunity to register and proclaim their party preferences," said Stone. Computerization of records in the past decade has made tracking party membership much simpler.

The petitioners’ further claim in the suit that Iowa and Kansas are the only two states that continue to effectively restrict party affiliation on voter registration forms to identified major parties.

Chester J. Culver and the Iowa Voter Registration Commission are named in their official capacity in the lawsuit. In addition to the Green and Libertarian parties, two individual party members are petitioners in the lawsuit: Daryl Northrop of Des Moines (Green Party) and Clyde Cleveland of Fairfield (Libertarian Party). The suit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief and was filed in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on Thursday, September 15, 2005.