Sarah Palin is an American politician, commentator and author who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. She was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election alongside Arizona Senator John McCain.
Palin has provided political commentary for Fox News and expressed her positions on a wide range of political issues during her career in the public eye.
Social and legal issues
Religion in public life Despite attending a Pentecostal church, which supported abstinence from alcohol, Palin, then on the Wasilla City Council, cast the deciding vote against restricting the hours during which the city's bars could operate. According to Gene Straatmeyer, a local Presbyterian minister, Palin told him during a city council hearing, "'I go to Assembly of God Church and I am a Sunday school teacher there, and I see no relationship between my Christian faith and what hours the bars close.'" Straatmeyer continued, "She felt it was out of line for me to testify on behalf of the church groups I represented." The effort to restrict bar hours was intended to combat drunken driving and spousal abuse, but Palin felt that restricting bar hours would hurt the local economy.
During a candidates' debate for governor in 2006, when asked how she would feel if a church pastor endorsed a candidate for governor, Palin said that she "would never support any government effort to stifle our freedom of religion or freedom of expression or freedom of speech," but would caution the pastor that the endorsement could result in "frustration" and "fewer dollars in the offering plate."
In 2006, Palin told the Associated Press that her personal beliefs would not dictate her public policies, adding that she was "not one to be out there preaching and forcing my views on anyone else."
During a debate for Governor of Alaska in 2006, Palin said she was a proponent of teaching both creationism and evolution in Alaska public schools. The following day she said: "It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum," and that she would not push to have it added. She also said she would not use religion or views on creationism as a litmus test in picking members of Alaska Board of Education. (Under state law, the board of education determines the content of the public schools' curriculum.) Palin has also said that evolution "should be taught as an accepted principle. As you know, I also say that as the daughter of a school teacher, a science teacher, who has really instilled in me a respect for science. It should be taught in our schools. And I won't deny that I see the hand of God in this beautiful creation that is Earth. But that is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught in science class."
While Governor Palin vetoed public funding for private, Christian schools, saying after the fact, "I'm a Christian.... [The funding is] unconstitutional. It's illegal. You can't do that. I had to go in there and veto those things and, of course, was accused then of being, 'Oh, you're not a real conservative or a real Republican. Otherwise, you would have fought for that.' No, illegal is illegal."(At 16:52). Palintv.com. Retrieved on June 4, 2011.
As Alaska Governor, she signed the "Christian Heritage Week" Proclamation in October 2007 which "reminds Alaskans of the role Christianity has played in our rich heritage." She also declared the week of November 18–25, 2007 as Bible Week in Alaska, saying that "the Bible has profoundly influenced art, literature, music, and codes of law."
On June 10, 2010, Palin expressed dismay on her Twitter account that the floodlights of the Empire State Building would not be changed blue and white in honor of Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. Palin asked why the building's owner "won't honor Mother Theresa's compassionate, selfless efforts for humanity, but [you will] honor [the] Communist Mao?"Twitter / Sarah Palin: U kidding, Empire State Bl. Twitter.com (June 10, 2010). Retrieved on June 4, 2011. Palin was referring to the Empire State Building's September 9, 2009, lighting scheme, when it was bathed in red and yellow to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Palin opposed the construction of Park51, a proposed 13-story Islamic cultural center with mosque, planned to be built in New York City on Park Place between West Broadway and Church Street, two blocks away from Ground Zero.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision Snyder v. Phelps, which held that the Westboro Baptist Church had the right to picket the funerals of dead soldiers on a public sidewalk, Palin asserted that the Court held a double standard for the WBC's speech, as opposed to other religious speech. On March 2, 2011, she tweeted: "Common sense & decency absent as wacko 'church' allowed hate msgs spewed@ soldiers' funerals, but we can't invoke God's name in public square"Twitter / Sarah Palin: Common sense & decency abs. Twitter.com. Retrieved on June 4, 2011. Palin clarified her tweet the next day: "Obviously my comment meant that when we're told we can't say 'God bless you' in graduation speeches or pray before a local football game, but these wackos can invoke God's name in their hate speech while picketing our military funerals, it shows ridiculous inconsistency. I wasn't calling for any limit on free speech, and it's a shame some folks tried to twist my comment in that way. I was simply pointing out the irony of an often selective interpretation of free speech rights."
