Ted Kennedy | Keeping America Safe

Keeping America Safe

Senator Kennedy continues to work to keep America safe. He has been a strong voice for keeping America’s homeland security efforts focused on preventing terrorist attacks and our preparedness to deal with them effectively if they occur. He has called for greater protections for our ports, railroads, and nuclear power plants, and greater resources for first responders and public health personnel to cope with chemical or biological attacks. He is also a leader on immigration reform, to protect our borders more effectively and deal responsibly with the long-festering problems of illegal immigrants in communities across the country. The Senator is also a leading voice in Congress to assure that the greater security powers given to law enforcement are executed responsibly so that basic civil rights and civil liberties are not abused.

The challenge of the war on terrorism has also made it clear that we must work closely with other nations and try to reconcile our differences, not alienate them. Lasting peace in the world can only come through understanding and respect, and Senator Kennedy is committed to promoting better understanding and improved relationships with nations throughout the world. He believes our ties with the Islamic world will improve as work to understand each other, and demonstrate that we respect each other’s differences and recognize the aspirations we have in common. The Senator is also a leading advocate in Congress for greater protections for our troops. Too often, our soldiers were sent out on dangerous patrols in Iraq, without the armor that they should have available to protect their Humvees, resulting in senseless casualties. Keeping America safe means keeping American soldiers safe, too.

The Senator is a strong advocate for gun safety. Working to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists, he will continue to advocate better screening of those wishing to purchase guns, and better ways to make those guns safer when purchased. The United States has one of the highest rates of shooting deaths in the world, and the Senator believes we can bring the number down with stricter standards for gun purchase and use and by closing the gunshow loophole in our current gun laws.