Jennifer Lawless runs for US Rep. in RI

- This supporter of equal marriage rights believes the country is headed in the wrong direction and is challenging Democratic incumbent Langevin

Jennifer Lawless, a professor of political science and public policy at Brown University, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives, taking on three-term Democratic incumbent Rep. James Langevin in September's Democratic primary. Lawless supports marriage equality for same-sex couples.

"I believe in protecting civil rights and I think this is a civil right," Lawless said.

Langevin has not come out in favor of same-sex marriage but has voted against amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay civil rights organization, gave Langevin a 100 rating for his votes on GLBT issues.

Lawless, 31, who has never run for a political office before, feels the country is heading in the wrong direction and wants to offer an alternative to the status quo.

"I believe we can be doing better in Rhode Island on the issues that matter most. Issues like education and jobs and health care and reproductive freedom. Jim Langevin is out of sync with Rhode Islanders on a lot of issues," Lawless stated.

Lawless, a native of Queens, New York, graduated from Stanford University, where she obtained a master's degree and a Ph.D. in political science. She settled in the Ocean State in 2003 and now resides in Cranston.

Lawless has been critical of Langevin's support for the USA Patriot Act, which she feels infringes on citizen's constitutional rights: "We do not have to sacrifice civil liberties to protect national security. We can definitely do both. Protecting our citizens from outside threats also means protecting them from unwanted intrusions into their personal lives."

Regarding the war in Iraq, Lawless would like a timetable to be set for the withdrawal of troops from that country.

"I think it's unacceptable for this president and the administration to have said that this is going to be something that future presidents are going to have to deal with. We still have more than two years left in this administration. To think that we won't resolve this situation by the end of 2008, is very troubling to me," Lawless said.

Rising oil and gas prices have been a burden on consumers. Lawless believes that oil companies should not be profiting as much as they have been and also supports an investment into alternative energies.

"As long as we can start relying less on foreign oil and less on oil in general and more on alternatives, we can prevent this kind of financial crunch from hitting people in the future," Lawless noted.

Millions of Americans do not have any type of health insurance coverage. Lawless is in favor of providing universal health care, and supports rolling back President Bush's tax cuts as a way to achieve it.

"If we were to roll back Bush's tax cuts on the top 1 percent of Americans, we would generate $40 billion in revenue, and that $40 billion would fund education initiatives, health care initiatives, job creation and deficit reduction and that's one quick and easy way to actually have tax policy that rewards working families and allows people access to health care," Lawless said, adding Langevin voted against that proposal.

Lawless and Langevin also differ when it comes to abortion. Lawless is pro-choice and Langevin is pro-life. Lawless believes it is important for voters to elect pro-choice candidates during a time when conservatives dominate the makeup of the Supreme Court.

"Jim Langevin has voted more than 25 times against a woman's right to choose since he was elected to Congress," Lawless noted. "Everytime we vote for a president who appoints judges we should consider that issue, everytime we vote for a Senate candidate who can confirm those judges we should focus on that issue. But as far as House candidates are concerned, it's also very important, especially in this political context."

Lawless believes it is time for a woman to represent Rhode Island in Congress.

"We've never had a woman governor, we've never had a woman senator, we haven't had a woman in Congress in 15 years. I'm working really hard and I'm meeting as many people as I can and talking about the issues and learning as much as I can. I believe now is that time to send a woman to Washington and I will be that woman."

This article, written by Joe Siegel, appeared on April 26, 2006, in the newspaper In Newsweekly.