Courage Campaign

Campaigns

• STOP Act: Put an end to sexual violence in the military

  Sexual violence in the U.S. military is a crisis. The Pentagon estimates that sexual assaults increased from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012. That's 71 sexual assaults EVERY DAY, and in roughly 56% of cases, the victims are men. Making matters worse, each branch of the armed forces has its own judicial system. It's currently legal for base commanders to overturn a jury's guilty verdict, as happened at Aviano Air Force Base in February 2013. The STOP Act takes the prosecution, reporting, oversight, investigation, and victim care of sexual assaults out of the normal military chain of command -- which has proven grossly ineffective -- and places jurisdiction in an autonomous Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office. Join us to help pass it.

  59,892 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Congresswoman Jackie Speier
• Tell Sacramento: Pass the LIFE Act and make California the Leader in Gun Safety

  Did you know more than 20,000 Californians illegally possess more than 40,000 guns? And convicted felons can buy massive quantities of ammunition, no questions asked. California's gun laws are better than federal laws, but gun manufacturers exploit loopholes and law enforcement is under-resourced, leading to the murder of three Californians every day due to firearms.The LIFE Act stands for "Lifesaving Intelligent Firearms Enforcement." It's a package of eight bills under consideration in Sacramento.

  80 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Adam Bink
• Whole Foods CEO: Stop Spreading Lies about Obamacare

  Whole Foods' CEO, John Mackey, has been using his position as head of one of the most respected companies in America to promote anti-Obamacare lies and deter people from signing up for life-saving health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Fight back against this kind of confusing misinformation and tell John Mackey stop misleading Americans. Statements like these confuse people about the law and scare them away from signing up for the coverage they desperately need.

  80,123 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Dr. Paul Song, Courage Campaign
• Demand Nestlé immediately stop bottling precious water from California during drought!

  While the entire state is urged to conserve water and is potentially facing mandatory water usage restrictions, Nestlé is bottling the scarce resource straight from the heart of California’s drought and selling it for profit -- according to a recent Desert Sun report. Since Nestlé’s bottling plant -- which extracts water for its Arrowhead and Pure Life brands -- is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ reservation, it is exempt from oversight by local water agencies and is able to keep information about its groundwater levels and usage confidential. Therefore, it’s impossible to know just how much of the limited resource the plant is extracting to export and sell elsewhere. And to top it off, the bottling plant is located in one of the most drought-stricken areas of the state. With a recent report showing that California only has enough water to last the state one more year, we must put an end to this madness at Nestlé before it’s too late. Join us!

  30,590 of 35,000 Signatures

  Created by Laura Leavitt, Courage Campaign
• Equal Pay for USA's Women's World Cup Champions!

  The USA’s National Women’s team just won their THIRD World Cup, but FIFA is still treating our champions as second-class citizens. The high-profile Women’s World Cup final match shattered television records with over 25 million viewers -- making it the most watched soccer game in U.S. history.(1) Yet, our world champions are being paid FORTY TIMES LESS than their male counterparts did for LOSING the World Cup last year during the first round ($576 million vs. $15 million)!(2) FIFA, which generates billions in revenue, also forced women — but not the men — to play this year’s World Cup on artificial turf. This not only increased the risk of injury, but also increased temperatures on the field by 20-30 degrees. During tournament, field temperatures reached 120 degrees.(3) It is no secret that gender-pay disparity runs rampant in the United States with women making 78 cents per dollar to men.(4) And this blatant pay discrimination by FIFA may be the most extreme case yet. It is time for FIFA’s executives to take a stand for equal pay, stop underscoring our heroic female leaders, and provide them with the same awards and privileges as men. Join me to stand alongside women and men all across the globe to right this injustice and ensure that our champions and all women receive equal pay. 1. http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/womens-world-cup-carli-lloyd-usa-win-soccer-ratings-1201534249/ 2. http://www.politico.eu/article/world-cup-women-pay-gap-gender-equality/ 3. http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2015/07/06/3677105/fifa-will-pay-us-womens-championship-team-4-times-less-mens-teams-lost-first-round/ and http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2015-06-03/womens-world-cup-turf-war-fifa-canada-artificial-turf-natural-grass 4. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121530/women-color-make-far-less-78-cents-mans-dollar

  1,217 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Laura Leavitt, Courage Campaign
• L.A. City Council: Sever your "sister city" relationship with anti-gay St. Petersburg

  Russia's elected leaders are out of control -- and we can't stand for it any longer. First came a ban on the adoption of Russian-born children not only to gay couples but also to any couple or single parent living in any country where marriage equality exists. Then came a law allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals they suspect of being homosexual, lesbian or “pro-gay” and detain them for up to 14 days. And then the "gay propaganda" law, making any parent who tells their child that being gay is okay, any Pride parade organizer, any health official distributing information regarding safe sex between same-sex partners, even a judge or lawyer, can be subject to arrest or fine. Already people are being arrested, beaten, intimidated and more. One lawmaker even vowed that foreign nationals attending the 2014 Sochi Olympics would be subject to this. The St. Petersburg Assembly led the way for the "gay propaganda" law, legalizing it in 2012. The Los Angeles City Council failed to take action then, and Russia took the law nationwide recently. It is time for action now. In 1979, Los Angeles suspended its sister city relationship with Tehran, Iran over the hostage crisis. We can and should do so now. If we build enough pressure in advance of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Russia will be forced to act. Sign with me to tell the Los Angeles City Council: sever your sister city relationship with St. Petersburg.

