400,000 voters were intentionally disenfranchised by a write-in candidate to disallow voters, Black and Brown in particular, from voting. This is not government of the people!

Free and Fair Elections are the foundation of every Democracy, along with education. The two party system is archaic, outdated and easily corruptible. I'm asking for you support in ending the Electoral College, and giving Americans an easier path to participate. Rank Voting, which requires a simple majority, would increase participation, expand dialogue and end the feeling that many of us have, of either holding our noses or wasting our votes. We've heard testimony of Voting Machines being rigged, votes being stolen and citizens being excluded and disenfranchised. If we are to bother with a democracy at all, it most be equal and fair for all.

EDRA is proud of its nearly 50 years of work advancing environmental design research and until now, particularly proud of its founding roots and incorporation, since 1972, in the State of North Carolina. Our return to North Carolina on May 18-22, 2016 for EDRA’s 47th annual conference at Raleigh’s Convention Center, has become all the more momentous with the passage of HB2, a discrimination law we ardently reject and oppose. Our conference will go on, but not without EDRA declaring firm and full opposition to HB2. EDRA stands for the rights of all and stands united with all those who are opposing and calling for the full repeal of HB2. Moreover, we join in supporting the Equality Act which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation. Governor McCrory, we petition you to immediately rescind HB2 and to enact legislation in North Carolina safeguarding and extending civil rights to all. HB2 must go now!

I have been publicly targeted for my support of my Muslim neighbors here in Irving, Texas. The Bureau of Islamic Relations (BAIR) has protested in front of the Islamic Center of Irving, which is right up the street from my home, carrying assault rifles. They also published my name and address on Right Wing sites, calling me a Muslim Sympathizer. As a matter of fact they published the names and addresses of every Irving citizen who spoke to the Irving City Council against a resolution to support Texas House Bill 562, also known as the "AntiSharia Law Bill." It was a useless bill, and was never passed because no Muslims in Texas are trying to establish Sharia Law in Texas. No one would allow them to even if they did try. This Islamophobic Fearmongering has to stop.

In 2013, the country was appalled as George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin as a result of Florida’s "Stand Your Ground" law. Since then, we have had to watch as Zimmerman has remained in the news through run-ins with law enforcement, racist statements, and efforts to capitalize off of killing Trayvon through a celebrity boxing match and a recent attempt to auction the gun used to kill Trayvon. Sadly, Zimmerman has become an enduring symbol of the physical and political violence, hate, and injustice happening to Black people in our country. Now conservatives and the gun lobby are again pushing "Stand Your Ground" legislation in even more states—providing cover for race-based violence and trigger-happy vigilantes like Zimmerman. The Missouri legislature has introduced a crime bill that was expanded by Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) to protect killers like Zimmerman. Adding a "Stand Your Ground" measure to the bill, Schaefer believes that people should be able to legally claim fear made them shoot people while on their property or in a public space. The bill is moving rapidly through the legislature and actually getting worse with each vote. As we saw with the killings of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Mike Brown Davis, Rekia Boyd, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, and many others, an illegitimate fear of Black people, including children, is already a justification for killing them in many courtrooms in America. "Stand Your Ground" laws make it even easier to get away with violence against Black people. "Stand Your Ground" laws are also not applied equally. Black people are far less likely to succeed when using it as a defense. As we saw in the case of Marissa Alexander, even a Black woman firing a warning shot in the presence of a former abuser was not able to take advantage of the same defense that allowed Zimmerman to get away with murder. Help us ensure "Stand Your Ground" laws are not expanded. Tell Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to veto "Stand Your Ground" when it comes to his desk.

I have seen the expense list for a trip to the convention. Between air fare and the hotel it is in the thousands. If we can't get every delegate to the convention Bernie will lose. If we can get them all there we have the upper hand. Move On needs to help raise funds and distribute them to the state pledged delegates to make sure that every delegate that is pledged for Bernie makes it to the convention.

I am being harassed because I own a "pitbull." I have been fined multiple times because of this. The ordinance needs to be done away with because it doesn't benefit the village of Hodge, LA. The ordinance only criminalizes responsible dog owners and the dogs themselves.

