Jimmy Carter, in apparent reversal, voices opposition to pot legalization

President Carter issued a statement Friday proclaiming that he does not favor marijuana legalization, despite previous statements that appeared to indicate that he favored state laws that allowed the possession and use of the drug.

“I do not favor legalization. We must do everything we can to discourage marijuana use, as we do now with tobacco and excessive drinking,” Carter said, according to a release from Project SAM. "We have to prevent making marijuana smoking from becoming attractive to young people, which is, I’m sure, what the producers of marijuana … are going to try and do.”

The group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, opposes legalizing the drug, but instead believes those arrested for marijuana use should be sent to treatment facilities rather than jails. According to the group, Carter believes those caught with the drug should be given a warning hearing and screened for future use, but not have a permanent record kept.

“I said this 35 years ago … that I didn’t want to make it so that a person could possess … or smoke marijuana with impunity, but that they could be chastised, offered treatment, etc.," Carter said. The statement seemed to contradict a response Carter gave last year in Georgia, when he was asked if he favored legalization.

“I’m in favor of it. I think it’s OK,” Carter said during a forum. “I don’t think it’s going to happen in Georgia yet, but I think we can watch and see what happens in the state of Washington, for instance around Seattle, and let the American government and let the American people see does it cause a serious problem or not.”

But in his more recent comments, Carter said he was concerned with the potential implementation of laws legalizing pot use passed in November.

“I hope that Colorado and Washington, as you authorize the use of marijuana, will set up very strict experiments to ascertain how we can avoid the use of marijuana,” Carter said. “There should be no advertising for marijuana in any circumstances and no driving under the influence. We need to avoid the use of marijuana, particularly among young people.”

Project SAM was created by former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and conservative author David Frum.

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Faith Groups Add Their Voices To The ‘Forward on Climate’ Chorus

Sojourners and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action at the rally. Credit: Sojourners

By Catherine Woodiwiss

Eighteen months after the first major protests in DC against the Keystone XL pipeline made headlines for weeks and saw hundreds of protestors arrested, Sunday’s”Forward on Climate” rally gathered the “NO XL” faithful for what organizers called the “biggest climate rally by far in history.”

And as with anti-Keystone protests past, faith groups lent visible support; their banners, prayers, and chants joining the estimated 40,000 peaceful protestors calling on President Obama to show climate leadership in his new term by vetoing the Keystone XL pipeline.

Kevin Mason, a young man with The Catholic Worker hospitality house in DC, saw protesting the pipeline as a matter of justice and solidarity. “One person is hurt, we all are hurt,” he said over chants of “That’s not kosher!” from the assembled crowd. “Charity and resistance go hand in hand. There’s a huge need to get back to the Genesis idea of stewardship and beloved community.”

Faith groups have grown bolder in their pro-environment positions, and are gaining some momentum in joining and helping shape protests against fracking and tar sands removal. The shift hasn’t been easy — climate change is still a challenging conversation in many faithful communities, and remains completely off the radar in others.

Yet in the last year alone, several new groups and initiatives like Young Evangelicals for Climate Action and the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate have sprung up, major faith mobilizers like Sojourners have more publicly stepped in, and longstanding interfaith climate organizing networks like Interfaith Power and Light have redoubled their efforts.

“It’s great to see this interfaith energy,” said George Hoguet, a former Catholic now part of The Stillworkers, an engaged Buddhist community in Pittsburgh. “It’s great — there needs to be more.”

Tim Kumfer, representing Interfaith Power & Light at the rally, expressed hope for the direction of faith involvement. “I’ve seen, even today – there are more and more young people here who are publicly identifying with faith, connecting it to this issue,” he said, noting a common disparity between young climate organizers and older interfaith activists. Increasingly at climate actions, Kumfer noted, “there’s all ages and denominations joining in.”

In 2011, Keystone XL protests helped prompt a delay from the Administration on pipeline construction. This time, protestors want a full stop, and took their message directly to the man they see as the ultimate decider: the newly re-elected President.

Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, issued a challenge to thunderous applause from the crowd. If the President were to veto the pipeline, he would, in McKibben’s words, “become the first leader in history to veto legislation because it was bad for the climate. And he can put an end to that with a single stroke of his pen.”

Van Jones, President of Rebuild the Dream, echoed McKibben’s charge. “Today, I direct my message to [the President]: all the good you’ve done, everything you’ve fought for…will be wiped out if you fail to act now. The decision is in your hands.”

He added, “If the pipeline is built, the first thing it runs over… will be your credibility.”

This stern charge came just days after 48 XL protestors were arrested in front of the White House, and President Obama’s State of the Union speech featured climate change as a pressing issue for his second term.

That the rally occurred over President’s Day weekend was no coincidence. “We’re showing [the President] visible support for his efforts,” said one woman in the faith march, identifying as Unitarian. “He needs it more than Congress. We need to show him we agree and want him to keep going.”

Reverend Lennox Yearwood, President of the Hip Hop Caucus and a host for the Forward on Climate rally, urged the crowd to remember the values that unite the climate movement.

Citing the influence of money and power in Washington, Lennox said, “We have other currencies to work with: passion, spirit, creativity. A love for the future is what brought us here today.”

On Sunday, protestors made it clear they are looking to the President to demonstrate his share in these values and veto the pipeline.

Catherine Woodiwiss is a special assistant on the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress.

