FACTUAL HISTORY: On the heels of Oakland Unified School District Police Chief Peter Sarna being fired for drunkenness and outrageous racist comments regarding African Americans, Tony Smith, superintendent of OUSD, has shocked the Oakland community by replacing the disgraced chief with the murderer of Raheim Brown Jr., Sergeant Barhin Bhatt. On January 22, 2011, 20-year-old Raheim Brown Jr. was sitting in his car not far from Skyline High School when he was approached by Sgts. Barhin Bhatt and Jonathan Bellusa. In a short while, Raheim Brown Jr. would be dead, shot five times through the head and upper body. His female companion was pulled out of the car through the window and then beaten and arrested. She has testified to the fact that racist comments were made right before Brown was killed. Police alleged Brown was armed with a screwdriver but even if that is so, the young man was sitting in his car, never exited the vehicle and thus posed absolutely NO threat to the officers. This is at a minimum excessive force, but the community believes it is actually no less than murder because the officers were not in any danger and could have called for backup or used non-lethal means to detain Brown. To name Bhatt as the Acting Chief of the OUSD Police sends a chilling message to all those youths in our schools, especially non-white males, that they may end up dead too, as did Raheim Brown Jr., if they come in direct contact with OUSD police officers. On Wednesday, August 10th, community members attended Oakland school board meetings to demand the termination of Bhatts and Bellusa, but less than a week later, not only was Bhatts not fired; he was promoted into a position of prominence and power. COMMUNITY DEMAND: THE COMMUNITY DEMANDS THE TERMINATION OF BARHIN BHATTS AND JONATHAN BELLUSA AS WELL AS THEIR ARREST AND IMMEDIATE PROSECUTION BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY FOR THE MURDER OF RAHEIM BROWN JR.

We are no different than any other citizens. We work, pay taxes, and love just the same as other Oklahomans. It just so happens that we love people of the same gender. We deserve the equal rights to marry our loved ones. Most of all we should have support for the one's that their families disown because of ignorance and bigotry bestoyed upon them. We are always going to be around, and I for one am not moving to a state that is more loving and tolerant of gays. I plan to stay and fight!!!!

As of the date of this email there are 243 sponsors and cosponsors of H.R. 822 ,which represents 55.9% of the votes in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is interesting to note that there are 193 Democratic and 242 Republican Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives; yet only 34 (17.6%) of the Democratic Representatives are cosponsors of H.R. 822 while 209 (86.4%) of the Republican Representatives are sponsors/cosponsors. This is very consistent with the voting records of the members of Congress where all Representatives vote along party lines at least 85% of the time. I thought that in the U.S.A. we elect candidates that will represent their constituents and support the US Constitution rather than a political party position. I urge all Representatives to fulfill their obligations under the oath of office they took under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution as regards Amendment II of the U.S. Constitution and support H.R. 822 rather than adhere to a strong party discipline such as seen in Westminster Parliamentary governments and in Communist Party governments. Discussion: Currently there are eleven (11) states that do not recognize concealed weapons carry permits issued by any other states in violation of Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States. (CA, CT, HI, IL MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, RI, & WI) Of these one (IL) does not have any provisions for issuing concealed weapons carry permits and does not allow concealed weapons carry. Conversely, there are eleven (11) states that honor all other states' concealed weapons carry permits in compliance with Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States. (AK, AZ, IA, ID, IN, MI, MO, OK, SD, TN, & UT). One state (VT) does not require a permit for concealed weapons carry and therefore does not issue concealed weapons carry permits. The remaining twenty-seven (27) states recognize some other states' concealed weapons carry permits but do not recognize other states' concealed weapons carry permits, again in violation of Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States. These remaining 27 states are also not consistent with each other thus creating a mind-numbing and constantly changing environment for travelers with valid state issued permits for concealed weapons carry. In some states, you can not even possess a handgun without a permit and permits are only issued to residents with a “demonstrated need”; effectively violating residents' U.S. Constitutional, 2nd Amendment rights . We should have the right to protect ourselves in any state while traveling or on vacation. All but one state have passed concealed carry laws because the right to self-defense does not end when one leaves their home. However, as listed earlier, interstate recognition of those permits is not uniform, is in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and creates great confusion and potential safety and legal problems for the traveler. H.R. 822 would solve this problem by requiring that lawfully issued carry permits be recognized in accordance with Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States, while being subject to the same conditions or limitations that apply to residents of the State who have the least restricted permits issued by the State or are otherwise lawfully allowed to do so by the State. It would authorize a person who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state to carry a concealed handgun in another state in accordance with the restrictions applied to the least restricted concealed carry permit of that state. This provision protects the ability of the various states to determine the conditions of concealed carry, much like they determine their individual state traffic laws. The bill would not create a federal licensing system; rather, it would require the states to recognize each others' carry permits, just as they recognize drivers' licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards. =========================================== Applicable portions of The United States Constitution Article IV - The States, Section 1 - Each State to Honor all others. Article VI - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths AMENDMENT II AMENDMENT XIV, Section 1, and Section 5

