Police brutality against African Americans in the United States of America has gone beyond reproof. It is beyond time for there to be sensible legislation that affords African Americans the same rights and privileges that American citizenship offers other Americans. We have witnessed: Little to no repercussions for police officers’ blatant murder of African Americans; Perjury in court and/or to grand jury, where officers grandstand on their “fear” of African American citizens they are called upon and paid with taxpayer dollars to protect and serve; A lack of de-escalation techniques employed when interacting with African Americans; No repercussions for individuals who fraudulently call police on African Americans that lead to the harassment and, in most instances, murder of our beloved people. This is highly unacceptable and intolerable. We believe that, in every instance, life should be preserved, which is in accordance with our right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as dictated in the Declaration of Independence and our 14th Amendment right to “due process under the law.” In cases regarding African Americans, we are rarely afforded that constitutional right. We believe that the colors of our skin should not be weaponized against us and should not come with an automatic guilty verdict. The legal right to “equal protection of the laws” is also a right that is afforded to us under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. However, in cases regarding African Americans, we are rarely afforded that constitutional right.

Some people would like to preserve Atco Raceway as a treasured landmark. To those people, I would say that it is a nostalgic idea for preserving a place that generations have enjoyed. To all people who get their drinking water from wells in the surrounding area, whether Atco Raceway is preserved as a landmark or not, we cannot and should not allow the asphalt to be pulled up and replaced with gravel. As reported in The Pine Barrens Tribune by Mr. Thomas J. Stalba, Jr., of Hammonton, NJ, "Now they (IAA) are trying to convince the board and the community that they are a 'used car establishment' that should be able to tear up paving and put 6,000 recently wrecked cars, and the fluids remaining in them, on a bed of gravel with a water table that is as little as 1.7 feet below the surface of the ground on top of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, right next to the Mullica River watershed, in the heart of the Pine Barrents." Carl Miller, as quoted in The Pine Barrens Tribune, who said he has participated in drag racing since the late 1960s, "called allowing cars in disrepair to be parked on gravel 'a terrible idea' that would allow chemicals to seep directly into groundwater with little possibility of containment." Car liquids, such as gasoline, antifreeze, brake fluid, and even oil do not have the chance to pool under a vehicle if there is gravel underneath. Do the residents of Atco, NJ know that they are responsible for their clean drinking water? Visit these two state sites: https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/pw_faq.pdf https://www13.state.nj.us/DataMiner/Search/SearchByCategory?isExternal=y&getCategory=y&catName=Certified+Laboratories IAA states that they have millions of dollars in insurance should well water become contaminated. How would the homeowner know if his well water was contaminated? He would have to use a NJ state certified testing center that would cost thousands of dollars. Then do a second test just to be sure that the chemicals we are drinking now are "within allowable limits." Then it is our responsibility to make every effort to fix our own wells. The cost to do this would be thousands and thousands of dollars each year for each homeowner. When I moved to Atco almost 30 years ago, we were presented with giant carbon tanks placed inside the laundry room by the State of NJ. We were told that the blueberry field at the end of the road had sprayed pesticides on the plants and the pesticides made their way into the water table in "amounts that exceeded what was allowable." You see, we are still drinking water with contaminants already. We just cannot afford to test our well water annually, as the State of NJ recommends. Why then are we allowing the very obvious poisoning of our water table to occur? If you believe this is an injustice, if you want to keep your loved ones safe, if you want to stop what is so obviously wrong from occurring, you will sign this petition to stop this from happening immediately. Then tell your neighbors to sign as well. We all deserve clean drinking water. We certainly pay enough in our taxes for this "privilege." Thank you for listening.

John Lewis fought for Civil Rights throughout his entire life. He was one of the "Big 6" organizers for the March on Washington, the Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 60s, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011. Congressman Lewis marched, sat in, and did whatever he could to push forward the cause for civil rights. His legacy still impacts the US and the world today. John Lewis took his fight to Congress on behalf of the people of Georgia, where he represented Georgia's 5th Congressional District for over 20 years. He worked to ensure all Georgians were taken care of and our university should honor the late John Lewis with the naming of the John Robert Lewis Green, which will be known to students as the "Lewis Green" or "John Lewis Green". Tell the KSU administration to support this proposal and naming of the green after the late John Lewis by signing this petition.

