This petition is to give voice to the people of Berkeley and to everyone supporting us--demanding an end to all hate speech and violence by out of town groups targeting our city's public spaces and commons for their platform. We object to Berkeley being used and labeled as intolerant due to the violent public actions of a few, most of whom do not live in our city.

**UPDATE** 05.02.2017 - Roy Oliver, the officer who shot and killed Jordan Edwards, has been fired from Balch Springs Police Department--citing several policy violations. But the road ahead is still long for Jordan Edwards' family--whose lives are forever changed by this tragedy--and for justice. Demand the DA bring criminal charges NOW. 15-year-old honor roll high school freshmen, Jordan Edwards was shot and killed by police in Balch Springs, Texas. He and his friends were simply leaving a party when police responded to a call about unruly teenagers. One of the officers fired a rifle at the car Jordan was a passenger in, striking and killing him. His brother, who was in the car with him, watched Jordan die right before his eyes. The police chief, Jonathan Haber, tried to justify the killing and claimed the car was backing down the road "in an aggressive manner” towards the officers. But that was a lie. After reviewing police dash-cam footage, the police chief revealed the car was actually driving away from officers. Police officers repeatedly see Black people as a threat for simply being Black and it has to stop. The officer who shot and killed Jordan is still employed, on paid administrative leave, and Balch Springs PD is protecting the officers' identity and keeping it secret. The family of Jordan Edwards is demanding that the officer be fired AND criminally charged. Will you join their call for justice and sign the petition?

President Trump is set to sign an executive order tomorrow that could be a charter for widespread and divisive discrimination, potentially against LGBTQ people, women, Muslim communities, and other marginalized communities. If the leaks earlier this year about the content of the executive order are even half accurate, it will be a truly devastating day for American freedoms. It will have an immediate and chilling impact on every aspect of people's lives, disproportionately impacting those who are low-income or otherwise marginalized. Our collective outcry against this EO helped stop it once when it was rumored in February. And when Vice President Pence signed a similar version into law in Indiana in 2015, the public backlash cost the state $60 million and forced him to add in language to protect LGBTQ individuals. We must continue to show that we stand for equal rights for all people, and we'll hold accountable anyone who promotes discrimination. Tell Donald Trump and his closest advisors to protect all people and abandon any measure that provides a license to discriminate.

I'm starting this petition because I am Black and not offended by the name. It's awesome and although I was surprised when I first saw it in 2009, it sparked me to learn more about the history of the name. And to hear that it was to celebrate a man that was fine. What's sad is that they want to recognize that this Black man killed an enemy and then to use the name NEMESIS of all things. That may be the man's name, but who named him that? Nemesis is defined as "a long-standing rival; an archenemy." He was not an enemy to America and NEGRO MOUNTAIN is more significant and sparks discussion. Drive past NEMESIS MOUNTAIN and no one will even think to bat an eye at it. Leave the name as it is!

My family doesn't own a car. When I, along with my wife and three-year-old twins, went to vote in November 2016, we had to travel a mile and a half and wait more than an hour and a half to vote. That's too far and too long. Opening more polling places will shorten lines, make voting more convenient for more voters, and reduce stress on poll workers. And research shows that moving polling places closer to where voters live increases the likelihood they will vote (especially if they don't have a car). The Detroit City Clerk is the elected official ultimately responsible for managing the voting and elections process. That means that the City Clerk must do everything it their power to make voting as easy and accessible as possible.

We're working for a fair, honest and inclusive America. We're calling on the Democratic Party to become the kind of fair, honest and inclusive organization that we'd like to work with.

As a voter in East Marlborough Township, Pennsylvania, my votes are dissolved by the partisan committees who draw voting district maps. This means that our politicians get to choose their voters, rather than the voter choosing their politician. This affects all political parties and the committees drawing the district maps must be independent, nonpartisan, and fair to all voters.

