Pros:
- Describes himself as pro-choice.
- Has made no effort to restrict abortion rights.
- Signed bill granting Medicaid coverage of RU-486, the abortion pill.
- Recently vetoed bill allowing minors to purchase emergency contraception without a prescription.
- Signed hate crimes legislation protecting bisexuals, lesbians, and gay men.
- Signed an antidiscrimination bill protecting bisexuals, lesbians, and gay men.
- Opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment.
- Signed a bill granting crime victim compensation funds to the surviving partners of 9/11 victims.
- Established a toll-free Citizenship Unit hotline to help undocumented immigrants get legal.
- Signed bill allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at New York's public colleges and universities.
- Allocated $2.5 million to immigration nonprofits.
- Established a program to protect undocumented immigrants from con artists.
Cons:
- Death Penalty:
- Reinstated death penalty in 1995, for the first time since 1972. (New York Supreme Court later struck down death penalty again.)
- Signed New York version of Communications Decency Act in 1996, which was later struck down by New York Supreme Court.
- Pardoned comedian Lenny Bruce (New York's first posthumous pardon) on 1964 obscenity conviction.
- Opened up Freedom of Information Law request process so that anyone may request the release of documents by email, streamlining process considerably.
- Has taken positions on gun control legislation more consistent with mainstream Democratic Party principles than Republican Party principles.
Tom's Take:
- Pataki is rapidly becoming my favorite candidate on the Republican slate, as his recent civil liberties background is vastly superior to that of any president in recent memory. If he manages to win the nomination without shifting any further to the right on social issues, he'll almost certainly get my endorsement--over his Republican primary opponents, and over most of his likely Democratic challengers as well.