I'm angry as hell, and I want to do something about it.

In 2004, Texas passed a "Medical Tort Reform" law, promising that by limiting damages from medical malpractice judgements to just $250K, consumers would benefit from lower insurance costs. They didn't. Instead, the most complex cases went unprosecuted because they cost more to pursue than the victims could possibly win, ensuring ONLY the most frivolous cases ever went to trial. End result: dangerous doctors & hospitals go unpunished with no incentive to correct their mistakes, continuing to treat patients who unwittingly entrust their lives to them. Insurance companies saved billions not having to pay out malpractice judgements, ensuring ONLY the MOST frivolous cases ever see the light of day. Texas fell to 50th in the nation as insurance rates continued to soar, and victims of these dangerous doctors were victimized again, denied justice as State Law shielded the people who harmed them. In 2013, my health-conscious mother who walked two miles a day, went to the gym, watched her weight and went dancing on the weekends, decided to ask her doctor about a lump in her cheek. Her doctor told her she had "Stage iV Lymphoma" and needed chemo. I said "No" but her doctor talked her into it anyway. Her doctor failed to tell her to take any precautions and she landed in the hospital with Walking Pneumonia that nearly killed her. The hospital then prescribed medication to "cough up the phlegm." As a result, three days of non-stop coughing later, she suffered a collapsed lung. Nine days after that, after having to tell her nurse that she hadn't had a bowel movement in FIVE DAYS, they got her out of bed (with collapsed lung and tubes in her side) to use a portable commode, went into cardiac arrest and was left a vegetable. The doctors repeatedly lied to us about what happened. When we finally learned what DID happen, no lawyer would take our "excellent" case, citing the Texas Tort Reform "cap" making the case too costly to pursue. When my mother passed away nine miserable months later, I ordered a full autopsy. The result: MY MOTHER NEVER HAD CANCER. Still, we were told we could not sue, citing the "cap" as the reason. This is a dangerous... if not deadly... law that needs to be repealed. It does NOTHING to reduce insurance costs, serving only to make insurance companies rich by denying malpractice victims justice.

Affordable healthcare should be available to all United States citizens and the people of Florida should not be left out.

My petition is about same-sex marriage that yes, I have been affected by because I have not been able to legally marry the woman I love, the love of my life. I'm not asking for religious entities to perform our weddings but for the right to have one with those who will perform the ceremony. It is not for man to judge. That's God's job, and honestly speaking, no man or woman has a heaven or hell to put us in.

I am a gay man who has been in a committed relationship for seventeen years and would like to marry my partner and have all the rights our Constatution guarantees us.

In December of 2014 I was having a great time at my then boyfriend's work Christmas party, until the unthinkable happened, he tried to end my life. He got angry and wanted to talk outside, when we got to the car he wanted to drive and I said no, I tried to walk away which resulted in him beating me against a car, when I began to scream he strangled me. I went unconscious and he hid my body in the car. I woke up and asked him what he was doing. He had a terrifying look on anger on his face. He climbed into the car and strangled me again. I screamed for help; I couldn't move or breath. I went unconscious again. People pushed pulled and screamed trying to get him off of me. He threatened their lives as he continued to strangle me unconscious three times. Over and over I woke up to a nightmare, thinking that I was going to die. Eventually I accepted that I would but finally I was saved. I was hospitalized. My ex was released on a $5,000 bond within 24 hours of the assault. Then he broke his bond with 28 attempts to contact me. He texted me, left me notes, even used his family and friends to give me messages and deter me from pressing charges. His bond was raised to $20,000, then $25,000. Other similar cases in our area set bonds of over $100,000 because criminal sexual conduct was involved. However the aspect of violence wasn't nearly as violent as in my case. After the trial, his family stalked me, harassed me, and terrorized me. I was unable to live my life without fear and privacy. If my ex boyfriend had a bond that fit his crime I wouldn't have had to move my home, lose my privacy, and my safety. Bond conditions should be a stricter amount and should be increased for all violent domestic assaults. Stricter punishments should follow those who commit acts of domestic violence regardless if they have no criminal history. People who commit acts of domestic violence should be punished as anyone who commits the violent acts on a stranger. Furthermore they should remain in jail for the duration of the trial to maintain safety and security of their victim. If bonds are granted they should be no less than $50,000, and increase as the severity of the crime increases. Additionally I would like to ask legislatures to create a domestic violence registry. Once you have been charged and proved guilty entering into a registry just as child abusers and pedophiles can help keep other women from being victimized.

