Protect civil liberties for all Americans

Dr. Peters believes all people have the right to live their lives as they want, as long as they don’t hinder others from doing the same.

Sadly, politicians from both major parties have chipped away at our individual rights in the false pursuit of safety or social progress. Dr. Peters will defend liberty and free choice for all Americans.

Trim the criminal code, end the drug war – Drug laws and other non-violent crimes have contributed to building the world’s biggest prison population. About one-quarter of all the world’s prisoners are here in the U.S. Dr. Peters supports comprehensive criminal justice reform to redirect attention to violent and other serious crimes.

Enable community-based policing – We have good police officers in every American city,  but their hands are tied with unenforceable laws and federal programs that incentivize them to pursue drug offenders. Dr. Peters supports restricting civil asset forfeiture, so-called “drug task-force” programs, and domestic use of military equipment, allowing police and local officials to focus on community issues.

Protect privacy – The federal government gathers enormous amounts of information about ordinary Americans, even those not suspected of wrongdoing. Those data-gathering authorities were passed in the name of national security, but there’s little evidence that it’s been effective – Dr. Peters will work to rein in Patriot Act authorities and defend privacy for all Americans.