Since it's an election year...

[tom]

Ok, everyone knows that most Christians are pro-life, against, gay marriage, some for and against death penalty. What is the predominant Jewish point of view on this topics?

[the dauer]

Judaism has a different position on abortion based on the verse -- I may edit this after and give the source; lazy -- in Scripture where a law is given for two men that are fighting and bump into a pregnant woman. If the child dies, it says they are to give the woman a monetary sum. If the woman dies, life for life. From this, we understand that a woman's life is of greater value than her child's and when there is a threat to her life, or at times when it could cause enough psychological damage or trauma, the child is aborted. In the case where it is understood very late that the mother is in danger, a late-term abortion may even be warranted under Jewish law.

Gay marriage is something that varies. The orthodox feel that there is nothing wrong with being gay, but to have homosexual relations would be wrong, and they even have support groups and encourage gay men to marry.

Conservative Judaism, as far as I know, will not ordain an openly gay man at the seminary, but I think individual rabbis may end up performing a (I don't know the name of the one for two gay people getting married) ceremony for them. I think many are exploring ways to make it halakhically -- legally -- acceptable for them to marry, so that there is no conflict for those who choose to live within the laws.

Reform accepts both gay and transgendered individuals as far as I know. The most radical of all on this position is Renewal, which I think has had pretty much the same position since its roots in the 60s. They're the ones all of the liberal movements tend to pick up after. From its site:

"11. ALEPH welcomes, includes and recognizes the sanctity of every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognize respectful and mutual expressions of adult human sexuality as potentially sacred expressions of love, and therefore we strive to create communities that include and welcome a variety of constellations of intimate relationships and family forms -- -among them gay, lesbian, and heterosexual relationships as well as single life-paths."

http://aleph.org/principles.html

I don't know anyone who is anti-gay marriage and Jewish outiside of some orthodox on the internet. But that's just me and in no way represents a fair demographic.

Death Penalty: another big one. There is a (somewhat) famous saying from the mishnah.

A Sanhedrin that carries out the death penalty once in seven years is a murderous tribunal. Rabbi Eliezar ben Azariah says: "Once in seventy years." Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva say: "Had we been members of the Sanhedrin, no one would ever have received the death penalty." Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: "They would indeed have multiplied those who shed blood in Israel."
Mishnah Makkot 1:10

So basically it is a bad thing to condemn someone to death. Much caution should be used before passing judgement. And the "once in seventy" is what is most often repeated.

There are also laws requiring two eyewitnesses to a crime and that the person who was going to do something requiring the death penalty be warned ahead of time. I don't know if there is any official view for any of the movements on the death penalty as carried out by say, the US.

I'm generally opposed because the system is quite corrupt and, if it wasn't, we have ways to contain people without them doing harm to themselves or others, especially now with modern psychiatry. I don't know if my personal view helps much, but I tend to look at the halakhah as growing with society, evolving with society. Judaism is, though, not just one point of view. Not as far removed as opposite ends of Christianity can be, but still more many voices in unison than one voice.