Submit testimony here: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=GM&billnumber=820&year=2015 Time to call legislators. Take 5-10 mins tonight and just leave a voicemail: "Please oppose the Balfour nomination" Laura Thielen: 587-8388 Brickwood Galuteria 586-6740 Les Ihara 586-6250 Maile Shimabukuro 586-7793 Gil Riviere 586-7330 Sam Sloam 586-8420 Russell Ruderman 586-6890 Bill Balfour has voted on several key commission decisions that were later overturned by the Hawaii Supreme Court. No one else serving on the commission now has had their decisions overturned. Why bring back the failed views from the past?

I have been a Mainer all my life, and I am also a part of the LGBT community. I love my state, and I love the people that are a part of my community. The religious freedom law Sen. David Burns, R-Whiting proposing will allow local businesses to discriminate and refuse service to anyone who is a part of the LGBT community. We have already seen this in our history; denying service to people of different races or religions, and they thought it was okay then. It wasn't then, and it isn't now. According to the Constitution of the United States, Thomas Jefferson wrote that we may "make no law respecting an establishment of religion", meaning that the laws of the church cannot make laws of the government, Federal or State. A law like this is a way of forcing religion on others, and a quick way to negatively affect our economy here in Maine. Businesses and companies such as Apple, NASCAR, Starbucks, Dow, the NBA, the NCAA and many others are pulling right out of Indiana in disagreement with Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What would that do to our state? Our economy will suffer a drastic loss, and could be potentially unrecoverable forcing some to move out of the state. This law is morally, legally and even economically not a good decision for this state--our state, or any others. If you don't sign this petition for moral reasons, sign it because you don't want to see our home go into an economic downfall. Please sign this petition to stop Maine's legislators from making "An Act to Enact the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act" exist and active.

Continuing the issuance of tax credits for installation of solar systems for transforming the sun's rays into electricity is a good idea. I have done considerable research on this and feel that it is beneficial for our environment. I am now installing solar panels and want others to have the same opportunity to choose this avenue without penalty from the legislature.

After watching the Religious Freedom Restoration Act sweep through the nation at an alarming rate, I am concerned that evangelicals will succeed in turning LGBT individuals into a second-class population without the opportunities to work, live, and succeed in freedom. As a conservative, I am concerned with the open abuse of 14A and the shift in religious rhetoric that now borders on terrorism towards LGBT citizens. Passing the Employment Non-discrimination Act will be a step towards reconciling faith protections while not crafting the Jim Crow laws of the 21st century.

Right to Housing Alliance is a human rights organization led by residents most impacted by the affordable housing crisis in Baltimore. The impact of water shut-offs on residents goes far beyond the lack of water. In Baltimore, homeowners can lose their homes to tax-lien foreclosures, and renters can be evicted for not paying their water bills, as they are often collected as rent. A home without water is not a home at all. We urge you to sign the petition to stop the water shut-offs, to ask for the largest commercial users to be targeted first, and to demand that we are the kind of city that ensures that access to basic human rights are a priority.

This bill will make Illinois a front-runner in clean energy; it would dramatically improve energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions plaguing our environment, and create an estimated 30,000 jobs annually. In the words of bill sponsor Senator Dan Harmon: “This bill benefits people in every part of Illinois, in our biggest cities, in suburbs, in farming communities — anywhere where people would gain from new jobs, better health and a cleaner environment." Urge your local representatives to sign onto this bill and for Governor Rauner to support this path to job creation and clean, renewable energy.