As an openly gay man I am disappointed about the passage of HB 2 in North Carolina, which prevents local municipalities from passing nondiscrimination ordinances that go beyond what is written in state law and also requires that transgender people use the restroom that corresponds with the sex listed on their birth certificate. I am also concerted about Mississippi's governor signing HB 1523 into law, which would make it legal for any public business to cite religious beliefs in refusing service to LGBT people. Discrimination of any kind has no place in our country and so I am asking Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto to join the Mayors Against Discrimination from 9 other major cities across the US, including the mayor of Philadelphia, by refusing to use taxpayer dollars either for travel to North Carolina and Mississippi or in the purchase of any products from these two states.

There are many many voters in NY state who would like to vote in the heavily contested Democratic primary, especially independents, but the deadline for changing registration was over 6 months ago - long before the presidential campaign was in full swing, and they are being disenfranchised through no fault of their own. As long as a voter is legitimately registered in NY, he or she should be allowed to vote in the primary of their choice - or at least be given a chance to think about it before settling on a party preference. The primary should either be changed from closed to open, or voters should be allowed same-day registration.

Bernie Sanders won the Maine Democratic caucus by a whopping 64 to 36 margin. And yet because of super delegates, Secretary Clinton could end up with almost exactly the same number of Maine delegates as Bernie. That's just not right. As a Maine Democrat and state representative, I'm proposing an amendment that will be offered at the party convention to reform the super delegate process to ensure that delegates are allocated in line with the popular vote.

I sent a letter to Debbie Wasserman Schultz requesting a series of debates across the district on the issues that matter most to working Americans, seniors, women, college students, and more. It is my sincere belief that debate is the cornerstone of our democracy, and that the voters deserve a fair opportunity to hear from our opponent and myself. I don’t know if Debbie Wasserman Schultz will agree to this challenge — her record on the presidential debate scheduling suggests someone who is uninterested in a healthy exchange of ideas within our party — but I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. If you agree, add your name to our petition right now calling for a series of debates between Debbie Wasserman Schultz and myself over the next few months of this campaign.

These two West Virginia county clerks could be the next Kim Davises of voting rights. Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick and Cabell County Clerk Karen Cole have rejected at least 1,300 online voter registrations. Now, would-be voters have to sign paper affidavits and snail mail them back -- defeating the entire purpose of online registration. McCormick and Cole say they're worried about fraud, -- but online voter registration is actually much safer than the old-fashioned way. In a Pew study, officials in seven states that've tried it "highlighted reduced opportunities for fraud as a major benefit of online voter registration." And since anyone who fakes their online registration can forge a signature too, these clerks aren't even making the process safer. They're just wasting time that potential voters don't have -- since anyone who wants to vote in the state's primary election needs to be registered by April 19th. We can't let these self-proclaimed voting vigilantes disenfranchise eligible voters with needless bureaucratic obstacles. West Virginia's online voter registration system is a huge step forward for voters that these clerks should be cheering as public officials. Sign your name and tell them their job is to make it easier -- not harder -- for Americans to make themselves heard at the polls.

When the DNC excluded Tim Canova from VAN access, they thought it would shut his campaign down. Instead, this pro-campaign-finance-reform, anti-SuperPAC candidate is fighting back against a corrupt establishment to give us all access to democracy.

I am trying to run for Prom King at my school, but am unable to due to my school's resistance and insistent discrimination against my transgender identity (FtM). In addition to this, I am unable to use the male restroom or receive respectful identification from said administration. Update: I am allowed to run for prom king, as well as other trans students being allowed to run as what they identify as! This is most definitely a victory, but the battle is only half completed. My school still refuses to respect and acknowledge my gender identity in respect to restroom usage. Please sign this petition and help support my cause!

It is heartbreaking seeing my trans friends parent's come into schools demanding that they address their son as their dead names and their dead pronouns. Something that can be so easily avoided. Once fourteen we have rights to our mental health and using our correct names in schools is essential to our mental health. We the youth are American citizens in public federally funded schools whose jobs are to make schools inclusive and welcoming safe places. How are students supposed to respect transgender students if the authority figures don't. Teachers need to set the example and pronouns are that. Schools are all about education. How does this not correlate? The constitution is supposed to protect all of us- our age does not exclude us from the protection of the constitution. Our rights are valid. 1 of 3 of transgender youth have attempted suicide.

I am asking everyone to sign this petition to request that Alexander Graham Bell Assocation cease their campaign against American Sign Language and our proud Deaf culture. AGBAD has been plotting with their lies and distorted truth against us since September 11, 1880. "It is our hope to dispel the myths about deafness and spread the word that deaf children can hear and talk. What it means to be “deaf” has changed." commented in her post by M. Sugar, President, AGBAD. The recent post by AGBAD was a final straw in the camel's back. They need to cease and desist their oppression and audism. It is time for them to fold as they do not represent the truth about the Deaf community. American Sign Language is here to stay! It is time for AGBAD to end its 136 years of lies!

Imagine you are in a moment of crisis. You decide you need support and seek out a mental health care professional. But instead of offering help, the professional care provider tells you that your lifestyle is a violation of his or her strongly held religious beliefs and that you should seek help elsewhere. Sadly, this nightmare scenario is exactly what could happen if Tennessee state representatives passed Hate Bill 1840. The bill, which passed the Tennessee state senate in February, seeks to allow counselors and other mental health care providers to deny services to individuals based on the personally-held religious beliefs of the care provider. Following in the footsteps of Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana and other states, bill sponsor Rep. Dan Howell (R-Georgetown) is advocating for this bill under the banner of “religious liberty.” In reality, though, Hate Bill 1840 places the religious views of individual counselors above the ethical obligations of counselors – as set out by the American Counseling Association, and above the needs of patients. If passed into law, Hate Bill 1840 would allow a therapist or counselor to deny service to individuals without being liable for a discrimination lawsuit. Don’t let Tennessee sanction discrimination and make it more difficult for people who are struggling to get the help that they need. Sign the petition to tell Speaker Harwell and the State Legislature to oppose Hate Bill 1840 and make sure Tennessee serves ALL those in need of mental health care!

We are starting this petition because the DAS culture doesn’t get any Funding. Because we are not on the Census Form, we don't exist, when in fact there are 21 Million Descendants of American Slaves living in America. The U.S. Census Bureau is considering whether to drop some questions that it has used for decades from its largest household survey of Americans. Maybe it should consider adding Descendants of American Slaves (DAS) as an option for Ethnicity. The survey’s annually updated data help guide the distribution of more than $416 billion in federal funds. Help us get the resources to build institutions to help the DAS culture. Sign the petition today!

Thanks to North Carolina's HB2, passed hastily on the hush-hush, it's legal in the state for businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The ACLU has called the law the "most extreme anti-LGBT measure in the country." Businesses don't like the law and have been speaking out against it, hoping to pressure our state to reconsider. The NBA voiced deep concern that "this discriminatory policy runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect and do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte." Losing the All-Star Game would be a tragedy for North Cack. But the NBA is missing the point. The law doesn't have to be anti-LGBT. The game could still be a success, and even take advantage of new freedoms: the NBA could just bar every straight, non-LGBT fan from the game! We could still watch from home, no sweat. It's legal, and surely in the spirit of what Governor Pat McCrory and the legislature had in mind when they passed the bill. Plus, the after-parties would be great. As a law-abiding North Carolinian, it would make me proud to keep the All-Star Game, and do it like only we can.