Nancy Pelosi

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Nancy Pelosi : biography

March 26, 1940 –

First Gulf War

Pelosi opposed U.S. intervention in the 1991 Gulf War."," OpinionJournal.com . Retrieved February 3, 2010.Hidden Casualties: Environmental, Health and Political Consequences of the Persian Gulf War by Nancy Pelosi, Saul Bloom, et al., North Atlantic Books, 1994. ISBN 978-1-55643-163-0.

LGBT rights

Pelosi received a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign for the 107th, 108th, and 109th sessions of Congress, indicating that she voted in agreement with HRC’s slate of pro-gay legislative issues., . Retrieved February 3, 2010. In 1996 she voted against the Defense of Marriage Act,, U.S. House of Representatives voting records . Retrieved February 3, 2010. and in 2004 and 2006, she voted against the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would amend the United States Constitution to define marriage federally as being between one man and one woman, thereby overriding states’ individual rights to legalize gay marriage., OnTheIssues.org . Retrieved February 3, 2010."," San Francisco Chronicle, February 2, 2004. When the Supreme Court of California overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, Pelosi released a statement welcoming the "historic decision." She voiced her opposition to Proposition 8, the successful ballot initiative, which defined marriage in California as a union between one man and one woman. Pelosi states that her Catholic faith is behind her position on LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage: "My religion compels me—and I love it for it—to be against discrimination of any kind in our country, and I consider [the ban on gay marriage] a form of discrimination. I think it’s unconstitutional on top of that."

Marijuana legalization

Pelosi supports reform in marijuana laws."," The NormlStash Blog . Retrieved February 3, 2010. She also supports use of medical marijuana., Current.com . Retrieved February 3, 2010.

Military draft

Speaker-designate Pelosi and House Minority Whip [[Steny Hoyer meeting with President George W. Bush on November 9, 2006]] In regard to Representative Charles Rangel’s (D-NY) plan to introduce legislation that would reinstate the draft, Pelosi stated that she did not support such legislation., CNN Politics, November 21, 2006

Syria

Pelosi supports the Syria Accountability Act and Iran Freedom and Support Act. In a speech at the AIPAC 2005 annual conference, Pelosi said that "for too long, leaders from both parties haven’t done enough" to put pressure on Russia and China who are providing Iran with technological information on nuclear issues and missiles. "If evidence of participation by other nations in Iran’s nuclear program is discovered, I will insist that the Administration use, rather than ignore, the evidence in determining how the U.S. deals with that nation or nations on other issues." In April 2007, she visited Damascus and stated there "the road to Damascus is a road to peace."

Waterboarding

Pelosi has stated that she now opposes the interrogation technique of waterboarding.Mazzetti, Mark. , New York Times, December 10, 2007.

According to the CIA, while Pelosi was the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, she was briefed on the ongoing enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding authorized for a captured terrorist, Abu Zubaydah,, San Francisco Chronicle, April 23, 2009, The Washington Post, December 9, 2007Kane, Paul. "," San Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 2009. in one hour-long briefing in 2002. After the briefing, Pelosi said she "was assured by lawyers with the CIA and the Department of Justice that the methods were legal." Two unnamed former Bush Administration officials say that the briefing was detailed and graphic, and at the time she didn’t raise substantial objections. One unnamed U.S. official present during the early briefings said, "In fairness, the environment was different then because we were closer to September 11 and people were still in a panic. But there was no objecting, no hand-wringing. The attitude was, ‘We don’t care what you do to those guys as long as you get the information you need to protect the American people.’ "

However, several top Democratic lawmakers in the House signed a letter on June 26, 2009, alleging that CIA Director Leon Panetta had asserted that the CIA misled Congress for a "number of years" spanning back to 2001, casting clouds on the controversy.. Published June 26, 2009 . Retrieved July 17, 2009. Neither letter, lawmakers or the CIA provided details and the circumstances surrounding the allegations make it hard to assess the claims and counterclaims of both sides.

Officials in Congress say her ability to challenge the practices may have been hampered by strict rules of secrecy that prohibited her from being able to take notes or consult legal experts or members of her own staffs. In an April 2009 press conference, Pelosi stated, "In that or any other briefing…we were not, and I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used. What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel – the Office of Legislative Counsel opinions that they could be used, but not that they would. And they further – further, the point was that if and when they would be used, they would brief Congress at that time""," San Francisco . Retrieved February 3, 2010. Pelosi’s office stated that she later protested the technique and that she concurred with objections raised by Democratic colleague Jane Harman in a letter to the CIA in early 2003.

On President Bush

In mid-July 2008, two days after President George W. Bush stated that Congress was ineffective and said, "This is not a record to be proud of, and I think the American people deserve better", Pelosi responded by calling the president "a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the war, on the economy, on energy, you name the subject" and that Congress had been "sweeping up after his mess over and over and over again".