Nothing is more fundamental to human freedom than the right to decide how to form a family.  Today we see a wide variety of family structures, all of which should be embraced and supported by society.  Study after study – and our intuition – shows that our lives are richer and better fulfilled with a strong and functioning family.  Moreover, we also know that people who build strong families are less likely to live in poverty and depend on government support to survive.

Individuals should be allowed to create families with minimal interference from our government, regardless of how those families look.  I support full marriage equality for same sex couples, and support any measure that gets us closer to this goal.  This is a principle of basic justice for me, but it’s also good policy.

To be clear, I do not believe that the State of Illinois should require religious institutions to perform any sort of marriage ceremony that is against the their precepts.  However, I strongly believe that as a civil institution, marriage should be open to all.

I also support putting decisions about reproductive choice in the hands of individuals, with minimal interference by government.  The decision of whether, when, and how many children to have is one that is intensely personal and cannot be made by politicians in Springfield or Washington.

I support keeping abortion safe and legal in Illinois.  I also support measures that will lower the number of abortions, such as fully funding Title X reproductive health services, requiring age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Read more about where Dave stands on Economic Development and Education.