Keystone Progress

Campaigns

• "Ban the Box!" Give people with criminal records a fair chance

  “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” Many employers ask that question before they will even consider employing someone. That screens out more than 20% of all Americans who have a criminal record. “Ban the Box” refers to the policy of removing the check-box that asks about criminal history from job applications. When people make mistakes, they should make amends. But once they have, they should be treated no differently than anyone else. But too often individuals with convictions in their past are discriminated against when it comes to hiring. This is particularly problematic because young men of color are far more likely to be convicted of a crime. If employers must ask about convictions, they can ask later in the hiring process. As the call to “ban the box” spreads across the country, it has become a powerful movement for fair hiring. According to the National Employment Law Project, “Roughly 70 million people in the United States have some sort of criminal record, and nearly 700,000 people return to our communities from incarceration each year. Supporting the employment opportunities of people with records creates safe communities, reduces childhood poverty, and strengthens families.” 13 states and more than 90 cities and counties have adopted fair chance policies. It’s time for Pennsylvania to join them. Ask Gov. Wolf and your state legislators to “Ban the Box” in Pennsylvania.

  632 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Restore Emergency Unemployment Insurance

  The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program ended on December 28 for 1.3 million jobless Americans. Unemployment benefits will be cut from as much as 73 weeks to 26 weeks. Democrats fought to include UI in the year-end budget plan. But the GOP war on workers knows no shame — three days after Christmas, in the middle of winter, 1.3 million families just lost a critical lifeline. The Senate will vote to renew UI in less than two weeks, but it won’t pass unless we make our voices heard. Demand that Congress renews unemployment insurance now.

  9,770 of 10,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Legalize Marijuana in Pennsylvania

  State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) has legislation that will allow marijuana to be grown and sold legally in PA. “The modern prohibition of marijuana does a disservice to Pennsylvania by tying up our resources in the prosecution of its users; by depriving us of the revenue that this marijuana could generate; and by denying the Pennsylvanians suffering from terminal illnesses access to a natural medicine that could take away their pain,” Leach said. “It’s time we legalize marijuana and reap the benefits it has to offer.” What benefits could we reap? • Money to balance the state budget. Based on national figures, there is at least $3.4 billion in illegal sales of marijuana in PA each year. If we legalized it and taxed it at 6% it would generate $200 million. If we sold it in the State Wine and Spirit Shoppes, we could generate another $680 million with a 20% markup. • Fewer people in prison, lower costs for taxpayers. Approximately 25,000 citizens are arrested annually in Pennsylvania for marijuana-related offenses, at a cost of some $325 million dollars. • Legal access to a widely used medicine. Marijuana has legitimate medicinal uses and should be available to those who need it without risking arrest or dealing with underworld criminals. • A lucrative cash crop for PA farmers. Those who choose to grow marijuana will have a crop that can reap great profits. • An end to organized dealing in marijuana. Marijuana is the number money-maker for organized crime. Legalizing ends their participation in its trafficking and the associated violence. And that’s just the beginning. It’s time to end the hypocrisy, help to balance our state budget and end the 21st century version of Prohibition.

  16,831 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• I support Obamacare

  Some of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act • 21.3 million more Americans will get healthcare coverage. • You can’t be denied coverage for preexisting conditions such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure or even cancer. And if you or a family member get sick or injured, insurance companies can’t cut off your coverage or cancel your plan. • Your kids are covered. If you have children, they can stay on your family health insurance plan until they turn 26. • No more dollar limits on your care. You can get the care you need, without having to worry about huge, unexpected medical bills. • Your coverage is protected. An unintentional mistake or minor omission on an application can no longer give your insurance company an excuse to cancel your coverage. More preventive care is covered • Medicare now covers a yearly wellness visit and preventive care at no cost to you. This includes cancer, cholesterol and diabetes screenings, immunizations, diet counseling and more. • Lower prescription drug costs for Medicare, and the “donut hole” will disappear entirely in 2020 • Every state will have a Health Insurance Marketplace where people looking for coverage can go online to shop for health insurance. • For the first time, there’s help available to pay for health coverage. In fact, many people who buy their plan on the marketplace can get help covering the costs. Low-cost or free plans are also available depending on your income. • Small businesses can get tax credits, there are cooperative possibilities to lower costs and many other benefits for the small business owner. • Obamacare requires insurance companies to provide preventive care as part of your coverage including: High blood pressure screening, Diabetes screening, Flu shots, Colorectal cancer screening, Tobacco cessation counseling, Depression screening,HIV screening for those at risk for the disease • Services for Women, including: Mammograms, Cervical cancer screening, Osteoporosis screening, Gestational diabetes screening, Well-woman visits • Services for Children: Immunizations, including flu shots, Autism screening, Behavioral assessments, Development screening, Obesity screening and counseling • Services for Men: Cholesterol screening, Prostate exams

  19,878 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Support the Equality Act to allow LGBT Americans to live free from fear

