Policy Statement

Policy Statement

Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation

PREAMBLE

The goal of the IFCL has been to be a highly respected, non-partisan research group known for its integrity, consistency and tenacity for truth. Our purposes are many. We seek to provide information to Friends about bills before the Indiana Legislature, often without comment to allow individual Friends to speak their convictions. At other times, Friends testimonies may compel us to speak truth to power. We will provide credible materials and be willing to stand up for truth even when unpopular. In doing so, the IFCL will be an invaluable resource on these issues to the Indiana legislators.

The members of Monthly Meetings scattered across Indiana contain the whole spectrum of political voices. At times, it must be understood, the Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation will have to stand by the convictions of its Policy Statement on an issue and may not state it speaks for all Friends. For this reason IFCL will never say that it speaks for the Quakers of Indiana; it can only be the voice of its self.

Our voice began with a questionnaire from which the first policy statement was drawn and has been revised as recently as 2001. (We are currently conducting a new survey and encourage all to respond.)

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

IFCL intends to be led by the spirit of God as mediated through the traditional testimonies of Friends: testimonies of peace, simplicity, equality and integrity.

Friends live by the conviction that there is that of God in every person. We have a concern for the poor and less privileged and believe in the necessity of speaking truth to power.

EQUALITY OF PERSONS

Equal Rights -- IFCL supports equal legal rights for all citizens and just and fair legal rights for non-citizens.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Death Penalty and Lifetime Imprisonment Without Parole -- IFCL supports abolition of the death penalty. No one, including the State, has the right to take the life of another. Capital punishment is irrevocable and does not take account of the possibility that an error has been made or that a person can change. It brutalizes society and perpetuates vengeance.

Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is not a satisfactory alternative to capital punishment, as it likewise does not take account of the possibility of rehabilitation.

System Reform -- IFCL supports major overhaul of the system of criminal justice, with special attention to alternatives to incarceration, reform of the bail system, quality of treatment while in detention, and utilization of community resources for treatment within the context of probation and community correctional centers. Everything possible should be done to implement Indiana's express constitutional commitment to rehabilitation, rather than vindictive justice, as the goal of the criminal law. IFCL also supports adequate training and compensation for correctional employees.
Drug Laws -- IFCL supports the reformation of drug laws that are unjust. We have fallen short of the glory of God and are susceptible to many habits that are disruptive to our health and well being. It is wrong to declare that the user of a select group of drugs is criminal. Misuse and addictions to drugs are medical problems with legal implications. An immediate repeal of mandatory sentencing is needed so that judges can be given leverage to deal with the problem more humanely.

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

Election Reform -- We support campaign finance reforms so that candidates for elective office are less heavily dependent on large contributors that may seek preferential treatment. We support consistency in the manner in which votes are made, received and tabulated.

ECONOMIC LIFE AND GENERAL WELFARE

Welfare -- IFCL supports an adequate minimum welfare grant for all recipients of welfare funds. Friends encourage government welfare programs to offer meaningful and economically favorable work opportunities. We support the provision of child care services as needed. Work requirements, however, should not be compulsory. We seek free, quality legal services for low-income persons in civil as well as criminal cases, and encourage consideration of a governmental legal insurance program for all.
Taxes -- IFCL supports overhaul of the tax structure in order to increase the relation of taxation to ability to pay. We seek greatly reduced taxes for those with low incomes. We seek fairly and equally administered property taxes that do not penalize socially needed improvements. IFCL encourages finding ways to make public education less dependent on local property taxes.
Immigrants -- IFCL supports equal opportunity for immigrants. Needed changes include improvement in the housing, working conditions, and educational opportunities of immigrants and migrants. W e support affordable child care and transportation for all. Reasonable attempts to address language differences are necessary. Friends encourage the inspection of farm labor camps and the enforcement of laws setting camp standards. We support the right of migrant workers to organize for collective bargaining.
Children -- IFCL supports legislation to improve the quality of life for Hoosier children, our future. We encourage legislation to improve education and to provide better health care and child care. We seek the banning of military recruiters and their programs working in conjunction with schools.
Gambling -- IFCL seeks to discourage gambling. Gambling preys on the poor and entices people to risk money in anticipation of disproportionate gain. Gambling is addictive to some and can result in financial loss or ruin, breakdown of the family, embezzling, and suicide. The gambling industry's negative aspects impact employers and businesses. We oppose state operation and sponsorship of gambling. We seek to avoid state dependency upon gambling as a source of income. We support legislation and programs that encourage alternative forms of economic development that generate sustainable benefit to the state. The issue of Friends' attitude toward gambling on Native American lands is very complex because it involves conflicting values. We do not feel it is right to impose our will upon sovereign Native American nations. IFCL encourages Native Americans to develop alternative forms of economic development.

HEALTH

Availability of Medical Care -- IFCL supports the availability of quality medical, dental, and mental health care for all. We encourage a payment system based on ability to pay. We seek the formation of more consumer health co-operatives. Basic and catastrophic health care should be available for all.
Location of Medical Facilities -- IFCL supports the availability of more community health resources, especially in rural areas and in the inner city. Patients may feel more of a sense of dignity in a local facility than in the outpatient clinic of a large central hospital. We encourage the state to help assure that the needed facilities, personnel, equipment, and funds are available.

