UPDATE 3/14/16: The Florida legislature adjourned last week WITHOUT taking action on an independent redistricting commission. They have failed the people of Florida yet again. - Over 11 million of our taxpayer dollars (and counting!) spent on the Florida redistricting disaster. The Supreme Court found the GOP-led legislature designed the Congressional districts illegally. Then the legislature held a special session, wasted EVEN MORE money and time, and failed AGAIN to do their jobs and come up with a solution. Now the courts have to take over. Update 11-5-15: The legislature failed (AGAIN), and redrawing the Senate districts will be up to the courts. Just like the Congressional districts. We need a better way. As Sen. Clemens put it, "The Legislature is incapable of drawing its own maps that don’t have political intent". Call for an independent commission to draw fair districts now. Update 10-26-15: The Senate is digging in, and in the process of approving maps that the courts will have to throw out AGAIN. Please contact your legislators now and tell them to stop wasting time and our money, and draw fair maps. Update 10-23-15: The Florida legislature has been back in action this week (on the Senate districts this time). Instead of doing their jobs, they're working on protecting their jobs. Senator Bill Galvano, in charge of redistricting said, "the members who have been elected... have a right to those seats". Don't those seats belong to the people of Florida? Reference: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/florida-lawmakers-try-again-to-redraw-state-senate-map/2249998 http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/10/05/florida-judge-to-unveil-redistricting-map/ http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-memo-to-florida-senators-you-dont-own-those-seats/2250517 http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/senate-redistricting-map-gets-4-3-approval-but-its-fate-remains-murky/2251003 http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article43276335.html

This petition is about saving lives … especially the extremely heartbreaking death and traumatizing of children. I have many children and grandchildren and it is so very upsetting to know that school is no longer a safe place for them.

The threat of gun violence hangs over us every day, whether we are assembled for classes, a concert, or for public transportation, we can't help but have it cross our minds: what would we do if someone took out a gun? We can't walk down the street without knowing that our government is doing NOTHING to prevent violent people from having access to guns. Non gun owners right to reasonable safety is not being protected. That must change!

We need mass shooting prevention.

On Monday, October 5th, the Department of Justice announced the 'final' terms of a settlement with BP over its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The proposed settlement would require BP Oil Company to pay $20.8 billion in damages as a result of gross negligence, but only $5.5 billion of that settlement will be non-tax deductible. As a result, BP could take a tax deduction on $15.3 billion of the settlement payments. Of the $42 billion BP has paid to address the Deepwater Horizon disaster since oil first started spilling in 2010, about 80% has qualified for tax deductions, effectively shifting the cost of BP’s “gross negligence” onto taxpayers. These write-offs send the wrong message. They diminish the value of settlements as a deterrent to future misbehavior. They are also costly for the public because taxpayers must make up for the lost revenue through cuts to public programs, higher tax rates, or more federal debt. It's time to demand an end to holding taxpayers accountable for corporate misconduct: no more write-offs for corporate wrongdoing.

Thoughts and prayers are always the response and thoughts and prayers are never the answer. Find one.

Because I oppose violence. I care about children in general and I have two children of my own. The current gun laws are designed to protect profit, not people.

I am affected each time I learn of 'just ' another death. How can anyone be unconcerned about the use of guns, how they are obtained, who uses them; often, it is not the mentally ill. Don't use them as scapegoats. Often it is an individual who is closed- minded who uses a patriotic reason for having a gun in his holster and in the house. No more!

Former Reserve Deputy Bates is a personal friend and frequent donor to Former Sheriff Stanley Glanz's reelection campaign. His close relationship to Tulsa County via his relationship with the sheriff makes it that much more likely he will receive a dramatically reduced sentence. It is imperative that he be tried in front of a jury of citizens to ensure justice is served.

Please share this with your networks! It is very important to bring light to this issue. 307,000 veterans may have died awaiting Veterans Affairs health care, Click Inspector General report says: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/politics/va-inspector-general-report/index.html "We need to support veterans and provide them with the services they deserve and have earned." - Ricardo Rangel As a veteran, the issue of how we treat our veterans is very personal for me. I have personally seen the ravages of war on veterans returning to civilian life and a lot of them are not able to handle the transition. Even worse they have no one to turn to or to help with their deep personal struggles. For this reason there is no excuse for the Veterans Affairs Department to fail its veterans that put their lives at risk to protect our country. Join me in sending a message to Washington DC, that we care about our veterans. Please Sign the Petition!

I am starting this petition because I'm tired of the constant stream of gun deaths in this country. I believe there are common sense approaches we can take to limit the amount of gun violence we're seeing. Enforcing gun laws that already exist and cracking down on illegal gun sales needs to become more of a priority. Mandatory wait periods should be enforced, during which time a thorough background check should be completed. Gun show loopholes have to be closed. Ammunition should not be sold online. Training and testing should also be mandatory. I believe that all of this can be enforced without infringing on the rights of responsible gun owners. We need to ask our leaders to take steps toward ending the problem of gun violence. We can't keep doing nothing and expecting change. Please join me and sign this petition.

S.B. 11 creates a culture of "gun permissiveness" on our campuses and prevents teachers from exercising their rights to ban weapons from the classroom.