First Class Mail continues to provide an affordable and secure method of communication for millions of Americans. The Delivering for America Plan diverts resources and equipment away from letter processing to prioritize package services. This betrays the mission of the Postal Service to be a vehicle for communication that binds the nation together chasing profits for the private companies that are proposed to handle mail in the expanded implementation of Surface Transfer Centers. Diverting mail outside the Postal network is already creating service delays and increasing the incidents of lost mail as the Postal Service no longer maintains custody of mail throughout the delivery process. Individuals, small businesses, and local governments rely on First Class Mail to exchange information and ideas, receive remittance payments, or issue legal notices. Allowing Postmaster General DeJoy to bull doze the implementation of these changes past the public will forever alter the network that has been built to provide the excellence that has become synonymous with First Class. Do not settle for adequate when the opportunity for excellence is still attainable. Demand more!

Five nights a week, an average of more than 3 million people tune in to watch Tucker Carlson on Fox News—it's the largest audience of any show on cable news. In April alone, those millions of viewers have heard Carlson claim that COVID-19 vaccines don't work, that having children wear masks to protect them from the virus is child abuse, that convicted murderer Derek Chauvin did nothing wrong, and that Democrats want to replace white voters with immigrants—a decades-old racist and antisemetic argument known as the "replacement theory." Videos featuring Carlson's comments doubting the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines are spreading like wildfire on social media, with one clip viewed nearly 6 million times on Facebook alone. Carlson isn’t the only one: FOX pundits have been behaving in the most irresponsible manner imaginable for years. According to Media Matters, two weeks after the election was called for President Joe Biden, Fox pundits casted doubt on the results nearly 800 times. Fox News repeatedly aided Trump’s efforts to undermine election results, laying the groundwork to cry foul if Trump lost, echoing debunked theories of fraud, pushing the idea that Democrats are trying to “steal” this election, and arguing that Trump is justified in pursuing his claims of a rigged election. This pattern of coverage consequently led up to the deadly insurrection led by white nationalists. With our democracy—and human lives—on the line, we cannot allow despicable figures like Tucker Carlson to drive these harmful and dangerous messages. Please sign this petition and ask everyone you know to also sign it so we can send a clear message to Tucker Carlson and FOX News that their irresponsible conduct is being monitored and will not be tolerated.

Our nation was founded on the principle of equal rights for all people. Advancements have been made with respect to equitable treatment of LGBTQ persons throughout the nation. But the ideals of our founders have yet to be realized. The City of Roseville has a diverse LGBTQ community which continues to struggle for inclusion especially in this time of extreme divisiveness. The City of Roseville has a duty to: * bring its residents together, * to support one another, * to show solidarity for all its citizens, and * to invite everyone to reflect on ways we all can live and work together, committed to mutual respect and understanding, committed to supporting dignity and equity for all people in the community. The City of Roseville can demonstrate its support for our city’s diversity and our LGBTQ community by flying the rainbow flag at City Hall during the month of June.

To overcome the scourge of systemic racism that has never been addressed nationwide in this way.

For decades, California has underfunded mental health services. As a result, the criminal justice system often serves as the state’s default mental health provider, with jails and prisons filled with people suffering from mental illness. In addition, an estimated 10% of law enforcement agencies’ budgets – and 20% of staff time – are spent responding to individuals with mental illness. A direct consequence of our overreliance on law enforcement responses to mental health crises is that almost a quarter of all people killed in police-involved shootings since 2015 had a known mental illness, with black men dying at a disproportionate rate. Between when Derek Chauvin’s trial started and his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, 64 people died at the hands of police. More than a dozen of them had a known mental illness or were in the throes of a mental health crisis. In 2019, Miles Hall, a 23-year-old black man living in Walnut Creek, was in the midst of a schizophrenic mental health crisis when his family called 911 for help. Despite being familiar with Miles’ condition, the officers resorted to lethal force within a minute of their arrival. Law enforcement officers are not mental health experts and should not be expected to serve this role. A better system for Miles and all Californians is possible – one that leads with treatment, not law enforcement. Last year, the federal government established “988” as the new 3-digit alternative to 911 for mental health crises. Callers to 988 will be connected with around-the-clock support, including mobile crisis teams that can respond to the scene with trained mental health professionals and peers rather than law enforcement. If California does not act now, the state will lose critical federal support and funding. Please urge California lawmakers to pass, and Governor Gavin Newsom to sign, Assembly Bill 988 (Bauer-Kahan) – also known as the Miles Hall Lifeline Act – to implement the 988 system in California and take concrete steps to reduce shootings where mental health is involved. AB 988 will ensure that we respond to a health crisis with a health response.

