Ending marijuana prohibition is the first step in ending discrimination. It is essential to ensure individuals' civil rights are no longer violated by law enforcement and the courts. Marijuana prohibition, as has been displayed throughout the United States, is more of a threat to citizens' lives and property than the plant itself. Save lives, please legalize.

Dina Lara is a Certified Nursing Assistant with over 28 years of experience in the health care field. Recently, Dina was fired from her job at Family Care VNA & Home Care for speaking out in favor of stronger workplace protections like a fair schedule, paid sick days and paid family and medical leave. Dina decided to get involved in a campaign for economic justice after she was forced to take unpaid time off to undergo gallbladder surgery. She took only a few days off to recover. Her doctor told her she needed 2 weeks of rest, but she makes only $10 an hour and could not afford to miss out on more pay. When she returned to work, her hours were drastically reduced. She ended up back in the hospital. Dina bravely shared her story and advocated for paid family leave so no one else would have to go through what happened to her. She testified in favor of bills at the Connecticut statehouse, and participated in press conferences and roundtables with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Senator Chris Murphy. Because of her advocacy, Family Care fired Dina, claiming she 'bashed the company'. She had been a loyal and hardworking employee there for over three years. This is unacceptable. Dina has dedicated her life to caring for others, but who is taking care of her? We must stand with her now!

According to a WSU statistician, Beth Clarkson, "My [Clarkson's] statistical analysis shows patterns indicative of vote manipulation in machines" by multiple parties. The laws in place make it difficult to audit the paper trail in order to establish if vote manipulation is occurring. What we're asking for here is both a preventative measure and also a way of introducing more checks and balances into the voting process via independent audits. This petition is as much about safe guarding democracy for residents of Kansas as anything. You can find both Beth Clarkson's blog and data here (just go to "Voting Analysis"): http://bethclarkson.com/

Too many times people are in situations in which they are unaware of their basic rights while dealing with law enforcement. This course serves the purpose of self-empowerment while at the same time potentially saving lives.

The Charlottesville Cavaliers youth basketball team was knocked out of the annual National Travel Basketball Association (NTBA) annual tournament this past weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, not because they lost, but because one player is a girl. In previous years, 10-year-old Kymora Johnson had always been allowed to play at the NTBA competition with her mixed-gender team, the Charlottesville Cavaliers. This year, the team was on a five-game winning streak, making it to the final four, when the NTBA decided to invoke its brand-new policy that barred Kymora and her team from playing in the tournament. Kymora had gone through the entire registration process, but John Whitley, NTBA president, said they hadn’t noticed Kymora as an active participant of the team. “We have no problem with the girls sitting on the bench,” he said. “We don’t care who sits on the bench with the teams, that goes for anybody … to sit on the bench.” The NTBA’s new rule says girls can play in league games and scrimmages, but not in the national tourney. It’s 2015. The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team has just won its third World Cup title, Serena Williams has just won her sixth Wimbledon title, and just this week, Katie Ledecky has blown through the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle swimming world record. No sport should deny women and girls the chance to compete.

New York City Police Department claims an investigation is in the works regarding this police brutality incident in Staten Island's 122nd precinct . But as yet, NYPD will not say if any disciplinary measures have been taken. The video of the assault is self-evident that these four officers lack the appropriate judgment to safely serve our city's citizens and have no business patrolling the streets of New York City armed with guns and badges. There is nothing that indicates the level of force was appropriate, or that four officers could not have detained the subject without hospitalizing him.

Hollywood has a long history of white-washing and crafting White Savior narratives, but this is one step too far. A historically accurate film about the Stonewall Riots would center the stories of queer and gender-nonconforming people of color like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. Not relegate them to background characters in the service of a white cis-male fictional protagonist.

My name is Marcus and I work at US Bank. My coworker, Israel Aranda, was fired because he was a vocal advocate for bank workers and our communities. We met with bank officials in April and stood with community groups in asking US Bank to stop foreclosures on families during the school year, renew their promise to facilitate cash remittances to East Africa, and discuss creating an alternative harmful pay day loans. Israel and I also addressed issues affecting our co-workers. We are the backbone of the financial industry, the front line workers that generate billions in dollars of year for US Bank and many of us struggle with low pay and unstable employment. We are subject to unreasonable sales goals and performance metrics. We want to be able to provide our customer s with the services they need, not worry about being written up if we don’t sell enough products. Israel was fired by US bank because he is a leader in the Committee for Better Banks, a coalition of bank workers and community members who are trying to improve the banking industry to create good jobs for folks like me. Israel’s whistleblowing actions should be encouraged not punished. Israel believes, “At a time when banks are reaping record profits, US Bank executives should spend less time trying to silence its employees and more time listening to them and the needs of the community.” Join the Committee for Better Banks and demand that US Bank rehire Israel and address the important issues raised by our community! Why is this important? Bank workers, who have worked years in the same bank are finding themselves earning less than when they started. Employees experience constant changes to sales goals, bonus incentives, and benefits, resulting in job insecurity and a loss of wealth. Rather than rewarding employees for collecting money due to the bank, US Bank punishes them for not prolonging the debt payments. This incentive system is bad for workers, bad for customers and ultimately harmful to the company's future. Investing in US employees is not only good business but also huge cost savings technique over the long haul. Rather than feeling disposable and leaving the job, employees feel more ownership over the success of the bank leading to less turnover and subsequent costs associated with training an ever-changing workforce.

"Redskins" is, and always has been, a derogatory term that denigrates a race of people. Its use for commercial purposes is detestable and Maryland should not be providing a platform to promote it. License plates are not about an individual's first amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court ruled that State-issued tags are a government sponsored forum rather than a public forum and, therefore, the applicable standard is governmental speech. Legally, owners and fans may be free to call the team by whatever odious name they want in public. But Maryland has no obligation to condone their bigotry by including it on its plates.

As parents of a Native American child, we recognize the inherent harm of singling out any groups of students for ridicule.

America needs to live up to its claim of Justice for All. Currently there is no justice for people of color, who need to fear for their lives, their children and loved ones, at the hands of those who are sworn to protect them. Congress needs pass legislation to combat brutal acts of racism, discrimination, and intolerance by authorities in the United States. Unfortunately there are too many victims to list, but I'm launching this petition in memory of Sandra Bland and the Black Lives Matter movement she so boldly embodied.

I know from experience that being a single mother isn’t easy. We already face discrimination and inequality. For most single moms, a job is the only thing keeping their families out of poverty. Now Republicans want to make it easy for a boss to fire a single mom or a pregnant woman on a whim. That’s not fair. That’s not right. Add your name and join me in telling Republicans they need to reject this bill!