I also have a child and I don't want any child to get hurt by his or her parents. Having a baby is not easy, but hurting one is easy. However, it hurts the child very much.

The current legal system does not adequately protect the elderly, or anyone who is not working or is not wealthy, because the New Jersey courts assign a low economic value to their lives. Attorneys are reluctant to take on Elder abuse cases because even if they win they might get little compensation. This is especially true if the person incurred Medicare or Medicaid costs because they have to be paid back before any award is distributed to the plaintiff or their attorney. The Justice for Carmen Foundation was established to redress this injustice. Please read about what happened to Carmen at www.justiceforcarmenlachavez.org. With your help we can make sure that our loved ones will not suffer like Carmen and so many other people have.

Employees working for DSI Renal, including myself, cannot extend medical coverage to their families if they are in same sex relationships or unmarried life partners (same sex or opposite sex) if their state does not require companies to do so. Health care coverage can mean the difference between life and death, between financial stability or bankruptcy. "The HRC's The State of the Workplace report found that nearly 51 percent of Fortune 500 companies are providing benefits to employees' same-sex domestic partners in 2006. The number of Fortune 500 companies offering domestic-partner benefits increased from 246 in 2005 to 253 in 2006, according to the report. Eighty-six percent of Fortune 500 companies also include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy, according to the report. The report also noted that seven states prohibit discrimination in private sector employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity -- California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington, plus the District of Columbia. Ten additional states ban workplace discrimination on sexual orientation. The HRC is an advocacy group for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. You can find out more about the report at the HRC's website." (Source: http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Domestic-Partner-Benefits-Civil-Union/Most-Fortune-500-Companies-Offer-Domestic-Partner-#)

Colleen Simon had her dream job, working at her church to feed hungry families. It was a job, she says, "I was called to by God." And then last week, she was fired because she is married to another woman. Colleen has devoted her life to helping the hungry. She's in a loving, committed relationship. Even now, she bears no ill will toward her church, instead praying for "the day when we are all loved and embraced by our churches." If Colleen Simon is not fit to serve the poor at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Kansas City, no one is. One of Pope Francis's top bishops in Italy recently called for including gay Christians in church life, less than a year after Francis himself called for a new tone. But the local bishop, Robert Finn, seems not to have gotten the message.

The Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Inc. (GMHC) is the world’s first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention care and advocacy. Its mission is to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected. On Wednesday, May 5, 2014, the Vice-Chair of the GMHC Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) was terminated from all services provided by GMHC for his advocacy of all GMHC clients. There is a growing concern within the GMHC Community that those clients who publicly voice their opinions and advocate regarding issues of clients' concerns are now being marginalized, intimidated, harassed, and unfairly punished for their actions. We recently saw the push-back from the board from any real input by the clients in the recent CEO selection process that ended up with more questions being raised than answers regarding a “New Direction” for the agency. In the minds of many, the GMHC Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) has been hijacked with the assistance of the CAB Chair and the staff liaison to the CAB. This is not the first time that the staff liaison to the CAB has been accused of discriminatory treatment, when a HIV negative client file complaint that he was being discriminated against based on his negative status. goo.gl/yAED4x--The issue of a mandatory separate entrance being used by those clients who come for their HIV related services is also discriminatory and only serves to fuel the stigma of HIV/AIDS. (highlight and right click)>>> http://goo.gl/nDEdG2 goo.gl/MVOpFj --The media have also reported on whether funds raised for programs and services at the agency are being spent as intended. The issue of transparency and openness at the agency are other issues brought to the attention of the board by clients in the past. Whatever happen to that “New Direction” that was touted in a press release by the board upon the announcement of a new CEO search? That “New Direction” and a litany of issues raised by the CAB has either been summarily dismissed or totally ignored by the GMHC Board and the senior management team. We ask that you stand up for what is right in your support for all GMHC clients against discrimination, for freedom of expression and due process at the agency. The petition will go to the GMHC Co-Chairs of the Board, Roberta Kaplan, Esq. and Michael C. Harwood, Esq, its CEO, Mr. Kelsey Louie, Ms. Lynnette Ford, MSW, MA, Managing Director, Program Services and Evaluation, and a copy to Mr. Eric T. Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General. We demand: 1. That CAB leader Joseph Sellman be reinstated immediately as GMHC client and member of the GMHC CAB. 2. That the GMHC Staff Liaison to the CAB, David Hind, be disciplined for his unprofessional conduct and harassment of a GMHC client and having submitted a false and misleading statement that was racist in tone against Joseph Sellman. 3. That the issue of a separate and discriminatory entrance being used by GMHC Clients at 446 West 33rd Street, NYC be eliminated immediately. Respectfully, The Action Committee for Justice and Transparency at GMHC

There has been a big controversy regarding same-sex marriage. California has often changed its mind regarding same-sex marriage as to should we allow this or should we not. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders in California should be able to legally get married without having to fly to another state to do so.