Human Rights Watch has reported that Israeli security forces are abusing Palestinian children detained in the West Bank. "Israeli security forces are using unnecessary force in arresting and detaining children, in some cases beating them, and holding them in unsafe and abusive conditions," HRW said. [1] Minnesota Democratic Representative Betty McCollum is now circulating a letter to President Obama, urging him to appoint a Special Envoy for Palestinian Youth to travel to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel to hear directly from Palestinian youth, human rights and legal experts, NGOs, and Palestinian and Israeli officials, including police and military leaders, about the conditions of children in military detention and what steps can be taken to guarantee the internationally-recognized human rights of these children. [2] Urge your Representative to support Rep. McCollum's letter by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/11/palestine-israeli-police-abusing-detained-children 2. http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/standing_up_for_human_rights_in_palestine/ For more information on the "No Way to Treat a Child" campaign, see: http://www.nowaytotreatachild.org/

Rule 534 will apply to all mental health-related communications between clients and their licensed counselors, alcohol and drug counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors, nurses, psychoanalysts, physician assistants, and midwives, the vast majority of which are totally unaware of the contents or import of Rule 534. Rule 534 will deter people from seeking mental health or addiction treatment, from confiding in their treatment providers, and creates terrible national precedent for all mental health providers and clients. Rule 534 creates a complex scheme containing 13 exceptions to mental health provider-client confidentiality. Its four pages of legalese will confound therapists’ ability to obtain their clients’ informed consent for treatment. The Rule 534 confidentiality exceptions will undermine mental health providers' ability to establish therapeutic trust and chill mental health providers' ethical obligations to advocate on behalf of their clients. Rule 534 was praised by lawyers and condemned by mental health providers. In written testimony to the NJ Supreme Court, Professional Mental Health Counselors and Clinical Social Workers uniformly condemned Rule 534: "would 'compromise client confidentiality' and deter people from going to social workers;" "if a therapist told a patient all of the legally required exceptions, the patient would terminate the counseling session;" "would discourage mental health treatment;" "creates a 'confusing array of additional exceptions that are not currently in place;'" "will be interpreted 'very loosely' so as to allow confidential information to be disclosed;" and, ""it will create more lawsuits." One of the most egregious provisions causes a client to lose confidentiality for all time if the client asks the provider to provide written or oral testimony in any proceeding, such as an unemployment, benefits, child protection, or disability proceeding. Clients will lose all confidentiality protection in a civil suit for damages that resulted from conduct that constitutes a crime. This will chill, for example, people with gambling, drug, or alcohol addictions, that have stolen from their employers, families, stores, or other third parties, from seeking mental health help to curb their dysfunctional behaviors. Clients may also lose confidentiality if they have ever told a third, non-spouse, party about their mental health condition or treatment. The beneficiaries of Rule 534 will be the lawyers who will be able to obtain adverse parties’ mental health information and use that mental health information in settlement negotiations or in courtroom trials. Please share this petition with friends, family, professional and consumer organizations, and anyone else that has an interest in promoting access to confidential mental health and drug and alcohol treatment. Advocate for health clients and professionals by contacting your NJ State Senator’s, NJ State Representative’s, and Governor Christie’s offices.

The Democratic National Convention's Platform Committee will prepare the platform stating the Democratic Party's stance on a wide range of policy issues. [1] For example, it is likely to state the party's stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement [TPP], and could state whether a vote on the TPP should occur in a lame duck session of Congress after the election. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have stated their opposition to a lame duck vote on the TPP. [2] To ensure that the Democratic Party Platform reflects the views of the majority of Democrats, it is crucial that Bernie Sanders supporters be fairly represented on the Platform Committee and the Rules Committee. Urge Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to work with Sen. Jeff Merkley and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva to ensure fair representation for Bernie Sanders supporters on the Platform Committee and the Rules Committee by signing our petition. References: 1. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1f5a37abda654bfdad8b53309d36b475/sanders-wants-supporters-represented-party-convention 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-does-not-back-obama-trade-vote-in-post-election-congressional-session/2016/05/05/ce94f76e-12d7-11e6-8967-7ac733c56f12_story.html

Voting machines have been proved over and over again to be anything but perfect. Votes can be recorded incorrectly or not all by malfunctioning machines. Confirmation screens and paper receipts let voters know that their votes are being counted and correctly. Confirmation screens and paper receipts can also help catch malfunctioning machines so they can be taken offline before even more votes are incorrectly recorded. At my polling place in Pickens County on February 27th, 2016, there was no accountability from the machines used for the primary election. Through contact with the local election board it was revealed that such machines are being used across the state of SC. Voters deserve to know their vote was cast correctly and should be provided with machines that provide confirmation screens and receipts. In SC, an Independent running presidential candidate must gather 10,000 signatures to be added to the state ballot. We hope to reach at least that many signatures of SC residents to present this petition to the election board.

Since he was appointed in 2012 by Governor Jerry Brown, Mr. Chet Widom has repeatedly violated the law that says he cannot decrease access standards that were first enacted in California in 1981. These early access standards set a high level of accessibility that greatly shaped the Americans with Disabilities Act. As someone who has represented the disability community for 40 years in California’s development of access standards, I have never witnessed such blatant violations of law. Nor have I ever seen such a shut-out of the disability community from any meaningful participation in the development of state regulations - regulations that impact the daily lives of people with disabilities. Please sign this important petition!