Platform of the Atlanta Greens

The following platform was adopted by the Annual Meeting of the Atlanta Greens on Saturday, August 23, 1997. In adopting this language, the meeting affirmed the right of the local's membership to continue to refine these positions at the regular Coordinating Councils.

Human Bill of Rights.

End all discrimination. Expand affirmative action. Stop violence and prejudice against women, people of color, lesbians, gays, the poor, the homeless, children, elders, immigrants, the differently-abled and the imprisoned. Offer treatment for addictions instead of a war on drugs. Create a justice system that focuses on police accountability, public safety, rehabilitation and re-integration into the community and court and judicial accountability (which includes: speedy trial, the rights of the accused, the rights of prisoners and the rights of ex-offenders). Reclaim public resources from the prison industry for reinvestment in prevention. Replace a criminal justice response to substance abuse with treatment and addiction counselling. Promote the legalization of alcohol, tobacco and all other drugs. Focus on shifting resources away from the prosecution of victimless crimes. Increase resources to prevent and respond to domestic violence. Increase resources to respond to crimes against ecological integrity. Ensure legal recognition for domestic partnerships, including the right to marriage regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Offer access to a full range of affordable reproductive health services including abortion, prenatal care and post-partum care for all women. Offer accurate, age-appropriate sex education which will 1) teach an understanding of the practical biological processes, 2) teach an appreciation of the responsibilities of parenthood, 3) encourage self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth among young women and which 4) teaches men to respect women's choices, take responsibility for preventing unwanted conception and for raising and supporting any children in order to reduce the need for abortions. Initiate dialogue at the state level on what Georgians can do to honor treaty rights and make reparations to Native Nations removed for the Settlement of Georgia. Initiate dialogue on what Georgians can do to make reparations for the enslavement and genocide of Africans.

Economic Bill of Rights.

Honor everyone's right to decent and affordable housing, health care, food, retirement benefits, education and childcare. Guarantee everyone's right to a safe, secure job at a livable wage, with protection of the right to organize, to bargain collectively and join a union and to strike without fear of retaliation, reprisal or firing. Prohibit companies from busting unions and attacking living standards through the use of scab replacement workers, prison labor, economic blackmail, taking reprisals against whistle-blowers or the payment of unlivable wages to their workers.

Citizen/ Voter Bill of Rights.

All citizens have the right to participate freely and equally in an electoral system in which candidate access is not determined by money, where onerous barriers to voter registration and independent party ballot access are removed, where campaigns are publicly financed, and recall, referendum and initiative rights are secure. Hold our Government Accountable to Citizens. Protect democratic control over government services by halting the trend to privatize public functions without community referendum. Ensure that workers providing government services receive a livable wage for their work. Maximize open meetings and sunshine in all policy making.

Expand Democratic Community Control.

Expand Democratic Community Control of our communities, land-use, economic development, transportation planning, housing, schools, public safety, utilities and local media. Eliminate corporate influence and interference in the community development decision-making process. Stop the destructive use of land. Establish and enforce strict regulations that prohibit real estate and banking policies and practices that are hostile to the interests of the community. Expand recreational services for our youth. Renovate existing schools and build new schools.

Hold Corporations Accountable.

Hold Corporations Accountable to their Host Communities. A Community has the right to know about a company's plans for downsizing, closing shop or moving out of the community; the right to know about a company's toxic emmissions and workplace conditions; and the right to act to stop a company from pursuing policies and practices that are hostile to the interests of the community.

Environmental Justice.

Honor the rights of all to clean air, land, water and food. Phase out toxic technologies such as nuclear power plants, the automobile, waste incinerators and landfills. Shift transportation investment from car-oriented road construction to projects and programs which serve pedestrians, cyclists, public transit users, the elderly and the differently-abled. Shift environmental policy from pollution control (which hasn't worked) to pollution prevention -- not producing toxics in the first place. Protect the rights of victims of environmental pollution to receive full compensation for damages and quality health care. Support the honoring of U.S. commitments to international treaties to reduce green house gasses and other environmental concerns. Encourage policies and education to honor and respect cultural viablity/ integrity and personal autonomy both in the U.S. and globally. We encourage public education that urges individuals to take personal responsibility for the impact on the global resource base of population growth. We oppose policies for coercive sterilization or contraception. We urge a sensitivity in these educational efforts to the diversity of cultures on the planet. We oppose policies which tend to encourage population growth.

The Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom • Grassroots Democracy • Social Justice • Peace and Non-Violence
Decentralization • Community-Based Economics • Feminism • Respect for Diversity
Personal & Global Responsibility • Future Focus on Sustainability

Georgia Green Party
P.O. Box 5332; Atlanta, GA 31107
770/ 635-3496 or 877/ GREEN-09 (vm & fax)
ggp@greens.org•http://www.greens.org/georgia/