For the duration of Mr. Spivakov's concert at Harvard's Sanders Theater, Harvard's self-proclaimed adherence to the restrictions imposed on power structures by the 1st Amendment was apparently suspended in favor of the norms of modern-day Russia, where suppression of opposing views is the every-day reality. Harvard University Police, hired by the organizers of the concert, zealously enforced these restrictions-- just like in Russia, any items, such as flowers or fliers, featuring the colors of Ukraine's flag (blue and yellow) were not allowed in the theater, and a member of the audience who asked Mr. Spivakov an unflattering question was arrested on charges that came apart at the seams in court the very next morning. However, even though he is a Harvard alumnus, he is still and indefinitely barred from setting foot anywhere on his alma mater's campuses. If you'd rather this didn't become the norm at Harvard or elsewhere in civilized world, please sign our petition.

We can't let the GOP keep slashing crucial food programs for kids, only helping the children of conservative voters.

We, citizens of the international community, are demanding that you take immediate action to ensure the safety and welfare of Abdallah al-Shami and Muhammad Salah Sultan, who are both on a hunger strike in the Egyptian Aqrab Maximum Security Prison. While we are very concerned about the apparent erosion of due process in Egypt over the last months, we are now extremely concerned that Mr al-Shami and Mr Sultan may die. These two young men have found it necessary to use their weapon of last resort – hunger strike – in their attempt to secure a fair hearing. Abdallah al-Shami is a journalist with al-Jazeera. He was arrested on August 14, 2013 while covering the break-up of the Rabaa sit-in. After 5 months, on January 21 2014 he started a hunger strike in protest against being held without charge and without evidence. His imprisonment has been repeatedly extended, the latest time, on the 3rd of May, for 45 more days. His health has deteriorated badly but the Prison Authority has seen fit to send him to solitary confinement. They have revoked his exercise of rights and prevented him from receiving visits or talking with other people. In fact the Authority has found it reasonable to close the small hatch in his cell door. The Authority has also tried to force-feed him and has coerced him into being photographed with items of food at his side. Mr al-Shami has lost 40 kilograms in weight. His blood tests - run at a private clinic at his own expense - show severe anaemia and a malfunctioning of the kidneys. We believe that his life is in danger. Muhammad Sultan started his hunger strike on January 26, 2014 when his imprisonment was renewed repeatedly with no charges and no evidence. He was taken from his home on August 27, 2013, when the police broke into the house to arrest his father. They did not find the father but they took the son. Mr Sultan is now on day 105 of his hunger strike. He has lost over 45 kilograms in weight, his blood glucose is down to 40. He is in danger of death through haemorrhage or a diabetes coma. Two men who have not been convicted - in fact one of them has not even been charged - are about to die in an Egyptian prison. It is urgent that you do not to allow this crime to take place. We ask that both men be transferred immediately to hospital preparatory to their urgent release. The international community places itself firmly in support of Egyptian citizens who have been trying to secure the fair and humane treatment of detainees.

WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS DISTURBING US AT OUR HOMES EARLY IN THE MORNING ON WEEKENDS...ONLY TO HAVE MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS TO PREACH AND QUOTE THEIR BIBLE PASSAGES!! YOU WOULD NEVER SEE JEWS, CATHOLICS OR MUSLIMS DOING THIS..NOR WOULD YOU SEE QUAKERS, AMISH OR WICCANS!!...YET WE ARE CONSTANTLY AWAKENED BY PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CHURCHES AND OUR PRECIOUS REST DISTURBED!! SOMETIMES THE MEMBERS OF THESE CHURCHS BANG ON OUR FRONT DOOR ALARMING US EARLY ON SATURDAY MORNINGS!! THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!! WE LIVE IN ELMONT NY AND HAVE BEEN PUTTING UP WITH THIS PREACHING FOR YEARS!!! WE WANT IT STOPPED! this affects everyone in nassau county ny...ps i am no longer in catholic school....ENOUGH!

Election day has been problematic for people because those who work must get to the polls prior to or after their workday. This increases lines and waiting times and decreases people's ability to vote. Voting Day must be a Federal Holiday so everyone has an equal opportunity to make it to their polling stations and vote.

I was denied roughstock riding in the NHSRA (National High School Rodeo Association) because I'm a girl. It is not right to tell someone no when she wants to do something she loves. I will fight this.