In 2013, the country was appalled as George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin as a result of Florida’s "Stand Your Ground" law. Since then, we have had to watch as Zimmerman has remained in the news through run-ins with law enforcement, racist statements, and efforts to capitalize off of killing Trayvon through a celebrity boxing match and a recent attempt to auction the gun used to kill Trayvon. Sadly, Zimmerman has become an enduring symbol of the physical and political violence, hate, and injustice happening to Black people in our country. Now conservatives and the gun lobby are again pushing "Stand Your Ground" legislation in even more states—providing cover for race-based violence and trigger-happy vigilantes like Zimmerman. The Missouri legislature has introduced a crime bill that was expanded by Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) to protect killers like Zimmerman. Adding a "Stand Your Ground" measure to the bill, Schaefer believes that people should be able to legally claim fear made them shoot people while on their property or in a public space. The bill is moving rapidly through the legislature and actually getting worse with each vote. As we saw with the killings of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Mike Brown Davis, Rekia Boyd, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, and many others, an illegitimate fear of Black people, including children, is already a justification for killing them in many courtrooms in America. "Stand Your Ground" laws make it even easier to get away with violence against Black people. "Stand Your Ground" laws are also not applied equally. Black people are far less likely to succeed when using it as a defense. As we saw in the case of Marissa Alexander, even a Black woman firing a warning shot in the presence of a former abuser was not able to take advantage of the same defense that allowed Zimmerman to get away with murder. Help us ensure "Stand Your Ground" laws are not expanded. Tell Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to veto "Stand Your Ground" when it comes to his desk.

George Zimmerman just posted the pistol he used to kill 17-year-old Trayvon Martin for sale on a firearms auction site called UnitedGunGroup.com. That's right: This man is trying his most desperate—and darkest—plan yet to profit from the time he murdered an unarmed teenager in cold blood and got away with it. Trayvon Martin was unarmed, and his death sparked a national movement demanding racial justice and police accountability. It was Zimmerman's acquittal that led to the first widespread use of #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter. Now, this unconvicted murderer is promising to use the funds from the sale of this gun to attack the Black Lives Matter movement. It's sickening that this man is trying to profit from the taking of an innocent person's life—and it's shameful that any site would help him do it. Demand that UnitedGunGroup.com remove this auction immediately.

Reps. Conyers (MI), Grijalva (AZ), Ellison (MN), and McGovern (MA) have introduced an amendment [1] to the National Defense Authorization Act [2] which would prevent any money in the bill from being used to facilitate the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has used U.S.-supplied cluster bombs in civilian areas in Yemen, killing and wounding civilians [3], in defiance of U.S. law. [4] Passage of this amendment would be a step towards compliance with Human Rights Watch's demand [5] that the U.S. stop the production and transfer of cluster bombs completely, consistent with the Convention on Cluster Munitions. [6] It would also be a step towards fulfilling the demands of Sens. Murphy and Paul [7] and Reps. Lieu and Yoho [8] that U.S. weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia be conditioned on efforts to limit casualties in the Saudi war in Yemen. Urge your Representative to support the Conyers-Grijalva-Ellison-McGovern NDAA amendment by signing our petition. References: 1. http://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/CONYER_06251116091703173.pdf 2. https://rules.house.gov/bill/114/hr-4909 3. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/yemen-saudis-using-us-cluster-munitions 4. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/dispatch-us-contradictions-landmines-and-cluster-munitions 5. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/yemen-saudis-using-us-cluster-munitions 6. http://www.clusterconvention.org/ 7. http://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-paul-introduce-legislation-to-set-new-conditions-for-us-military-support-to-saudi-arabia- 8. https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-lieu-introduces-bi-partisan-bill-establish-new-guidelines

It's time to take OUR VOTE back!

Railroads were once the way most of us got from place to place and our goods were efficiently and environmentally transported. Over the years we have made our highways into massive parking lots, made it difficult to travel, decimated public transportation except for crowded airports, and increased our dependence on oil, adding to pollution, etc. It is time to stop that and put the trains back on the tracks.

As a citizen of Allegan, I feel that we should be allowed to make the most economical, healthy, healthy and enriching decisions about the food we eat.

As a veteran, it strikes close to home for me to see fellow vets and other poor citizens in need of healthcare go without. Edited to add: because my petition has signers, I can't update the text of the petition, all I can do is change the title(which I did) and put a note in here that the actual program we are looking to expand in NE is Medicaid, NOT Medicare. Sorry for all the confusion this has caused.

Help keep non violent offenders and their families from doing a life sentence. Put our tax dollars to better use. Reform prisoners that are non violent by offering GED's classes or training for a job. I am a wife of a man who faces a life sentence for 3 non violent felonies. I am a mother of 3 grade school children who are going to loose their father for the rest of our lives. Let's make a change for the better, help by signing this petition to support the crime must fit the punishment. Stop the 3 strike law for non violent offenders

I have seen the expense list for a trip to the convention. Between air fare and the hotel it is in the thousands. If we can't get every delegate to the convention Bernie will lose. If we can get them all there we have the upper hand. Move On needs to help raise funds and distribute them to the state pledged delegates to make sure that every delegate that is pledged for Bernie makes it to the convention.

At Maine's recent convention, Democrats voted to change Maine’s system and require superdelegates to vote according to the proportion of the people's vote. This happened in response to the fact that just one of the state's five superdelegates (20%) committed his vote to the 2016 presidential candidate who won 64% of the caucus vote and 68% of pledged delegates at the convention. In numerous states, the current situation of superdelegates overwhelmingly supporting the candidate who lost that vote is unacceptable. It is undemocratic and disenfranchises voters. If the Democratic Party wishes to live up to its name, it needs to fix the superdelegates system so that the will of the majority of voters is represented in every state and territory.

Representing several youths who filed a petition in collaboration with Our Children's Trust, the Western Environmental Law Center won a precedent-setting climate change victory against the Washington Department of Ecology. The court ordered Ecology to implement a carbon emissions rule using the best available science by the end of 2016. Governor Inslee's administration has a history of proposing insufficient rules based on outdated science. We need your voice so that future generations have a legal right to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate!

Stop the Burn! Given the high probability that any delegate numbers will be insufficient for a Bernie victory, Given that apparently this fight is not about egos but the future of the Democratic Party, Given that the candidates’ difference between their democratic values and goals is relatively small, Given the history of the Democratic Party’s lack of unity and cohesion when needed most, Given that there is only one Democratic Senator to endorse Bernie, Given that the alternative to a Democrat in the White House is Trump, Given the enthusiastic wave of radicalized new Republican voters, Given the dire need for ALL Democratic voters to go to the polls to prevent a disaster in November, Given that the Republicans are enjoying every reduction of strength in the Democratic Party, Given that any attack on Hillary translates into added strength for Trump voters, It is time to stop the Burn! Let Republicans feel the New Bern! Klaus Roesch, Atlanta, Georgia