Justice Party Platform

I. Bill of Rights

The Justice Party fully supports all the provisions of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. In particular, the following issues are important to us:

1) Freedom of Religion: All people have the right to practice or not practice any religion, in private and in public. Faith-based non-profits which give practical benefits to a community should not be denied funding solely on the basis that they are not secular.

2) Freedom of Speech and Press: These freedoms extend to all forms of communication, including the internet. Media free from censorship is an important check on government corruption.

3) Right to Bear Arms: The Justice Party opposes gun ownership restrictions on the grounds that they compromise the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.

4) Search and Seizure: The Justice Party opposes wiretapping without a proper warrant.

II. Economy

1) The current economic crisis is symptomatic of a larger problem– Americans are too dependent on credit. While the government has limited power to change its citizens’ spending habits, it can and should enact measures to encourage savings. Such measures include reducing and simplifying taxes, regulating the loan and credit industries, and reducing the federal deficit.

2) The Justice Party supports the Fair Tax plan, which replaces income taxes with a federal sales tax. Taxes on necessities such as food are compensated with a tax rebate. Individuals who want to lower their taxes can do so by decreasing spending and increasing saving. This plan will thus encourage saving on a personal level, and save government resources that are currently spent on administering a complicated and inefficient taxation system.

3) The Justice Party supports restoration of the presidential line-item veto for budget legislation, in order to decrease pork-barrel spending and reduce the federal deficit.

III. Education

1) The Justice Party rejects teaching to the lowest common denominator. Schools should invest in gifted students.

2) The Justice Party rejects any initiative that has the practical effect of forcing teachers to teach to a standardized test.

3) The Justice Party recognizes that not all students are college-bound, and supports the creation and maintenance of vocational programs for such students.

4) The Justice Party supports initiatives to lower the cost of college tuition.

5) The Justice Party supports an increase in teacher salaries.

6) The Justice Party supports early childhood education initiatives like Head Start.

7) The Justice Party supports the teaching of evolution in schools. Whatever the beliefs of individual party members concerning the origin of life, we recognize that an understanding of evolution is crucial to success in many career fields.

8 ) The Justice Party believes that sex education programs should be implemented on a local level, rather than on the federal level. It supports comprehensive programs that include age-appropriate information on anatomy, abstinence, contraception, pregnancy, prenatal development, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, and how to recognize and avoid abusive relationships.

IV. Energy and Evironment

1) The Justice Party supports government investment in alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and tidal power. This will help achieve the dual goals of becoming environmentally sustainable and ending American dependence on foreign oil. The Justice Party recognizes the potential need for domestic oil drilling while alternative energy sources are in development, but does not view domestic drilling as a viable solution in the long term. The Justice Party opposes drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and in wildlife refuges.

2) The Justice Party will encourage the adoption of electric and hybrid cars, home solar panels, and other green technologies through tax breaks.

3) The Justice Party rejects arguments to eliminate national parks and use the land for profit. We have an obligation to protect wildlife so that future generations can experience the beauty of nature.

4) The Justice Party supports measures to protect endangered species.

V. Foreign Policy

1) Israel has the right to exist as a sovereign nation and the right to defend itself.

2) War is a last resort. The Justice Party rejects the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, and emphasizes diplomacy and economic sanctions. The United States should never be an aggressor.

3) The Justice Party supports United Nations peacekeeping efforts and will increase American contributions to such efforts.

4) The Justice Party supports granting asylum to all Cubans who escape to the United States, regardless of whether they make it to dry land or are found in the water.

VI. Health Care

The Justice Party policy on health care is in development. Contributions are welcome!

VII. Human Rights

1) Right to Life:

a- Abortion is a choice; however, one important function of government is to limit those choices which violate the rights of others. Therefore, the Justice Party opposes abortion, with exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger (self-defense). The Justice Party recognizes that children conceived in rape are no different than other children; however, the Justice Party will support all abortion limits legislation, including proposals containing exceptions for rape, in the hope of preventing as many abortions as possible.

