An NRA board member is blaming the murdered pastor of Emanuel AME Church because he didn't allow concealed weapons in church. Charles L. Cotton complained that as a state senator, the Rev. Clementa Pinkney voted against concealed carry legislation, and claimed that "eight of his church members might be alive if he had expressly allowed members to carry handguns in church." Guns have no place in churches, and the National Rifle Association needs to immediately remove Charles L. Cotton from their board and apologize for his comments.

I live about an hour from Charleston and have lived in South Carolina for nearly 35 years. The black people of this state deserve to live in peace and security. It is indefensible for the State of South Carolina to continue to promote a symbol of racism, division and and inequality. It is offensive and needs to be put in a museum of history, not publicly displayed as something of which to be proud.

Many have received death threats for voicing their opposition against this symbol of hate, myself included. We will not be terrorized by these people; we stand united as one. Our country has only ONE flag - the AMERICAN FLAG, for which millions have fought and died for - our American Veterans. End the terrorism in our country that this confederate symbol instigates. The time has come to take a firm stand. We have only ONE flag - stand up for the American Flag and those who have fought for it.

I was born in Texas and have lived here most of my life here, and I've never understood why the lawns of our public institutions are homes for monuments to people who went to war to preserve the heinous practice of buying, owning, and selling the lives, labor, and bodies of fellow human beings. While it is important to remember our history, giving Confederate leaders and soldiers places of honor on pedestals on state lands is not a symbol of southern pride but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism. University of Texas students have fought the statues on their campus for years, and the statues have been subject to random acts of vandalism and destruction. Other statues grace the hallowed lawns of the Capitol grounds. The Texas Sons of the Confederacy have plans to erect even more pro-Confederacy statues across the state.1 Enough is enough. On the heels of the murder of nine Black people in a South Carolina church by a racist terrorist, it's time to put these symbols of rebellion and racism behind us for good. Maintaining these monuments and statues around the heart of our government and institutions of higher education is an insult to all Texans and all who enter those institutions to rise above the worst moments of our history. 1) Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/09/jefferson-davis-statue_n_7248132.html

WAR SHOULD not be big business

Detroiters and metro-Detroiters, we on in the process of rebirth. We don't want anyone coming to our community with their darkness. Take that back to your hometown.

Mississippi deserves a flag that represents all Mississippians. The state flag is the last flag with the Confederate battle flag emblem, it's time for it to be lowered. This Flag Day, we want to make that happen.

We need a Governor in Illinois who is for ALL THE PEOPLE NOT JUST THE RICH!

I am concerned with the well being of America. We have been decieved by numerous politicians and it is to the point that it seems only the corrupt get elected to office or put in a position of authority. We the people should demand integrity in our politicians.

The costs for groceries, transportation, and housing are going up. Wages are stagnant. If we don't increase wages for everyone, then we should invest in higher education. If we as a society expect these lower wage jobs to be filled, then we should pay people enough to live.

***NOTE***This is the original 2015 Petition: Residing along Pensacola Street in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, sits President William Mckinley High School, seemingly an apt name to honor the 25th president, William McKinley. But, to those of us who know the truth about what really happened with the overthrow of Hawaiian Monarchy and the prolonged illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States, we do not celebrate William McKinley. I urge the Superintendent of Education, Kathryn S. Matayoshi, the Board of Education members listed above and whomever is concerned, to take action in correcting a wrong and rename McKinley High School back to one of its original names, Honolulu High School. After two failed attempts by the United States of America to annex Hawaiʻi (June 16, 1897, September 7, 1897), House Joint Resolution 259, 55th Congress, 2nd Session, also known as the "Newlands Resolution," was proposed and passed by Congress, then signed into United States law by the imperialist, President William McKinley on July 7th, 1898. According to legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com, a joint resolution is “often used when Congress needs to pass legislation to solve a limited or temporary problem.” The United States’ “problem” was the Spanish-American war in 1898 and to “solve” their problem, they insisted the need for Hawaiʻi because of its strategic value to their military. The war was “temporary.” The occupation of Hawaiʻi, not so much. This joint resolution was illegal because the only legal avenue to have acquired Hawaiʻi was through a treaty, a ratified agreement between the two countries, which the United States did not obtain. Hawaiʻi was indeed known as a country through securing recognition of Hawaiian independence by powerhouse countries, Great Britain (1843), France (1843) and its eventual occupier, the United States (1846). Equally as important, a joint resolution cannot have any force and effect beyond the borders of the U.S., which Hawaiʻi clearly was. As Keanu Sai says on Hawaiian Kingdom Blog, “United States could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands by passing a domestic law, than it could annex Canada today by passing a law.” Ignoring what the people of Hawaiʻi wanted before the joint resolution was signed into law as evidenced by the 21,269 Kūʻe Petition signatures gathered by Hui Aloha ʻĀina and an official protest of treaty of annexation by Queen Liliuʻokalani submitted to and formally accepted by the U.S. Congress, McKinley had one goal in mind and that was to take power over Hawaiʻi at any cost—even if they could illegally slide by through a joint resolution. According to the McKinley High School website, the school was established in 1865 as Fort Street English Day School and renamed in 1895 to Honolulu High School. In 1907 it was again renamed to President William McKinley High School because he “helped to bring about the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.” Also, one of the school’s colors, gold, was “chosen for McKinley’s close association with Hawaiian royalty.” In front of the school, stands an eight-ton, bronze statue of President McKinley who holds a scroll in his right hand titled, "Treaty of Annexation." False advertisement much? Although William McKinley is not the only person to blame for illegally occupying Hawaiʻi, he was, at the time, the head of the country that did. By having this school still named after him today, in the most populated city in Hawaiʻi, does the Department of Education (DOE) encourage and imply that what the United States did to the Hawaiian Kingdom and its people to be lawfully and ethically correct? I ask you to please sign this petition and let the proper authorities know that honoring William McKinley and perpetuating his name in Hawaiʻi is absolutely wrong. Mahalo nui.

Mr. Gosnell presided over the bail hearing for the beast accused of murdering nine people in Charlotte, SC on Friday June 19, 2015. At the hearing, he shocked the entire civilized world when he referred to the parents of the accused, who confessed to carrying out the dastardly act, as a "victim", thereby further aggravating the injury to the families of the dead and injured victims. Mr Gosnell has antecedent history of racial prejudice in the not too distant past when he told a Black man appearing before him that there are four types of people : Blacks, Whites, Red Necks and N*****s. He was consequently suspended from the South Carolina judiciary for awhile. By today's action, Mr. Gosnell has shown that he is unfit to continue to serve in any capacity where he will decide the fate of anyone who belongs to a racial group other than his own.