  1,461 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Courage Campaign
• SIGN THE PETITION: Oakland police, caught on video killing my brother

  Oakland police killed my brother Hernan Jaramillo in front of my house and hid the video of his killing from the public for 2 and half years. The officers beat him to the ground in street, dragged his body 20 feet, and pinned him down with all of their weight on top him -- ignoring him as he repeatedly cried out, “I can’t breathe...they’re killing me,” for 15 minutes -- until his body laid lifeless on the sidewalk in handcuffs.(1) Hernan was an innocent, unarmed man who wasn’t doing anything wrong when police killed him. There hasn’t been a public investigation into his death or any charges against the police who killed him. And the Oakland Police Department refuses to answer any questions about his death at all! Now that the video of his killing has been leaked to the public, this is our chance to finally demand justice for my brother. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has the power to force an investigation and demand accountability, but we need thousands of people to join me and my family to speak out now if we are going to have a fighting chance at justice! 1. http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_29435600/oakland-body-camera-shows-man-screamed-i-cant and http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/johnson/article/Can-there-be-lesson-for-police-in-senseless-death-6799438.php

  358 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Ana Biocini, for Courage Campaign Institute
• Tell the CA Legislature: "End Tax Exempt Status for Anti-Gay Boy Scouts of America"

  Please join me in asking the California Legislature to pass SB 323, ending tax breaks for youth groups like Boy Scouts of America that discriminate against members based on their sexual orientation. I grew up in the Boy Scout tradition. I started out as a Cub Scout, transitioned through Webelos, and ended my Boy Scout journey as a Life Scout, one rank below Eagle. My closest friends were other scouts. Scouting stands for the finest qualities of humanity: self-reliance, creativity, and an appreciation of nature. Most of all, we were taught how to act as responsible, respectful citizens. This is why the Boy Scouts’ continued policy of excluding members based on their sexual orientation is so upsetting to me. It flies in the face of the very values that the scouting tradition professes to teach. As a straight ally, I can't sit idle while the current leaders of the Boy Scouts disgrace this once-proud American institution with their personal bigotry. Boy Scouts of America needs to do the right thing and change their policy to allow openly gay members. Right now, SB 323, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Los Angeles) aims to give the Boy Scouts a nudge in the right direction by eliminating tax exemptions for groups that practice discrimination. Please ask the California Legislature to help pass SB 323. California should lead on this issue if Congress won’t. Ending this tax break is the right thing to do, for the Boy Scouts and any other youth group in California which discriminates against members based on sexual orientation.

  10,566 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Eddie Kurtz
• California Republican Assembly leader must resign over offensive rape comments.

  On Friday, March 1, Celeste Greig, head of the California Republican Assembly, told the media that pregnancies by rape are rare "because it's an act of violence, because the body is traumatized." Ironically, she said this while criticizing former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin for his comments last fall about "legitimate rape." I started this petition because I am disgusted by scientifically illiterate Republican leaders attempting to defend rape related anti-choice policies. These uneducated and fanatical politicians attempt to minimize the horrific consequences of rape in order to pursue a twisted political agenda and in so doing degrade women. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, but not to their own facts. Rapes cause pregnancy. Celeste Greig (and other factually challenged politicians) need to resign from their high profile political positions so policy can be made based on science, not ideology.

  30,157 of 35,000 Signatures

  Created by Sarah Callahan
• No pay for Congress during the shutdown

  Since October 1st, hundreds of thousands of middle-class federal employees have been furloughed due to irresponsible members of Congress who refuse to govern for the well-being of the American people. The GOP-controlled House of Representatives decided to shut down the government rather than pass a spending bill that funds the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare.” Not only has the President’s signature healthcare law been upheld by the Supreme Court, but it was a major issue in the last presidential election when Republicans were soundly defeated. These Republican members of Congress -- including California’s own House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy -- are putting the extreme and ideological demands of a small minority over the health of the American economy. And now, federal employees, veterans, and hard-working families will be the ones that have to pay the price. That is unfair and morally reprehensible. Congress should take responsibility for their own inaction and lose their paychecks until they come to a resolution. Every day this drags on, the more damage it does to everyday Americans and our nation’s fragile economy.

  459,193 of 500,000 Signatures

  Created by Laura Leavitt, Courage Campaign