The bill gained final passage from the state Assembly on a vote of 49-25, without a single Republican supporting it. The measure cleared the state Senate in April. California already requires public schools to teach the contributions made to society by women and by racial and ethnic groups that were historically discriminated against, such as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. Supporters of the latest bill said it would simply include gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals in that existing requirement, making it part of the curriculum in history and other social studies classes.

Ohio's drinking age was once 16, then raised to 18 after Prohibition, then raised again to 21 to comply with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which tried to curb drunk-driving fatalities by cutting off 10% of Federal Highway Funds to Non-Compliant States. This does not take into consideration that Men and Women can be enlisted or drafted into the Armed Services and therefore fight and die for one's country at 18 - yet cannot get a drink? Also, since the 1980s the law has made Binge Drinking/Alcoholism/Addiction among 18-21 year olds worse, by treating otherwise mature adults like children, by forcing them to hide their drinking like criminals, glamorizing an otherwise mundane and ordinary activity. Wise parental guidance has been transferred, ironically with the help of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, from parents to the Federal and State Government. This is also a stifling of state commerce, by limiting sales of alcohol to legally, official adults, 18-20. And the U.S. is the only western country whose drinking age is not 18.

Background: According to a 2008 study by the PEW Center on the States, an estimated 2.3 million adults are currently incarcerated in America. If people on parole and/or probation are included, the total number in the criminal justice system nationwide more than triples – to approximately 7.2 million. In addition, an estimated thirty million people in the U.S. have felony convictions. Seventeen million people have served time in jails and prisons; and three million are expected be released from prison over the next five years. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office 2008-2009 data, the average cost to incarcerate an inmate in a California prison is approximately $47,000 per year. Nationally, the unemployment rate among formerly-incarcerated people is estimated to be 65% to 70%. The number of women in prison grew by 832% from 1977 to 2007 •Two thirds of women in prison are there for non-violent offenses, many for drug-related crimes •Women of color are disproportionately represented in prison •There are more mothers in prison than ever before •Nearly two-thirds of women in prison are mothers •Seventy-seven percent of mothers in prison reported providing most of the daily care for their child(ren) -Children of incarcerated parents are more likely to drop out of school, engage in delinquency, and subsequently be incarcerated themselves. Issue: As social workers, we recognize that employment is critical for formerly-incarcerated people to achieve successful reentry. However, almost every job application in the United States asks the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” Although they may be qualified for the position, those with prior convictions find difficulty in obtaining those employment positions due to employers unwillingness in allowing them to continue through the hiring process once they disclose their criminal history. In California, more than two-thirds of its state parolees are returned to prison within three years of being released; in addition, 39% of these re-incarceration rates are not due to new crimes committed, but have resulted due to technicalities in their parole violations. Denying former prisoners a chance at gainful employment denies them a second chance to become self-reliant members of society. Every ex-offender who finds gainful employment and successful reintegration into the community is one less recidivist depleting criminal justice and corrections resources. Ban the Box is a grass roots campaign initiated and led by formerly-incarcerated persons. Its aim is to remove questions about past criminal convictions on public employment applications. This will allow applicants with prior convictions the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and experience alongside other applicants. Increasing the employment opportunities for ex-offenders will result in reduced rates of recidivism from prisons by 50%, reduced taxpayer’s spending on prisons; an increase of self-sufficient workers, stronger families due to ability to provide financial, cognitive, and emotional support for children, and a society which encourages rehabilitation. Over the past year, major U.S. cities including Boston, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, have adopted model hiring reforms that promote employment of people with criminal records while protecting the integrity of their City hiring process. Describing the significance of the Chicago initiative, Mayor Richard Daley put it best when he said, “Implementing the new policy won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do . . . We cannot ask private employers to consider hiring former prisoners unless the City practices what it preaches.” Key points to the initiative Banning the box will not affect jobs where a BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) check is mandated by law, such as working with children, disabled, and elderly (also exempts sensitive positions, where cause is shown); Banning the box will allow for a BCI check upon a conditional offer employment. Banning the box will not adversely affect employers. Banning the box increases the pool of qualified workers from which to choose. Many employers have found that people with past criminal records are excellent employees, with useful job skills and good work habits. Banning the box will not stop employers from conducting background checks, or from considering job-related convictions for a specific position. If a position requires a background check, the record can be reviewed after an initial offer of employment is made.

