I am very concerned about how easily guns are accessed.

I am a citizen of Chicago and therefore deeply concerned about justice in our city. As Aristotle observed, a city without justice is no city at all.

As a candidate for Canadian Prime Minister, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau committed to scrapping any purchase of the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 jet. [1] Now that he is Prime Minister-designate following Canada’s election, we encourage him to follow through on his pledge, dismissing claims that this would make the US unhappy. Refusing to purchase the F-35 has been portrayed in some US media as a slap at the US. The New York Times even claimed that if the US didn’t approve the Keystone pipeline, Canada could retaliate by refusing to buy the F-35. [2] But US taxpayers have no interest in the Pentagon’s efforts to keep this costly program alive. [3] On the contrary, US taxpayers will be better off when the taxpayer-ripoff F-35 program is killed completely, and Trudeau’s fulfillment of his pledge will bring that happy day closer because the Pentagon’s plans to keep the boondoggle alive depend crucially on foreign purchases. Encourage Prime Minister-designate Trudeau to dismiss claims that canceling Canadian purchase of the F-35 is “anti-US” and fulfill his pledge by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/20/liberals-would-scrap-f-35-jet-purchase.html; http://www.defenseone.com/management/2015/10/what-if-canada-doesnt-buy-f-35/122976/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/business/energy-environment/obamas-keystone-pipeline-decision-risks-new-problems-either-way.html 3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/07/25/how-the-f-35-boondoggle-shows-that-deficit-hawkery-is-a-sham/; http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/07/14/pentagons-big-budget-f-35-fighter-cant-turn-cant-climb-cant-run/; http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/09/3458101/f35-boondoggle-fail/

On October 12th, Derral Hodgkins became the 26th person released from Florida's death row due to wrongful conviction. Florida has released more people from death row than any other state. Governor Scott has overseen 21 executions during his tenure. If he allows the next scheduled execution to occur on October 29th, he will have overseen more executions than any other Florida governor.

My son name is Darmen Taylor He is now 20 years old he was charged when he was 16. Then he was bonded over at 17 the judge stated he could not be rehabilitated in the juvenile system. Because he had counseling when he was ten. During the same time one of the alleged victims wrote a letter to the judge starting that her mom put her up to this. She was took to the detective by her aunt and wrote another statement. The judge asked her did she right it she stated no and they bonded him over. Then we are getting ready for trial. These charges came about when my friend for 15 years was sleeping with my son. In turn she called the police and said he raped her two daughters. Now in the mean time I found out that 3 other adults we're sleeping with my son before all these charges came up. I called rape crisis they told me that I would have to call the police or they would. I did. But nothing was done. The prosecutor on the case stated that my son manipulated the mother to get to her children. He has been around this family since he was 3 or 4 years old. Then the lawyer leaves me out of the court room because I have to testify and the aunt of the alleged victims. But he put no one on the stand. Then they found my son guilty of 2 of the three charges of rape. He did not have a far trial. Then the lawyer says the judge is going to send my son to jail for 45 years to life and say he need to take a plea or I will never see my son again. He told my son that he would not do anything but 10 years and will be out in 5 and it wasn't a mandatory sentence. But it was all a lie he was sentence to 20 years mandatory. Its so much to this story please help my son please!

I'm conservative, a gun owner, and I voted against President Obama twice. But as a responsible American, I have come to accept the reality that gun violence has reached a point of crisis in our country, and that we all need to set aside political differences to unite on this important issue. Since the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon two weeks ago, there have been seven more school shootings—a total of 152 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre. Each year, countless numbers of guns are sold by unlicensed, high-volume sellers through internet websites and at gun shows. Nearly a quarter of a million gun sales originate from one single website. Unlicensed sellers at gun shows often openly advertise guns for sale with prominent signage saying, “No Paperwork Necessary.” All entities “engaged in the business of selling firearms” should be held to the same standard of requiring background checks. President Obama should close this loophole through executive action by clearly defining in the law the difference between an “occasional seller” and one that is “engaged in the business of selling firearms.” But given the power of the well-funded gun lobby, it's only going to happen if we set aside political differences and unite on this ever so important issue for the safety and security of our nation. Please join me in encouraging President Obama to utilize his executive authority to move on this issue quickly and decisively. We need action NOW!

Who hasn't been personally affected by Brett?

We need to help put an end to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, as well as their inhumane treatment of the Palestinians.

On October 24, 2015, the International Association of Chiefs of Police are convening in Chicago, IL. In the midst of this growing crisis, they should be discussing how to share power with impacted communities. A strong coalition of community, social justice and labor organizations are mobilizing to demand the chiefs of police- our employees- support community control over police and independent special prosecutors to investigate every instance of death at the hands of police. The counter protest is scheduled for Saturday, October 24 beginning at 12 noon, from SEIU HCII 2229 South Halstead in downtown Chicago. For more information, to participate or to support the counter convening, visit IShockedtheSheriff.org.

Just one year after enforcing the controversial government ID requirement for voting, the state of Alabama made it even harder to vote by closing 31 driver license offices throughout the state. But the closures did not impact all Alabamans equally- the 8 counties with the highest Black voter registration now have no driver license bureaus as all, as do other predominantly rural and low-income counties. The closures led to national outcry about the history of Black voter suppression in the state and the threat to the democratic process for rural communities. The Southeast Conference (SEC) is one of the most respected collegiate sports conferences in the country, boasting a membership of 14 public universities, including Auburn and the University of Alabama. With headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, this beloved institution can be so much more than a bystander to injustice in it's own backyard. By lending it's considerable voice to this important issue, not only can the SEC model good corporate citizenship, but will also lend important moral support to an important segment of fans and send a positive message to the disproportionate number of Black student athletes among its membership.

I feel it is only fair to allow open discourse on the bipartisan views of the American people.

Trying to silence those we disagree with is against all that the U.S. stands for. Discrimination is discrimination no matter at whom it is targeted.