Gun rights Palin, a strong proponent of gun ownership rights, and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association of America, has said that she is against a ban on semi-automatic firearms, and was shown firing a military assault rifle in a 2008 campaign video. She praised District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court decision in that invalidated Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns, and believes that any regulation of handgun possession violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She is in favor of gun-safety education for children, and is said to be popular among gun rights advocates. Sandra Froman, a member of the NRA Board of Directors, described McCain's selection of Palin as "outstanding."
Abortion Palin is opposed to abortion in almost all cases, including rape and incest, but not if the life of the mother is endangered. In 2006, while running for governor, Palin was asked what she would do if her own daughter were raped and became pregnant; she responded that she would "choose life." She and her ex-husband have said that they have "faith that every baby is created for a good purpose." When asked what she would do as governor if Roe v. Wade were overturned, she responded "it would not be up [to me] to unilaterally ban anything. It would be up to the people of Alaska to discuss and decide how we would like our society to reflect our values." Palin personally supported bills to outlaw late-term abortions and to require parental consent for underage abortions in Alaska, but rebuffed religious conservatives who wanted to legislate restrictions on abortion even though she agreed with the bills.
In her televised interview with ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson on September 12, 2008, she made the statement that as a politician she felt that her opinions were to be made open to the public, but that sometimes it may differ with political legislation. When Gibson asked if she thought Roe v. Wade should be overturned, she replied, "I think it should, and I think that states should be able to decide that issue." Palin also said that she hoped "to reach out and work with those who are on the other side of this issue, because I know that we can all agree on the need for and the desire for fewer abortions in America and greater support for adoption, for other alternatives that women can and should be empowered to embrace, to allow that culture of life." Gibson noted that Republican presidential nominee John McCain allows exceptions for rape or incest, and asked, "Do you believe in it only in the case where the life of the mother is in danger?" Palin answered, "That is my personal opinion." When pressed on the matter, she said, "My personal opinion is that abortion allowed if the life of the mother is endangered. Please understand me on this. I do understand McCain's position on this. I do understand others who are very passionate about this issue who have a differing [opinion]."
Stem cell research Palin said in 2006 that because she believes embryonic stem cell research causes the destruction of life, this research is inconsistent with her pro-life position and she does not support it.
All of the various adult stem cell research approaches are supported by Palin. In an interview with Charlie Gibson, Palin differentiated between the two types of stem cell research "And thankfully, again, not only are there other options, but we're getting closer and closer to finding a tremendous amount of other options, like, as I mentioned, the adult stem cell research".
Sex education Palin answered a 2006 gubernatorial questionnaire by choosing support for funding of abstinence-before-marriage programs over support for "explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics and the distribution of contraceptives in schools". In a subsequent radio interview with KTOO (FM) in Juneau, Alaska, she clarified her position by saying she was against explicit sex education, but was in favor of contraceptive education. She characterized in-school discussion of condoms as "relatively benign" and not something that would define an "explicit" program. Palin said of contraception that "kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues."
Women's issues
Feminism Palin has been a member of Feminists for Life since 2006. In August 2006, she told the Anchorage Daily News that "no woman should have to choose between her career, education and her child." In an interview with Katie Couric on September 30, 2008, Palin said, "I'm a feminist who believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed, and to try to do it all, anyway. And I'm very, very thankful that I've been brought up in a family where gender hasn't been an issue."
In subsequent interviews with Brian Williams on October 29, 2008, Palin was quoted as saying, "I am not going to label myself anything, Brian, and I think that's what annoys a lot of Americans, especially in a political campaign is start trying to label different parts of America, different backgrounds. I'm not going to label myself, but I do believe in women's rights; I believe in equal rights, and I am so thankful I was brought up in were really gender has never been an issue."
During various public appearances, such as her May 14 Susan B. Anthony List speech,http://www.suzyb.org/blog/_archives/2010/5/19/4532543.html Palin has referred to the suffragists as "feminist foremothers" and has called for a "new, conservative feminist movement".Is Sarah Palin a feminist?. The Week (May 31, 2010). Retrieved on June 4, 2011.
Same-sex unions Palin opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions. While campaigning for election as Governor of Alaska in 2006, Palin declared that she supported the 1998 Alaska constitutional amendment that proposed adding "...a marriage may exist only between one man and one woman" to the Alaskan constitution in order to ensure that same-sex marriage did not become legal in that state.