Editing Al Sharpton (section)

==Political views==
[[File:Al Sharpton (2797006183).jpg|thumb|right|Sharpton attending the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]]]]
[[File:Educational Excellence for African Americans Executive Order Signing.jpg|thumb|Sharpton watches as President [[Barack Obama]] signs an [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13621 executive order] on July 26, 2012]]
In September 2007, Sharpton was asked whether he considered it important for the US to have a black president. He responded, "It would be a great moment as long as the black candidate was supporting the interest that would inevitably help our people. A lot of my friends went with [[Clarence Thomas]] and regret it to this day. I don't assume that just because somebody's my color, they're my kind. But I'm warming up to [[Barack Obama|Obama]], but I'm not there yet."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vibe.com/obama/2007/08/sharpton_obama/ |title=Al Sharpton on Barack Obama |access-date=January 15, 2008 |first=Keith |last=Murphy |date=August 1, 2007 |work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102150253/http://www.vibe.com/obama/2007/08/sharpton_obama/ |archive-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref>

Sharpton has spoken out against [[cruelty to animals]] in a video recorded for [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]].<ref name="KFC">[http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/sharpton.asp Rev. Al Sharpton Preaches Compassion for Chickens] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023055548/http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/sharpton.asp |date=October 23, 2005 }}, Kentuckyfriedcruelty.com, Retrieved April 7, 2007</ref>

Sharpton is a supporter of equal rights for [[gay]]s and [[lesbian]]s and [[same-sex marriage]]. During [[Al Sharpton 2004 presidential campaign|his 2004 presidential campaign]], Sharpton said he thought it was insulting to be asked to discuss the issue of gay marriage. "It's like asking do I support black marriage or white marriage.... The inference of the question is that gays are not like other human beings."<ref>{{cite news |title=Democrats divided on gay marriage |first=Marc |last=Sandalow |date=July 16, 2003 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/16/MN75663.DTL |access-date=January 11, 2008 |newspaper=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Sharpton is leading a grassroots movement to eliminate [[homophobia]] within the [[Black church]].<ref name="hrc">[http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=30734&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm Sharpton Chides Black Churches Over Homophobia, Gay Marriage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228225444/http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=30734&TEMPLATE=%2FContentManagement%2FContentDisplay.cfm |date=February 28, 2009 }}, Dyana Bagby, Houston Voice, January 24, 2006</ref>

In 2014, Sharpton began a push for [[Criminal justice reform in the United States|criminal justice reform]], citing the fact that black people represent a greater proportion of those arrested and incarcerated in America.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouie |first1=Jamelle |title=Broken Windows Policing Kills People |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/broken_windows_policing_deaths_racism_in_chokeholds_arrests_and_convictions.html |website=www.slate.com |date=August 5, 2014 |publisher=Slate |access-date=August 6, 2014}}</ref>

In August 2017, Sharpton called for the federal government to stop maintaining the [[Jefferson Memorial]] in Washington, D.C., because [[Thomas Jefferson]] [[Thomas Jefferson and slavery|owned 600 slaves]] and had a sexually abusive relationship with his [[Slavery|slave]] [[Sally Hemings]]. He said taxpayer funds should not be used to care for monuments to slave-owners and that private museums were preferable. He went on to elaborate: "People need to understand that people were enslaved. Our families were victims of this. Public monuments [to people like Jefferson] are supported by public funds. You're asking me to subsidize the insult to my family."<ref>[http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/08/16/al-sharpton-jefferson-memorial-charlottesville-white-supremacist-violence-donald-trump "Al Sharpton: Defund the Jefferson Memorial"]. Fox News. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017</ref>

Sharpton is an opponent of the [[Defund the Police]] movement, charging that the idea is being pushed by "[[latte liberal]]s" who were out of touch with the African-American community, and that black and poor neighbourhoods "need proper policing" to protect the inhabitants from higher crime rates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/515448-msnbcs-sharpton-defunding-police-something-a-latte-liberal-may-go-for|title=MSNBC's Sharpton: Defunding police 'something a latte liberal may go for'|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|author=Joe Concha}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/al-sharpton-defund-the-police-is-just-something-latte-liberals-support|title=Al Sharpton: Defund the Police Is Just Something 'Latte Liberals' Support|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|author=Justin Baragona}}</ref>