"We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a president, but as anybody else would, as a parent. And that was especially true today." These words, spoken today by Pres. Barack Obama, express utter anguish in the face of an evil act: the murder of children and educators. This is not war-torn Syria, Afghanistan, or the Congo, but the site of an unspeakable tragedy -- Newtown, Connecticut. A gunman armed with semiautomatic weapons stormed the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Reports are still streaming in, but in the aftermath: 20 children and 6 adults were murdered. No one can fully answer why. But today we can change HOW. I am asking you, begging you, to please sign this petition and demand that your elected officials FIX OUR GUN LAWS. People who should not have access to guns buy them every day. Our background checks, systems of purchase, and laws have far too many loopholes and fail to protect our most innocent members of our society. We must DEMAND COMMON SENSE GUN LAWS TODAY. Please sign the petition and let's NEVER AGAIN witness a day like today! Twitter: #TodayIsTheDay

How many children will be afraid to go to school on Monday, December 17, 2012, because of the elementary school shootings in Connecticut on Friday, December 14? How much longer will we put individual gun rights above children's lives, and pretend that those rights are necessary to defend our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? A gun in the hands of a person is analogous to an atomic weapon in the hands of a nation. Why does anyone defend this indiscriminate proliferation?

Student debt has eclipsed $1 trillion in this country. This debt is primarily interest on loans made through US colleges and universities. This petition asks that Congress create and the President sign into law a bill abolishing all past, present and future interest on all student loan debt. The US Government should not be in the business of entering into contracts with private business to turn a profit off of our young people just starting out or those who seek to be retrained so that they may remain viable members of the US workforce.

Taking rapid fire weapons out of The U.S.

The latest tragic shooting at the Connecticut elementary school today makes me wonder if there will ever be appropriate and effective gun control. It occurred to me that the way the tobacco industry was made to pay for some of its costs could be applied to the gun industry.

Several families have been tragically affected by pesticides, and their children and themselves were harmed. A family living next to an apple orchard that used heavy pesticide spraying on their crops had a son who was diagnosed with ADHD, and in his urine tests an abnormal amount of pesticides were found, and believed to be the cause of the diagnosis. Many other ADHD diagnosed people had abnormally high levels of pesticides in their urine. We need to stop using heavy amounts of pesticides so our children can be safe.

I would like to ban plastic bags in St. Petersburg. 47 municipalities in California, including Mexico City and Toronto ban them. Citizens of China, Mexico, India and countries throughout Europe and Africa shop without single use bags.

Who doesn't want to buy locally? Well, what about American, Union-made undergarments? It is becoming a rarity to see the ILGWU label on any clothing you buy in the store, and that has to change. Support the Made-in-America movement by pushing for Maidenform to produce their goods back state-side, in union-run factories. Maidenform is one of the oldest undergarment makers still based in the US, but their products are produced overseas. This has to change!

We can no longer tolerate the random killing of innocent civilians because of a lack of sane gun control. Do we wait until our own children are shot, to do something about this problem? Living in fear of our neighbors and arming ourselves is no way to live; gun control must happen now!

G.O.P. = Gutting Our Protections Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid Environmental and health safety Unemployment insurance Women's and worker's rights

Successful initiative petitions should be an indication of true public support for a petition and the passion of volunteer signature collectors. Stop corporations or wealthy patrons from being able to submit self-serving petitions simply by paying enough money to gather the necessary signatures.

Let's add Gun Control to the lame duck legislative agenda! Enough is enough and NO I haven't been personally effected YET!