The Justice Party respects the value of women’s lives. However, it finds no valid statistical support for the contention that Roe v Wade saved women’s lives. It further finds that in developed countries where abortion has been banned (such as Poland), the bans have not been accompanied by an increase in maternal deaths.

In addition to legal measures, the Justice Party recognizes the need for social programs to provide abortion alternatives, prevent unplanned pregnancies, and widen access to prenatal services and child care. The Justice Party will give generous funding to such programs.

b- The Justice Party opposes capital punishment. It has not been proven to deter any crimes, and is considerably more costly than life imprisonment. Furthermore, the number of people already exonerated from death row casts doubts on the court systems’ ability to ensure that innocent people are not executed. Until the death penalty is ended, the Justice Party will work to ensure death row inmates’ access to a fair appeals process.

c- The Justice Party is concerned about ethnic cleansing, particularly in Darfur. It will contribute generously to international aid and peacekeeping efforts, and fully endorses bringing masterminds of genocide to trial in a world court.

d- The Justice Party will make global hunger and health issues a top priority. It will begin by focusing on the causes of death which are easily prevented with a small investment- for example, diseases that are prevented by clean water pumps and mosquito netting, and hunger deaths that are preventable through high-production agricultural techniques. It will emphasize health care for new mothers and young children, with the goal of drastically reducing maternal and infant mortality. Finally, it will continue current government programs to provide AIDS medication and other drugs to patients in developing countries.

2) Freedom from Torture: The Justice Party categorically opposes American participation in physical and/or psychological torture.

3) Human Trafficking: The Justice Party recognizes that human trafficking is a serious problem, and will make enforcement of anti-trafficking laws a top priority.

VIII. Minorities

1) Children’s Rights

a- All children have the right to a safe and loving home. The Justice Party supports foster care reform, Safe Haven programs, guardian ad litem programs, and increases in the funding and staffing of agencies that investigate and prosecute child abuse.

b- All children have the right to an education: see section III.

c- The Justice party supports the SCHIP health care program for children.

2) Women’s Rights

a- Women have the right to be free from discrimination in hiring and pay. The Justice Party will protect a woman’s right to sue her employer for pay discrimination, and will not award government contracts to any company that has a record of gender discrimination.

b- All women have the right to be free from rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. At the state level, Justice Party officeholders will work to identify regions where sex crime rates are high, and formulate plans to serve these communities through law enforcement patrol increases, creation of rape crisis centers, and educational campaigns.

c- Mothers deserve access to maternity leave and affordable child care.

d- The Justice Party will continue funding research on breast cancer, heart disease, and other women’s health problems.

e- The Justice Party was founded by a woman, and will continue to encourage female participation within its ranks.

3) Rights of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

a- People of color have the right to be free from hate crimes.

b- People of color have the right to be free from discrimination in hiring and pay.

c- The Justice Party strongly opposes racial profiling by law enforcement.

4) LGBT Rights

a- LGBT persons have the right to be free from hate crimes.

b- LGBT persons have the right to be free from discrimination in hiring and pay.

c- LGBT couples have the right to hospital visitation, health insurance benefits, and other rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Rather than fighting to legalize gay marriage, the Justice Party would seek to remove government from marriage entirely. State governments would issue civil unions to gay and straight couples, while the religious covenant of marriage would be under the control of religious leaders.

d- All adults have the right to be considered as foster and adoptive parents without regard to sexual orientation.

IX. Other Issues

1) The Justice Party espouses a conservative judicial philosophy. Courts must restrict themselves to the interpretation, not creation, of law, in order to preserve the constitutional separation of powers.

2) The Justice Party supports the “Read the Bills Act,” requiring members of Congress to read all legislation before voting on it.

3) The Justice Party supports lowering the legal drinking age to 18 years.