Martin Luther King Jr. gave two pivotal speeches during his lifetime addressing foreign policy: “Why I Oppose the Vietnam War” on April 30, 1967, and “The Three Evils” at the Hungry Club Forum in Atlanta on May 10, 1967.

Those three evils were the evils of racism, poverty and war.

Dr. King knew that both greed and racism contributed to the endless wars abroad and that if America was to change for the better, her citizens would have to address the disproportionate funding of the military versus other critical needs such as education and healthcare. Currently, the military budget is $778 billion, while the education budget is $92.75 billion and the Health and Human Services budget is roughly $131.8 billion.

Gary respects the human rights of every person on this planet and respects the sovereign rights of every nation, large or small.

Gary understands the responsibility he might assume as a Senator to decide whether America should engage in war. Gary will not take that responsibility lightly, nor will he fall in line as others have done in the past. He will ensure that all non-military efforts have been taken before he votes for America to engage in war.

Gary is committed to advocating for and passing legislation for the following priorities:

Gary believes in taking care of home first and holds the position that a significant portion of the military budget should be reallocated to domestic and non-military centered departments and policies, such as the H.R. 4864 Global Child Thrive Act of 2020.

The Global Child Thrive Act of 2020 promotes early childhood development and adds to existing U.S. plans and strategies to improve coordination with foreign governments and international and regional organizations. It was passed by the House and the Senate and is empowering USAID to help children around the world. Resolutions such as these provide aid rather than bombs thus protecting our troops, investing in education, healthcare, and creating healthy relationships with other nations and their citizens. If given the opportunity, Gary would vote for similar programs.

Gary is also a proponent of nuclear disarmament and would support legislation that diverts funds away from the United States Nuclear Modernization and Replacement Program.

The United States currently maintains a nuclear arsenal of about 1,650 strategic nuclear warheads. This number cannot continue to increase. A 2017 Congressional Budget Office report estimates that these nuclear weapons will cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion between fiscal years 2017 and 2046. These funds can be reallocated to programs that support nonmilitary based solutions to our international conflicts.

Gary supports the current sanctions and measured nonviolent response to the incursion on the state of Ukraine by Russia.

The crisis in Ukraine, spurred by the actions of a totalitarian dictatorship in Russia are detestable and deserve the global community’s complete nonviolent opposition at present. Gary supports the US measures to sanction Russia and its leadership in order to apply pressure to cease this invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory.

Gary opposes the use of force by the US military in the conflict in Ukraine at present, but endorses aid being offered to the country to support its people. Gary additionally supports measures to help Ukrainian refugees as they disperse across the globe in the wake of this crisis, and additionally calls on Ukraine and the rest of Europe to cease any discrimination against Black refugees from Ukraine who have thus far not been treated with the civility and humanity they deserve. [2]