The traffic court system disproportionately impacts low-income and people of color in San Francisco by creating an endless cycle of court-ordered debt that is difficult to break. Current policy in San Francisco uses driver’s license suspensions as punishment for people who cannot pay exorbitant fines and fees. “Quality of life” citations, such as jaywalking or sleeping in a public place, also lead to bench warrants and driver’s license suspensions. Unpaid fines and fees then get transferred to a private debt collection agency that aggressively pursues any outstanding debt. Due to exorbitant fine amounts and reduced access to courts, driver’s license suspensions create barriers to sustainable employment, harm credit, and keep people in long cycles of poverty that are impossible to overcome. License suspensions and attempts to collect these fines and fees from low-income people have no positive impact on public safety. In reality, these practices undermine public safety by limiting the ability of low-income people to access living wage employment, social services, and pay for essentials such as food, clothing, and shelter. Debt Free San Francisco is a coalition that includes Community Housing Partnership, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, All of Us or None, and the Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco. We are working to eliminate the impacts of court-ordered debt on our communities, and urge the City and County of San Francisco to end practices that result in crippling debt for its residents.

It is painfully obvious that these state representatives have their own agenda and are refusing to follow the SCOTUS determination. Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated. Lets tell Tennessee law makers to get with it, stop their own agenda and move forward! Say NO to the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act NOW!!

Wildlife is part of what makes Wyoming great. If the bill introduced last week passes, it will take away a necessary layer of wildlife protection by stripping the state's Game and Fish and law enforcement's involvement in the investigation or prosecution of poaching. Without this level of protection, the hunting rights and abilities of all Wyomingites would be negatively affected.

Airbnb is coming under criticism for listing vacation rentals in West Bank settlements on their website without identifying their location in the West Bank. [1] In a recent report, Human Rights Watch said businesses should stop operating in West Bank settlements because they violate the rights of Palestinian civilians. [2] Urge Airbnb to stop listing vacation rentals in West Bank settlements on their website, or identify them as being in the West Bank, by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/01/20/world/middleeast/ap-ml-israel-political-bed-and-breakfast.html 2. http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/330549/stop-doing-business-in-settlements-human-rights-watch-urges/

To win support for a Gibraltar passport

If we want to get bee-killing pesticides out of our food supply, our grocery stores need to stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides. You can help make that happen! Sign the petition: Demand that grocery stores stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides!

One of our crucial wild pollinators -- the rusty-patch bumblebee -- is on the brink of extinction. This is yet another example of our overuse of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides wiping out pollinators essential for our food and broader ecosystems. The rusty-patch bumblebee needs our help before it’s too late! Sign the petition to protect the rusty-patch bumblebee under the Endangered Species Act!

Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, a senior scientist at the USDA, produced research that questioned the safety of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides -- a leading driver of global bee declines. But the USDA is trying to bury those findings. We need your help to send the message that this is unacceptable! Tell the USDA to stop putting pesticide industry profits ahead of bees and butterflies!

President Obama and Pentagon officials have released a blueprint to close the Guantanamo detention facility by the end of the president's last year in office. The current plan relies on the cooperation of Senate Republicans, yet the president hasn't ruled out using his executive authority to bypass an unwilling Congress. The president is committed to taking Guantanamo “off the plate of the next president.” But he's facing an uphill battle and time is running out. The president has less than one year to meet his human rights obligations by closing Guantanamo and charging and trying—or else releasing—all detainees.

Cats

Tired of all the naysayers who believe that peace is unattainable between Israel and the Palestinians

Tired of all the naysayers who believe that peace is unattainable between Israel and the Palestinians