Resolutions

Support Of A Health-Based, Rather Than Punitive-Based, Approach to Drug Addiction

WHEREAS, drug addiction and overdoses are serious problems; and

WHEREAS, current criminal drug laws ruins lives; make access to treatment and recovery difficult, dangerous, and expensive; distort the priorities of law enforcement; and are deeply inequitable, disproportionately targeting and impacting people of color and/or in poverty; and

WHEREAS, California needs a health-based approach to addiction and overdose by expanding access to drug treatment, which is more effective, humane, and cost-effective than criminal punishment;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Riverside County Democratic Party supports the decriminalization of the personal possession of small amounts of controlled substances by reducing felony possession laws, which prevent people from getting housing, jobs, student loans, professional licenses and more, to infractions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the Riverside County Democratic Party that the screening, health assessment, treatment and recovery services for drug addiction be available to all, regardless of income, who need and want access to those services.

Author(s): Lanny Swerdlow, RN LNC, AD47
Sponsored By: Riverside County Democratic Party

Stop California Law Enforcement from Purchasing & Collecting Biometric & Personal Data Without a Warrant

WHEREAS federal law protects biometric and personal data from being directly collected by traditional law enforcement means without a warrant, it does not stop law enforcement from obtaining this data indirectly via payment to the owner of a health app that tracks menstruation or ovulation, a location tracker for sex workers to check in with peers, social media platforms or other data brokers; and

WHEREAS ample documentation exists that the loophole for law enforcement, to use a credit card instead of a warrant, is being exploited to target marginalized communities, our undocumented, unhoused, disabled and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities; and

WHEREAS law enforcement purchasing and collecting of biometric and personal data in California without a warrant is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Riverside County Democratic Party opposes the practice of purchasing and collecting biometric and personal data by law enforcement in California without a warrant.

Author: Edison Gómez-Krauss, AD 36
Sponsored By: Riverside County Democratic Part

Passed October 9, 2023

Right-Wing School Boards’ Attack on the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ Communities

WHEREAS, school boards such as the Temecula Valley Unified School Board, the Chino Valley Unified School Board, and the Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School Board have attempted to erase African American, Native American, Asian American, Latino, Women’s, and LGBTQIA+ history under the guise of a K-12 Ban on Critical Race Theory, an academic concept taught to law students, not to school children; and

WHEREAS, ‘Anti-Critical Race Theory’ (‘Anti-CRT’) and Don’t Say Gay’ activists around the country have banned books like “Ruby Bridges Goes to School,” “The March on Washington,” “Kite Runner,” “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” and even books about menstruation like, “Go with the Flow”; and

WHEREAS, “Parent Revolt,” a project of the California Republican Party, is focused on recruiting Republican candidates to run for school boards to conduct similar bans in 10,000 California schools serving 9 million children (mostly children of color);

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Riverside County Democratic Party opposes Republican efforts to use school boards as a platform to promote homophobic ‘Don’t Say Gay’ restrictions and alternative facts about systemic racism; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Riverside County Democratic Party supports diversity, equity, inclusion, culturally responsive teaching, and anti-bias and anti-racism initiatives in schools to build a more equitable future.

Author(s): Dr. Jenn Carson, DSW, AD-61
Sponsored By: Riverside County Democratic Party

Resolution In Support Of Investigating, Imposing A Code Of Ethics, And Expanding The Number Of Justices On The U.S. Supreme Court

WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court has issued a series of regressive rulings rolling back fundamental constitutional protections by overturning Roe vs. Wade, ending affirmative action, limiting protections for LGBTQ people, undermining voting rights, gutting environmental regulations to combat climate change, ruling reasonable gun laws unconstitutional, eliminating debt relief for college students, and elevating religious beliefs and rights above all others; and

WHEREAS the current composition of the court is rife with corruption with some justices accepting lavish gifts and other forms of renumeration while failing to disclose associated conflicts involving individuals with cases before the court and refusing to follow the code of ethics imposed upon all other federal justices; and

WHEREAS justices appointed to the Supreme Court are appointed for life and the current Supreme Court has a super-majority of relatively young fundamentalist Christian conservative justices out of touch with the beliefs of the vast majority of the American public, which means our fundamental rights will continue to be eroded for decades before new progressive justices can be appointed;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Riverside County Democratic Party urges the U.S. Congress to use its constitutional powers to rein in the U.S. Supreme Court by undertaking investigations, enforcing a code of judicial ethics, and expanding the number of justices to balance and restore the Supreme Court; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Riverside County Democratic Party shall transmit a copy of this resolution to all California Democrats in the US Senate and House of Representatives, as well as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee and to the President of the United States.

Author(s): Lanny Swerdlow, RN LNC – AD 47

Sponsored by: Riverside County Democratic Party

Supporter(s): CDP Region 12 Caucus