We, the undersigned, are shocked and disheartened with the rampant bullying and harassment happening in the Teays Valley School District. The daily reports coming home from students range from verbal abuse, cyberbullying, to physical attacks and sexual harassment. This is unacceptable! Teachers and administrators have been made aware and nothing has changed. Either the incidents are ignored, complaints brushed aside, or the perpetrators are not dealt with seriously enough to deter future incidents. Consequently, the bullies are learning that they can act with near impunity. The victims are learning that their voices do not matter. Are these the lessons Teays Valley wants to instill in their students? We, the undersigned, value Teays Valley School District. For many, it was a significant factor in choosing where to move. For others, there is the pull of tradition and family ties that keep them here. There are many strengths to our district. Sadly, diversity is not one of them. However, we do have students who represent marginalized groups. Students of color deserve a safe school. Neurodivergent students deserve a safe school. LGBTQ+ students deserve a safe school. Students of different religions – or no religion- deserve a safe school. Those who advocate for their fellow students deserve a safe school. There is absolutely no excuse to tolerate bullying and harassment of them! We now call on Teays Valley administration to actively engage with students and parents to assess the hostile environment currently in place and develop an action plan to ensure every student is safe.

Atlanta. Boulder. Indianapolis. These have been just the high-profile mass shootings that grabbed national headlines over the last few weeks. In fact, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting a day so far in 2021. And as the pandemic unfolded in 2020, gun violence rose dramatically with over 19,000 people killed in shootings and firearm-related incidents. Tragically, who is harmed by gun violence has often been determined by race, ethnicity, or gender. People of color -- and everyone -- deserve to be safe. While we mourn the recent shootings, we must also fight the explosive combination of guns, racism, misogyny, and white supremacy to reduce the likelihood of such tragedies recurring. The U.S. House has passed gun legislation to tighten background checks on gun sales, and now it’s up to the U.S. Senate to turn it into law. Tell the U.S. Senate to act against gun violence now and pass universal background checks.