Medical Personnel -- IFCL supports state-designed incentives to encourage more medical personnel whose education here is subsidized by the state to stay and practice in Indiana. More medical students should be encouraged to enter family practice. We encourage support for programs to train health professionals, whose work can increase possibilities that doctors' time is efficiently used.
Availability of Mental Health Care -- IFCL supports universal care and treatment of the mentally ill and encourages Indiana to establish and enforce high quality standards. We seek adequate staffing and funding of services as well as consultation, research, and education.
We seek the availability of both in-patient and out-patient treatment to people within a reasonable distance of their homes in order to minimize separation of the patient from the patient's family and community. Given the fact that many homeless people have mental health problems, special effort is needed to provide after-care services. We encourage a mental health services focus on treatment rather than custody, with an emphasis on respect for each patient's individuality. We encourage Indiana to defend the personal and civil rights of the mentally ill and to protect patients' dignity and welfare from misuse of medical or administrative authority which may need to be exerted over them for their protection or for the protection of others. Coordination of legal and mental health care is needed for persons in jail.
Alcohol and Drugs -- IFCL supports Indiana in its responsibility to stop the spread of drug addiction and to offer treatment and other assistance to drug abusers. We encourage medical treatment of drug abusers rather than the instigation of criminal procedures. We encourage experimentation with non-punitive treatments. Friends seek to limit the availability of alcohol and drugs and support the present ban on Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages. We encourage increasing and improving educational programs to discourage drug use. We seek to establish limitations or prohibition on the advertising of alcohol, narcotics, nicotine, and other harmful drugs. We encourage the development of rehabilitation programs and special drug courts.
Reproductive Issues -- IFCL supports access to confidential birth control and abortion information. Education and counseling should be made available to all people through private or governmental agencies.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Reverence for Earth and Resources -- IFCL supports nurturing a reverence for the earth and its resources, gifts from God. Because each person has dignity, each individual and group should utilize the earth's resources in such a way that other persons, including future generations, live in no less desirable an environment than our own. The earth cannot indefinitely continue to support our present rate of growth in population or use of non-renewable resources.
Renewable Energy Sources -- IFCL supports the development and use of renewable energy sources. We encourage serious attempts to develop sources of energy as alternatives to exhaustible and polluting fossil fuels and unsafe nuclear power. In particular, we seek to encourage research into the possibilities of harnessing the powers of the sun, wind, and natural waste. In the meantime, we encourage the most efficient and environmentally responsible use of available fossil fuels instead of developing nuclear sources of energy.
Recycling -- IFCL supports voluntary and mandatory recycling of metals, glass, paper, and plastics, in order to reduce road-side litter, waste of materials, and costs of waste disposal.
We encourage the development of community recycling plants at convenient collection sites, and curb-side recycling. We seek the elimination of wasteful packaging and encourage the use of reusable containers and materials.
Atomic Energy -- IFCL discourages the construction of new atomic electric generating plants and encourages responsible storage of radioactive wastes.
Utility Rates -- IFCL supports equitable utility rate schedules for all gas, water, sewage and electricity customers.
Air Pollution -- IFCL supports policies promoting cleaner air. Because of the importance of cleaner air, conservation of natural resources, growth of healthier bodies and minds, and because it is consistent with the value of simplicity, we support measures to encourage modes of transportation such as walking, bicycling, and public transit. We seek protection for the rights of non-smokers. We encourage a presumption that a given area is non-smoking, and that smoking is limited to specifically designated areas. We encourage the provision of adequate resources for agencies carrying the responsibility of enforcing air pollution laws and seek strict enforcement of these laws.
Water Pollution -- IFCL supports accessibility to clean water. Because water is essential to the life of every living thing, it is imperative that means be developed by which water can be used and reused without reduction in the chemical, biological, and aesthetic value of the lakes, rivers, and streams into which water flows. In order to encourage water conservation and equitable water rates, IFCL supports water prices that fairly reflect the costs of both obtaining it and purifying it. We encourage the state to require that the financial burden of removing wastes, other than those removed by natural water purification processes, be borne by those individuals or corporate entities which are responsible for creating the waste.
Solid Waste Management -- IFCL supports addressing problems of solid waste management.
Government Leadership -- IFCL supports the development of a State Office of Energy Conservation. We encourage sufficient funding for state agencies that regulate water and air pollution and land use. We support rigorous enforcement of laws governing pollution. We encourage hiring agency personnel according to individual merit and expertise rather than political favoritism. IFCL encourages the state to promote solar and wind energy. We invite governmental agencies to promote energy conservation by encouraging businesses, households, and organizations to practice it and by modeling this practice themselves.

PEACE AND VIOLENCE

Conversion to Non-Military Economy IFCL supports planning and carrying out programs to shift the state's economy to one less dependent on the military. Indiana's dependence on federal military contracts for employment and profits has affected the state's economy to the point that a cut in arms spending could cause economic hardship to thousands of Indiana citizens. Furthermore, this dependence on war-oriented activities for jobs and income makes some people reluctant to accept, much less to work for, disarmament.
Gun Control -- IFCL supports greater control of the manufacture, sale, possession, and distribution of guns.

EDUCATION

IFCL supports local and state government funding of public schools. We encourage equitable funding so that all of Indiana's children will have access to a good education. Priorities include reasonable class size, appropriate services for children with special needs, and adequate training of teachers. A special effort is needed to provide training in non-violent conflict resolution, given the excellent opportunity to work with youth at an age that is still susceptible to learning new modes of behavior.

HOUSING

IFCL supports housing as an issue for states and localities as much as for individuals and the federal government. We support more widespread availability of affordable public and private housing. We encourage a serious effort to rehabilitate or replace existing housing found to be seriously inadequate. We seek to eliminate homelessness and substandard housing.

(adopted by Policy Committee July, 2001)