When I first came to the Senate, people in both parties went out of their way to have personal relationships.
— Patrick Leahy
The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court.
About the only gun law we have in Vermont is during deer season. If you have a semi-automatic, you can't have more than six rounds in it.
Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do.
Batman doesn't have any superpowers. He has to use his brain and his courage. That's what always appealed to me.
Contrary to what some believe, taking all reasonable and feasible precautions to protect civilians - and mitigating the resulting anger when we harm them - does not need to impede military operations.
Benjamin Franklin once said, 'A people who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.' I think we can have both. We can keep our liberties. We can have our security.
It is common sense that in our immigration courts, where children fleeing devastating violence abroad often find themselves, kids need lawyers to advocate on their behalf. After all, lawyers go to school for years to understand the nuances of our legal system.
Stealing is stealing. I don't care if it's on the Internet or you're breaking into a warehouse somewhere - it's theft.
I'm a gun owner.
We need to consider nominations as thoroughly and carefully as the American people deserve. No one is entitled to a free pass to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
The rights of copyright holders need to be protected, but some draconian remedies that have been suggested would create more problems than they would solve.
Maher Arar's case stands as a sad example of how we have been too willing to sacrifice our core principles to overarching government power in the name of security, when doing so only undermines the principles we stand for and makes us less safe.
It is wrong for the federal government to deny benefits or privileges to couples who have lawfully wed.
A Grateful Dead concert is much more than the music: it's an experience, almost like being in a family of thousands of people.
Trump would either be the Scarecrow or the Joker.
I remember George W. Bush, who spoke about bringing the country together. Here's a man who knew that he lost the popular vote but ended up with the Electoral College vote. He had lost that, and he spoke in a very inclusive way of bringing Republicans and Democrats together. It reflected what a president should do.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of violent extremist groups has grown across multiple continents. From Syria to Somalia to Pakistan, the United States is combating many of these groups - usually with bombs and missiles. Large numbers of innocent people are invariably caught in the middle.
Everyone in Congress wants our country to lead, to build alliances, to help American companies compete, and to protect the interests and security of our citizens. You can't have it both ways. You can't expect others to follow if you can't lead, and you can't lead if you don't pay your way.
A bedrock principle of our justice system is ensuring a fair day in court, something that is especially important for children who cannot advocate for themselves.
A victim is a victim is a victim. We should stop setting up standards that say we will have one standard of law enforcement for one group of victims but not for another.
Judiciary is where my passion is.
You get fifteen democrats in a room, and you get twenty opinions.
The American public is sick and tired of being lied to.
The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons.
Our nation relies on immigrants.
I relax more when I'm behind the camera than anything else. I love that.
I'm not in good enough shape to be Batman. I'll just be Bruce Wayne.
If we harm civilians when it could reasonably have been avoided, and if we fail to fairly and promptly help the innocent victims, the local population will turn against us - and make the fight against violent extremists even more difficult.
That the Islamic State is guilty of horrific atrocities is common knowledge. But most Americans seem unaware of the human toll of our own actions, the consequences this has for our national security and our reputation, and that, too often, the civilian casualties we cause are the result of avoidable mistakes. This must change.
If the United States is to be a beacon of hope around the world, our actions have to match our ideals.
I'm an old trial lawyer.
A lot of people in my state of Vermont are gun owners.
There have been 111 Justices in the Supreme Court of the United States. Only three have been women. If she is confirmed, Solicitor General Kagan will bring the Supreme Court to an historical high-water mark, with three women concurrently serving as Justices.
Why do the President and Vice-President constantly change the subject when asked to explain why things are going so badly in Iraq? The answer is simple. They have been consistently wrong about Iraq, and the results speak for themselves.
Our alliances and our credibility are crucial elements of our working capital in advancing America's interests in the world, and they have been eroded over the last four years.