Our country's 'war on drugs' has been a miserable failure. Every year we spend billions of taxpayer dollars prosecuting people guilty of victim-less non-violent drug crimes, and every year the prevalence of drugs in our society only increases. Mexican drug cartels grip our border with violence that comes from the marketability of their illegal drug trade. Today, this Thursday, June 23rd, 2011, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will introduce legislation to end the federal ban on marijuana. Sign this petition to show your support for the end of the federal ban on marijuana.

In Montana a father who made his 5 year old clean up his own vomit was evaluated by a psycholgist as being fit to parent his child. He was given equal parenting time even with firm objection by the mother. A mother has little right to protect her child from such damaging offenses because such a horrific action is not illegal.

The petition is about the new radiation scanners at airport that will soon be coming to Austin. I am bothered that I still seem to get liquids and leathermans that are located IN my bag (by accident) through carry-on scanners undetected. Even though TSA hasn't perfected those scanners to make us more safe, they are adding onto it with more expensive machinery, succumbing us to more radiation as well as a violating situation. I wish they would perfect one thing before moving onto a more complicated/expensive/invasive one. These new radiation scanners that spot everything under your clothing (producing a shiny nude image of everyone) are replacing old-fashioned magnetic scanners. Cancer risks correlate with the number of exposure to radiation, so no dose of radiation is too small to matter. The amount of radiation that you are exposed to is not as much as a doctor’s, BUT the cumulative effect of radiation may take a toll (especially if children 12+ are exposed to this routine at such a young age then continue through their adult years). If you chose to opt out of being scanned, you will instead have an intimate pat-down from a TSA agent – you end up being touched in places previously reserved for significant others or your Gynecologist/Urologist. When you experience this, you will realize how violating it truly is - I have and it's quite invasive.

Gov. John Kasich and his political allies know what’s at stake in 2012: Ohio could be the state that decides whether Barack Obama wins or loses the election. And SB 5 will be on the ballot. So they will stop at nothing–no matter how brazen or unethical–to stack the deck in their favor. Recently, Ohio Republicans passed HB 194, a voter suppression bill that cuts down on early voting and makes it harder for Ohio voters to cast their ballots. Not satisfied with making it more difficult to vote, extreme senators are now saying they will take up a voter ID bill that would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has called HB 159 the “most restrictive” measure of its kind in the country. Adding a photo ID requirement would only serve to further disenfranchise young people, seniors, people of color, people with disabilities and the poor.

Vaccines are not without risk. Many risks are unknown even to manufacturers. Vaccinated people sometimes spread the disease to the unvaccinated. We must all have the opportunity to investigate about vaccines and to choose whether or not to be vaccinated. We own our bodies!

15 months ago my husband and I became the proud foster parents of a 3 day old baby. He was born addicted to crack, alchohol and nicotine. We both still had to go to work each day. We were lucky enough that our bosses let us split the day til he was 6 weeks and old enough for daycare, but we were literally exhausted. There is no law that states our employers should give us any maternity leave. We would have lost our jobs if one of us didn't show up. Foster parents should have the same rights as any parents. This is just one of them.

On January 13, 2011, The Abington Township Board of Commissioners made history by voting down a Non-discrimination Ordinance. For the first time in Pennsylvania, a suburban municipality failed to pass a civil rights law. The ordinance would have protected all people who live, work, or conduct business in Abington. By a vote of 10 against (Commissioners John Carlin, Carol DiJoseph, Carol Gillespie, Wayne Luker, Bill Lynott, Peggy Meyers, James Ring, Robert Wachter, and Dennis Zappone) to 5 in favor (Commissioners Ernie Peacock, Les Benzak, Michael O’Connor, Steven Kline and Lori Schreiber), the audience was tearful as the ordinance failed to pass. Please become a civil rights champion to ensure that everyone in Abington is protected against housing, employment, and public accommodation (e.g. being served in a restaurant) discrimination. Our township's reputation, property values, educational system, children's safety, and citizenry are at stake. We're all in this together!

Pledge your support for NYS Senate bill S542. If enacted, this bill would require public high schools and colleges in New York State to provide voter registration forms and changes the minimum age for pre-registering to vote to 17.

Please do not repeal the 38-year tradition of Election Day Registration or add a new requirement to present a photo ID every time you vote. Maine has had 2 cases of voter fraud in more than three decades, and our elections run remarkably smoothly. There is no need to roll back our voting rights simply so Gov. LePage can get re-elected.