The Cincinnati NAACP and many organizations adamantly oppose the advancement of House Bill-22 (Expansion of Obstruction of Justice) because it is an arbitrary law proposal that will give more power to law enforcement to selectively penalize citizens. This bill allows police to increase the penalty of Obstruction of Justice up to a Felony against citizens simply exercising their right to free speech. The expansion of Obstruction of Justice is not only unnecessary but counter-productive to ongoing efforts toward better police and community relations. The current law reads as follow: ORC. 2921.32 OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE states: “No person, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance by a public official of any authorized act within the public official’s official capacity, shall do any act that hampers or impede a public official in the performance of the public official’s lawful duties.” There is no evidence of an increase in citizens impeding and preventing officers from performing their official duties. The current law as it stands is sufficient and addresses all acts that prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance of a public official. Adding failure to follow a lawful order and diverting the attention of a law enforcement officer will only broaden the scope in which law enforcement can penalize Ohioans. It is also extremely punitive to charge concerned citizens with the same level offense the accused is being charged. This regressive measure will only create more low-level felons in an already exhausted correctional system. HB-22 will lend more opportunity for police abuse of power, leaving citizens vulnerable and their rights exploited. Legislators and law enforcement who believe in our free society should never support a bill like this that attempts to thwart and penalize law-abiding citizens who exercise their rights to observe and record interactions with police and the public. If citizens witness police misconduct and have reasonable objections, the answer is not to create laws to penalize those good Samaritans, the answer instead, should be, to seek laws that welcome accountability and discourage police misconduct. Similar to the concerned citizens who witness police misconduct that led to the murder of George Floyd, they were within their rights to record the incident as evidence. As taxpayers, it is our right to freely approve and disapprove of Police conduct. Our inherit freedoms should not be left to the mercy of an officer whose tolerance levels could be biased. If HB-22 is made into law, it would only lead to more abuse of power that is subjective and discriminatory. Law Enforcement Officers receive first class, taxpayer funded training that provides an abundance of skill sets on how to work under pressure. We should not have to lower the bar and include unnecessary measures to Obstruction of Justice for trained professionals. Lawmakers must stop using every opportunity to strip away the freedoms and rights of citizens just to further empower a government agency that already lacks meaningful measures of accountability. If HB-22 becomes law, it will have a negative impact on peaceable citizens that could potentially face severe criminal charges for exercising their basic rights provided and protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Again, we are asking you to join us in opposing this bill by signing this petition to show lawmakers that you do not support HB-22 and demand the members of the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee DO NOT ADVANCE THIS BILL out of their committee. Below are the hyper link email addresses to each member of the Ohio Statehouse Criminal Justice Committee. Please also send emails and feel free to use the points above for reason why the bill should not pass: EMAIL ADDRESSESS OF OHIO LEGISLATORS BELOW: CC: Jeff Lare District 77 R- email: [email protected] DJ Swearingen District 89 R- email: [email protected] Cindy Abrams District 29 R- email: [email protected] David Leland District 22 D- email: [email protected] Willis E Blackshear Jr District 39 D- email: [email protected] Sedrick Denson District 33 D- email: [email protected] Tania Galonksi District 35 D- email: [email protected] Adam C Miller District 17 D- email: [email protected] Phil Plummer District 40 R- email: [email protected] Sharon A Ray District 69 R- email: [email protected] Jean Schmidt District 65 R- email: [email protected] Bill Seitz District 30 R- email: [email protected] Andrea White District 41 R- email: [email protected]

Amazon knew exactly what a unionization win by its Bessemer workers would mean: It would have paved the way for more organizing across the country and built power for the working class, who have been exploited to enrich the ultra wealthy time and time again. It’s why Amazon used every union-busting tactic in the book (and even pioneered new ones!) to stop the organizing effort. To prevent a few thousand workers from unionizing, one of the richest companies in the world: hired a Koch-backed anti-union consultant, sent up to 5 harassment texts a day to workers, forced employees to watch anti-union videos, changed the stoplight by the warehouse so organizers couldn’t hand out union flyers to drivers, offered $2,000 severance checks for workers to quit, retaliated against pro-union workers, collaborated with the USPS to put up a fake dropbox for the union votes—and more. These union-busting intimidation tactics aren’t isolated to Amazon—giant corporations have used these and more throughout history to fight back against working people organizing for living wages and better working conditions. If the PRO Act were law right now, Amazon wouldn’t have been allowed to engage in these sorts of repressive anti-organizing tactics, and would be held accountable for union-busting. But since it isn’t, there’s a real risk that other corporations will see what Amazon did in Bessemer and replicate it around the country. Thanks to union members who fought and died to build power for the working class, some workers have weekends off, an 8 hour work day is the norm instead of 12, and kids aren’t forced to work. Unions are good for workers: They protect workers from exploitation, they bring fairness into the workplace, they allow employees to have a say in the workplace policies that affect them, and they win fair wages and protections for all workers, including working mothers, Black, brown and disabled workers, as well as undocumented immigrant workers who are especially at risk for facing exploitation and unsafe working conditions on the job. Giant corporations and the ultra-wealthy, like Jeff Bezos, know that a unified working class will hold them accountable for their anti-worker tactics, abuses, exploitation, and greed. That’s why we need the PRO Act, which would allow the National Labor Relations Board to impose monetary penalties against employers who violate workers' rights, empower collective action and worker strikes, ensure that employees are not misclassified as independent contractors, and eliminate “right-to-work” laws, a relic of the Jim Crow era designed specifically to separate workers and undercut collective bargaining rights. Every Senator who cares about protecting working people from exploitation and intimidation by corporations like Amazon needs to co-sponsor the PRO Act immediately, so we don’t see a repeat of the shameful behavior by Amazon anywhere in the country ever again.