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Sen. Leahy voices support for key proposals in Obama's gun-control plan

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) voiced support for many of the key proposals in President Obama's plan on curbing gun violence in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, including closing the so-called gun show loophole and having criminal background checks for all guns sales.

"You can't say, well the rules apply to you and not to you," Leahy said on the program, which is set to air on Sunday. "So I think the first thing you might want to do is close the gun show loophole."

Leahy, whose committee has jurisdiction over changes to gun laws, also called for legislation that would require a "real background check" when people attempt to purchase firearms.

"There's not a way to compare records, felony records," he said. "Let's close that so you can say to everybody, the rules, whatever rules we have, will apply the same to everyone."

The Senate Judiciary chairman said the committee is holding hearings this month on the issue of gun control and he has invited National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre to appear before the committee. Leahy emphasized that he's the first committee chair in either chamber of Congress to schedule a hearing that examines gun-control rules. 

"I want to have real hearings. We're going to hear from people on all sides of the issue and then see if we come out with something," Leahy said. "You have to balance your Second Amendment rights with people's safety, and as a gun owner, I understand that."

"It's kind of lonely out there," he added. "I'm the only one having hearings."

During these hearings, Leahy said he hopes to get a "definitive answer" on whether the previous assault weapons ban worked. While he voted for the ban, he noted: "I'm not looking for something symbolic, I'm looking for something that makes people safer."

Leahy also voiced support for Obama's proposal to limit the size of ammunition magazines sold.

"The idea of having a weapon, say with a 30-round magazine, for civilian use, I mean that's a weapon you'd use in war," he said.  "I don't see a need for it in civilian use."

Leahy refrained from sharing too many specifics about his legislative strategy on gun control, but said he wanted to collect ideas from other members and find areas of agreement.

"Let's see how much we can agree to put in one bill...and then if people agree or disagree to different parts, we'll vote it up or vote it down," he said.

The president has also called for Congress to appropriate $10 million to the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence, including possible links to video games and media images. Leahy, who is viewed as having close ties to the entertainment industry, said Congress likely will not pass legislation aimed at reducing violence in video games, movies and TV shows.

"There's nothing glamorous about somebody being killed. I worry that people glamorize this in movies or games, but they do have their First Amendment rights," Leahy said. "The issue has been raised. We'll ask about it."

"I don't see a law that's going to ban these things… but there has to be more awareness that parents have a responsibility to say, 'By the way, just what are you watching there?'" he said.

Leahy's committee will also be busy with another hot-button topic this year: immigration reform. The White House has signaled that passing comprehensive immigration reform is one of its top priorities this year. The Senate Judiciary Committee is gearing up for what's expected to be a long battle on the divisive issue.

Leahy stressed that he wants to get a comprehensive immigration bill done this year.

"We've got to do something. You've got to face the reality of 12 million undocumented people in this country," he said.

Without these immigrants, Leahy added that "a whole lot of our businesses would shut down."

"A lot of things would grind to a halt, but worse than that, a lot of families would be destroyed," he said.

In the interview, Leahy noted that his grandparents and great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy and Ireland. He questioned whether they would be able to immigrate to the U.S. under the country's current rules.

"There's a small segment of this country that's become very xenophobic and they tend to forget that they're probably only one or two or three generations from somebody coming to this country," he said.

Still, Leahy acknowledged that his committee will face challenges when crafting a bill. He said it would be "helpful" if the president sent the committee legislative language to work from.

"A path to citizenship is easy to say. The devil is in the details, but let's agree that there should be a path to citizenship, and then work out the way to do it," he said.

When asked about Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) recent comments on the Senate's failure to pass a budget in nearly four years, Leahy said he and Boehner have been "long-time friends, but maybe you might want to get your own house in order before you tell us how to run ours."

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Cardin voices concerns over Hagel nomination

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said Tuesday that he had "concerns" over President Obama's nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to serve as secretary of Defense. 

Cardin argued the president's nominee needed to clarify his positions on a slew of issues, from Iran sanctions to the service of gays in the military. 

"He's a good person. I agree with a lot of his positions in regard to Iraq. I certainly believe the president should be able to have his team. But the advice and consent of the Senate is a very important responsibility, we have to do it independently, and there are questions that need to be answered," Cardin told CNN's "Starting Point."

The Maryland lawmaker said he had requested a private meeting with Hagel to address some of his concerns, including Hagel's reluctance to support sanctions on Iran.

"I want an explanation in regard to his position [on] Iran," Cardin said. "He's been very reluctant to support sanctions on Iran. Iran is a very dangerous country."

Hagel has said previously that while he did not support "unilateral" sanctions on Iran, he did support efforts that involved other nations. On Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney defended Hagel's record on the subject, calling the nominee a "supporter of the broad sanctions regime that this president has put into place against Iran."

Carney went on to herald the program as "a sanctions regime that is unprecedented and which as recently as, I think, last spring, Sen. Hagel wrote about favorably and urged Washington as a whole to continue."

Cardin also said he wanted to know what Hagel's position was on gays in the military, after Hagel opposed the appointment of an openly homosexual ambassador during the Clinton administration. And Cardin said he wanted Hagel to better explain his philosophy on the use of military force.

"It's going to be about, I understand his reluctance to use our military, but will he stand strong against those who threaten us in support of terrorism?" Cardin said.

The Maryland senator said he hoped for "an open and fair nomination process," but refused to guess how Hagel's nomination would turn out.

"I think it's too early to make a prediction as to how his confirmation process will go," Cardin said.

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