Today, I am reaffirming my support for Senator Bernie Sanders. He is running for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States. I support Senator Bernie Sanders for President.
The following is a quick summary of Bernie’s platform and why I continue to support him for President:
Medicare for All, College for All, a Green New Deal, Universal Child Care, Paid Sick and Family Leave, Paid Vacation, Expanded Social Security, Gender Pay Equity, Investment in Public Housing and Education, National $15 minimum wage, Pro-union legislation, End “Right-to-Work” laws, Full Federal LGBTQIA+ Equality, Ending Voter Suppression, Demilitarizing the Police, Dismantling Private Detention Centers, Banning For-Profit Prisons, Ending the War on Drugs, and a Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy.
I support Bernie because he continues to present the most ambitious and comprehensive program to make the country more equal, more democratic, and more humane.
I support Bernie because he knows that we must build a movement to transform our nation’s politics to take power away from the millionaires and billionaires to return that power to the working-class people.
When Bernie said, “It ain’t Bernie, it’s you. It’s not me, it is us,” he means it because he understands how the world really works.
“The truth is that the powers that be. They are so powerful, they have so much money, that no one person, not the best president in the world, can take them on alone. The only way we transform America is when millions of people together stand up and fight back,” – Bernie Sanders.
Bernie is the only candidate who understands that the only way to change the status quo and combat the plethora of problems we face is through a mass movement of ordinary people who exert their own pressure on politicians. He recognizes that this can be done in a variety of ways: strikes that kill profits or disrupts the normal functions of society, disruptive mass protests, media campaigns that create new moods in the electorate and threaten politician’s careers.
Bernie has even used his texting campaign team, Text 4 Bernie (T4B), to mass text his supporters to turn people out in support of the United Electrical Workers (UE) local 506 strike. Bernie did this because he knows that for us to win, we must build up the muscle of the working class to take on the power of the millionaires and billionaires and return the power to us, the working-class people.
I know that Bernie is the strongest candidate on so many issues including civil rights.
Bernie will fight to protect and expand the Social Security Disability Insurance program. He will increase educational opportunities for persons with disabilities, including fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and expanding vocational education opportunities. He will ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and he will work to guarantee jobs that pay living wages to all persons with disabilities.
Bernie will fight to pass the Equality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation by adding those classes to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He will work to pass Every Child Deserves a Family Act. He will also fight to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ students by passing the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act.
Bernie has been a strong defender of transgender people’s rights.
Mr. Trump, you are on the wrong side of history. Discrimination has no place in our military or society. We must stand with trans[gender] people,” – Bernie on Trump’s ban on transgender people from serving in the military.
“The attacks against transgender people are part of a bigotry which has got to end. To young transgender people I say: We stand with you. We will not allow Donald Trump or anyone else to take away your rights. We have got to continue to fight to protect and support all children in this country.” – Bernie on Trump rolling back protections for transgender students.
Bernie will work to protect transgender and nonbinary people’s right to quality healthcare without discrimination. He will ensure that transgender and nonbinary people have access to medically necessary gender affirming surgery and hormone replacement therapies. Bernie will ensure that his Medicare for All plan covers all medically necessary healthcare including abortion services and all forms of transgender healthcare.
“Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All would not only confront the massive health disparities faced by the LGBTQ[IA+] community, it would also cover gender affirming surgeries, increase access to PrEP, remove barriers to mental health care and bolster suicide prevention efforts. Bernie’s plan clearly states that LGBTQ[IA+] people cannot be discriminated against by providers or denied health benefits. It’s a truly intersectional plan that would establish health care as a right to every single person in America, no matter who you are.” – Roger Ouellette, Bernie 2020 Iowa Communications Director.
Bernie will fight for gender equality.
He will fight to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to finally guarantee equal pay for equal work. He will work to finally pass the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution. Bernie will fully fund Planned Parenthood, Title X, and other initiatives that protect women’s health, transgender health, access to contraception, and the availability of safe and legal abortion.
Another important issue to me is immigration reform. Bernie will work to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a path towards citizenship. He will expand DACA and DAPA, including providing immediate legal status for young people eligible for the DACA program and develop a humane policy for those seeking asylum.
A major issue and deciding factor for me is gun laws.
I am glad that Bernie will expand background checks, end the gun show loophole, ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons, and ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. Bernie will also work to repeal the law that protects gun companies from lawsuits.
“I’m running for president because we must end the epidemic of gun violence in this country. We need to take on the NRA, expand background checks, end the gun show loophole, and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons,” – Bernie said in his campaign announcement speech.
Additionally, Bernie co-sponsored legislation to further prohibit domestic abusers from getting firearms, encourage the passage of “red flag” laws, and ban 3D-printed guns.
I support Senator Bernie Sanders for these reasons and I encourage you all to stand with Bernie who continues to stand up for the least of these.
Who is Bernie Sanders?
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Mika Covington 
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