Dr. Frank Kameny was the first to fight dismissal from a federal job and appeal it all the way to the Supreme Court. He was the first to run for Congress in 1971. He also worked to remove the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association's manual of mental disorders. He deserves recognition for his pioneering efforts.

Under Connecticut state law, 17 year-olds may work, drive, legally consent to sexual relations, and even stand trial in adult criminal court for certain crimes. They contribute to state revenues through sales and employment taxes. They can serve in the armed forces. They are required to complete a course in civics education in order to graduate from high school. And, as of 2008, they have had the right to vote in primary elections (provided they turn 18 before the general election). Yet, despite these various responsibilities, Connecticut's 17 year-olds are barred from participating in general elections. Giving these youth the right to vote will breathe new life into stagnant public debates surrounding education reform, juvenile justice policy, environmental protection, and a host of other important issues that uniquely affect young people. Moreover, it will encourage Connecticut’s youth to take a more active role in civic life and help them to develop a long-term interest in government and politics. We therefore call on state lawmakers to amend the state constitution and lower Connecticut's voting age to 17 for general elections.

In the fall of 2011 the Chicago City Council will debate whether or not it will pass a resolution against torture. The resolution calls on the City of Chicago to “hereby stand against all forms of torture and inhumane treatment and does proclaim Chicago to be a torture free city.”

There has been data that anti-gay rhetoric is harmful to gays (especially gay youth). The two seem to be connected as evidenced by an increase in hate crimes involving 'perceived' gay teens and gay adults.

Medicaid programs for children and people with disabilities are being sold to for-profit HMOs. Taxpayers are spending $11 billion a month for care, and 20-50% is "saved" by denying benefits. A White House policy of "unregulating" Medicaid has to be stopped. Millions like my medically fragile daughter are losing their civil rights once their lives are sold to Wall Street.

This petition is about civil liberties violations by the Huntsville, Alabama police department & about protecting our first ammendment right to peacefully organize in the united states. The petition was started to challenge the legality of the Huntsville, AL ordinance that states that; 1. It is illegal to have a funeral procession without a police escort; 2. The funeral procession is limited to 25 cars, including the hearse, clergy & mourners.

As President, Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, putting discrimination against lesbians and gay men into federal law. DOMA is terrible public policy. The Obama administration has decided the act is unconstitutional and will no longer defend it in federal court. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has introduced legislation in Congress to repeal DOMA. What better advocate for repeal of this highly discriminatory law than the man who put it into effect? Let's ask former President Clinton to actively join the effort to repeal DOMA.

Rep. Kern has stated that gays and lesbians are a "cancer" and warned that they would bring civilization to an end if granted legal and social equality. Kern claimed that societies that have accepted homosexuality in the past "lasted [no] more than a few decades" and declared that America’s tolerance of homosexuals constituted a "death knell of our country." Kern also claimed that gays and lesbians were "the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism of Islam," and said that "gays are infiltrating city councils.... They are winning elections." "To me what is hateful is when those people who say, ’You’re born this way. There’s no hope in change. You’re stuck in this, deal with it,’ that is hate," Kern said. "There’s no hope in that." When a recording of her comments was leaked, Kern found herself at the center of a firestorm. She refused to apologize for her comments, however, stating that had she known her remarks were being recorded, she would not have changed them.

We are calling on Chick-Fil-A and it's president Dan Cathy to live up to his promise that he made January of last year. "We will not champion any political agendas on marriage and family." In a July 26, 2011 article posted by Edge News. Mr. Cathy and Chick-Fil-A Sponsors Anti-Gay Golf Event. This petition is to add pressure to him and his corp., to take back on this sponsorship, and in the meantime I call for a boycott of this corp until which time he does so.