What Your Indiana Senate Democrats Stand For
Families
Indiana Should be a State Where All Families Thrive
A top Senate Democrat priority is addressing the childcare crisis and implementing statewide pre-k because we understand that without access to adequate and affordable early childhood education and care, parents and guardians can’t consistently work to provide for their families, and children aren’t fully prepared to enter kindergarten. Unfortunately, Indiana does not have the capacity to serve 56% of the children in need of childcare.1 The National Institute for Early Education ranks Indiana among the bottom six states for pre-k because 85% of 4-year-olds and 91% of 3-year-olds may still lack access to quality pre-K services.2 Indiana Senate Democrats won’t stop fighting until we have comprehensive childcare and pre-k infrastructures. Providing families with these options is good for our economy, and good for the futures of our children.
Regular attacks against public education and directing tax dollars away from the schools that educate over 90% of Hoosier children have been a catastrophic policy endeavor by the Republican supermajority. We have watched – as your hard-earned tax dollars have gone to pay for private school for our wealthy families – literacy and math skills have decreased, curriculum changes to force children into work risk our high schoolers having access to college, and teachers are fleeing the profession faster than ever.3, 4, 5 Indiana Senate Democrats know the importance of public education, and we will continue to fight for adequate funding, respect for teachers and policies that promote student learning.
Futures
Indiana Senate Democrats Legislate to Protect and Promote the Future of Indiana
Indiana Senate Democrats understand that protecting our environment is critical to the future of our state, the strength of our economy and farming, and the health of our families. Indiana tops the list of states with the dirtiest waterways, with nearly 99% of Indiana’s lakes and reservoirs designated for drinking water classified as impaired. Our air and soil quality also rank among the worst in the nation.6 We will continue to fight to restore Indiana’s wetlands, promote renewable energy for environmental health and job development, keep PFAS (forever chemicals) out of our soil, and clean up our air.
The future of Indiana should be decided by Hoosiers, not politicians. It is clear, as the supermajority continues to pass policies contrary to what the majority of voters believe, that Indiana should have a citizens’ ballot initiative. Indiana Senate Democrats support a constitutional amendment to allow Hoosiers to propose and vote directly on issues important to them so they can’t be hijacked by the radical agenda of a few.
As inflation continues to drive the costs of housing, groceries, gas and healthcare higher, Indiana’s minimum wage has remained stagnant at the bare minimum of what federal law requires – $7.25. More than ten percent of Indiana’s population lives in poverty and we are the 33rd poorest state in the nation.7 Almost 1 million Hoosiers are food insecure.8 Our legislature can and must do more for our hardworking Hoosiers. Our residents cannot build a home and future in this state if they can’t make ends meet. Indiana Senate Democrats will continue to push for a living wage that keeps pace with inflation.
Freedoms
All Hoosiers Should Have Full Freedom as Afforded by Our Constitution Without Political Interference
The Indiana Republican Supermajority raced to pass an all-encompassing abortion ban after the fall of Roe v. Wade. They completely ignored the 60% of Hoosiers from both political parties that support full access to this fundamental right.9 The next thing they did was remove IUDs from a requirement that doctors offer long-acting reversible contraception to post-partum patients because extremist groups claim they cause abortions.10 These discriminatory actions and bogus claims have no place in Indiana statute. We will not stop fighting until access to abortion and all forms of birth control are fully protected.
Indiana Senate Democrats believe that no Hoosier should go to jail for something that is legal in some form in 38 states and D.C.11 We also know that Hoosiers are going to Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan for Cannabis, taking millions of tax dollars out of state.12 We stand with the 85% of Hoosiers who support either recreational or medical use of cannabis and will keep fighting to reform Indiana’s marijuana laws.13
Indiana Republicans keep showing us they think they are better fit than parents to make decisions about your children. They have debated and passed laws to take away parents’ rights to make healthcare decisions for their own children, allow children to talk to religious officials in schools without parental consent, permit teachers to refuse to call students by the name submitted by parents to the school, and allow guns on school property without any parental notice or input.14,15,16,17 The Senate Democrats stand with parents and will continue to fight bills that take away your rights to raise your children.
All Hoosiers deserve dignity, to feel safe, and to build a life free from government discrimination – essentially, the American Dream. Unfortunately, the Republicans in the Indiana Legislature tripled the number of bills filed to take rights away from members of the LGBTQ+ community and deny them the ability to live with true freedom.18 Indiana Senate Democrats stand by our LGBTQ+ colleagues, friends, loved ones and neighbors and will never stop fighting alongside them for full equality under the law. We are your allies, you are important to us, and we won’t back down.
Indiana’s rate of gun violence is higher than the national average, and gunshot wounds are the leading cause of death for our children and teens.19, 20 There is so much we can do, while still protecting 2nd amendment rights, to keep our children safe. Safe storage laws in no way infringe on a person’s right to own firearms, but just ensure they are kept out of reach of children. If Indiana closed the unlicensed sale background check loophole, we could keep guns out of the hands of people with violent felonies and records of domestic violence but still in the hands of legal owners. Indiana Senate Democrats are committed to protecting Hoosiers and the 2nd Amendment – both can be done at the same time!
Just 4resh Dezigns