H.R. 620 and similar ADA notification bills are gaining more steam in Congress than ever before. As a person with a disability and one who advocates for the rights of others with disabilities, I see businesses conveniently ignoring their legal obligations to undertake readily achievable barrier removal at facilities existing before passage of the 1990 ADA. This bill and others similar will force a person with a disability to write a complaint letter to the business with detailed analyses of the issues, which section of the code is violated and the correct citations, wait 30 days for a response and give a business 60 days to correct an issue before a suit can be filed. A person with a disability can also be countersued for enforcing their civil rights if they don't follow the prescribed protocols. Businesses and public accommodations have had 27 years to come in to compliance with federal law. The ADA has provided for free public education and technical assistance through the U.S. Dept of Justice Office of Civil Rights and 10 federally funded regional ADA centers since its passage. There is nothing in the proposed legislation that recognizes what is currently available to help businesses. Nor is more funding being allocated for such outreach to be improved upon. As such, the "Education" part of this bill's title is totally bogus. Please counter the business lobby, which wants to make it much more difficult to attain accessibility when businesses such as stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. disregard their ADA responsibilities. Highlights of H.R. 620: Removes any incentive for voluntary compliance. Requires a person with a disability who encounters an access barrier to send a letter detailing the exact ADA provisions that are being violated. Rewards non-compliance by allowing businesses generous additional timelines, even though the ADA's reasonable requirements are already over 25 years old! Perpetuates the myth that the ADA benefits unscrupulous lawyers rather than the truth: that the ADA is the most important civil rights law for people with disabilities. Ignores the extensive, free educational resources already available today to any business on how to comply with the law. Tell your Congressional Representative to OPPOSE H.R. 620, and any other bill to weaken the ADA! Express the concerns listed above. See the Additional Resources for more information. Congress Members are on recess this week, but many of their staff are still in D.C. to get your messages. Let's all contact them this week, so when the Members return, their staff will tell them they've heard from hundreds of people! Also, the House Judiciary Committee could consider this bill as soon as the last week of April. If it passes, it may go very quickly to the full House for a vote—so the entire House needs to hear from us, starting immediately and for the next few weeks! What to do: Go to contactingcongress.org and insert your zip code to find many simple methods for contacting your House representative: via e-mail, phone, Facebook, Twitter, fax, etc. Call your House of Representatives Member using the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. They will help you find your Representative's name if you don't know it, and switch you to your Representative's office. If you know your Representative's name, here is the House of Representatives phone list. Extra urgent, if your Representative is on the Judiciary Committee: If your Congressional representative, or any Representative from your state, serves on the House Judiciary Committee, it is especially important to contact them ASAP, because this Committee will vote on the bill first. See a full list of Committee members. Town Halls this week: Members of Congress are in their home districts this week. Many will be at Town Halls or other public events where you can ask them to oppose H.R. 620, and say why. To find local events, try townhallproject.com. Or, check your Representative's website or call their local district office; see contactingcongress.org. Additional Resources: Overview of concerns with H.R. 620 H.R. 620 website with summary, bill text, etc. Save the ADA web page, National Disability Rights Network Additional questions? E-mail [email protected]

Freedom of speech is becoming even more of a crime under Trump’s reign. This weekend during an anti-Syrian war protest, a Trump supporter antagonized peaceful protesters, storming the speakers’ platform and physically assaulting them to start a fight. Instead of helping, four police officers, tackled and brutalized Connell Crooms, one of the only Black protesters, and hit him so hard they knocked out his hearing aid. Bystander video footage shows officers beating him while he flailed helplessly and handcuffed on the ground. One officer punched Connell five times while other officers pinned him down.

If you are concerned about one, then I call on you to be concerned about all. Give us a great "MEMORY" . Keep your promise.

The American Psychological Association convened a task force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The task force conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal literature on sexual orientation change efforts and issued a report in 2009. The task force concluded that sexual orientation change efforts can pose critical health risks to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, including confusion, depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social withdrawal, suicidality, substance abuse, stress, disappointment, self-blame, decreased self-esteem and authenticity to others, increased self-hatred, hostility and blame toward parents, feelings of anger and betrayal, loss of friends and potential romantic partners, problems in sexual and emotional intimacy, sexual dysfunction, high-risk sexual behaviors, a feeling of being dehumanized and untrue to self, a loss of faith, and a sense of having wasted time and resources.

American families are targeted by predator judges, attorneys and guardians who troll hospitals, banks and other facilities to prey on older adults with financial assets and force them into an illicit court proceeding they call guardianship. Guardianship is the term they use to imply there is a legitimate court proceeding taking place but the court is running a human trafficking racket where the only thing that is happening is illegal orders that extort the life savings of vulnerable adults. The term guardian is also a ruse to imply legitimacy but the guardian is the protector of the corrupt judge and provides a gateway to the bribe money