  From our friends at ThinkProgress: The Equality Act Introduced Today in Congress, Would Allow LGBT Americans To Live Free From Fear Jami and Krista Contreras of Michigan found out the hard way about the lack of comprehensive legal protections for LGBT Americans. Jami and Krista were married in Vermont in 2012, and two years later their daughter Bay was born. When it came time for their baby girl’s first checkup, her doctor refused to provide her care simply because her parents are gay. The unfortunate reality is that the Contreras’ story could have happened in the majority of states across America. Despite the progress that has been made in ensuring marriage equality, there are still over 30 states that lack clear and comprehensive legal protections for LGBT people. In these states, LGBT Americans are at risk of being fired from their jobs, refused service from a business, or evicted from their apartment simply because of who they are. As the Contreras family learned, even the children of LGBT couples are not safe from discrimination without explicit federal law prohibiting it. Thankfully, many members of congress recognize this reality and are working to change it. The Equality Act, introduced today, is a historic bill that would ensure comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBT people regardless of where they live. Under The Equality Act “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” would be added to protections for employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and juries. The bill would also expand and enhance existing protections for people of color, women, and Americans of all faiths. The Equality Act was introduced by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-OR) and Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. David Ciclline (D-RI), along with a long list of co-sponsors including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Lewis. Its support among congressional democrats and LGBT advocates is huge. Not surprisingly, support for the bill is not as high among conservatives in Congress, many of whom oppose any non-discrimination legislation and are actively working against it. In fact, just last week, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) introduced the so-called First Amendment Defense Act, which the ACLU has described as Indiana’s religious freedom bill on steroids. BOTTOM LINE: The last decade has seen huge progress in the recognition and attainment of LGBT rights. But in 31 states, LGBT Americans are at risk of being fired from their jobs, refused service from a business, and much more, just because of who they are. LGBT Americans deserve to live free from fear. The Equality Act will ensure that they can.

  1,346 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Tell ESPN to fire Curt Schilling over his anti-transgender postings

  From Huffington Post: Memo to Curt Schilling: You can delete it from your Facebook page, but that doesn’t mean it’s erased from the Internet. Schilling, the ESPN baseball analyst and former major league pitcher, posted a surprisingly offensive meme on his Facebook page Monday, mocking the transgender community in general, and the lack of access to public bathroom facilities in particular. We won’t be embedding the meme here, but SB Nation’s Outsports took a screenshot before Schilling took it down. http://www.outsports.com/2016/4/19/11461618/curt-schilling-espn-transgender Not content to merely share the meme, Schilling weighed in with a comment: “A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. I don’t care what they are, who they sleep with, men’s room was designed for the penis, women’s not so much. Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.” Schilling responded to the controversy stirred by the meme in a rambling blog post Tuesday. “I didn’t post that ugly looking picture,” he wrote. “I made a comment about the basic functionality of mens and womens restrooms, period. “And for you people too dense to understand this one very important thing. My opinion, 100% mine, and only mine. I don’t represent anyone but myself here, on facebook, on twitter, anywhere.” It’s a surprising bout of bigotry for Schilling, who was suspended by ESPN in August for posting intolerant comments comparing Muslims to Nazis. After that incident, Schilling claimed he’d changed and acknowledged on Twitter, “this was a bad decision in every way on my part.”

  2,940 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• No Marcellus Drilling on State Forest Land

  Gov. Tom Corbett's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced on April 27 that it will allow expanded fracking for natural gas on state forest lands. This new drilling will mean 3,800 wells. There are currently 164. Former Gov. Ed Rendell instituted a moratorium that prevented expanded drilling. It is completely within Corbett's power to maintain the moratorium and keep our state forest lands protected. Tell Corbett to keep the moratorium in place.

  13,337 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Restore Democracy to Philadelphia School District. Abolish the SRC

  In 2001, the Republican governor and legislators took over the School District of Philadelphia, abolishing the elected school board and creating the unelected School Reform Commission (SRC). It is time to restore control of the Philadelphia schools to the taxpayers of Philadelphia. Tell Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly to allow Philadelphians to elect their school board and return control of the schools to the people of Philadelphia. In October, 2014, Tom Corbett's SRC unilaterally, and illegally, ended the District's contract with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Local parents and students were justifiably outraged. It's time to end this unjust situation and return the control of the Philadelphia Schools to the people of Philadelphia.

  1,090 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Appoint a Special Counsel to investigate torture crimes

  From Marjorie Cohn, writing in Truthout: Reading the 499-page torture report just released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was a disgusting experience. Even after many years of writing books and articles about the Bush torture policy, I was unprepared for the atrocious pattern of crimes our government committed against other human beings in our name. One of the most hideous techniques the CIA plied on detainees was called "rectal rehydration" or "rectal feeding" without medical necessity - a sanitized description of rape by a foreign object. A concoction of pureed "hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins" was forced into the rectum of one detainee. Another was subjected to "rectal rehydration" to establish the interrogator's "total control over the detainee." This constitutes illegal, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a humiliating outrage upon personal dignity. Several detainees were waterboarded, a technique whereby water is poured into the nose and mouth to cause the victim to think he's drowning. One detainee in CIA custody was tortured on the waterboard 183 times; another was waterboarded 83 times. Waterboarding has long been considered torture, which is a war crime. Indeed, the United States hung Japanese military leaders for the war crime of torture after World War II. Other "enhanced interrogation techniques" (EIT) included being slammed into walls, hung from the ceiling, kept in total darkness, deprived of sleep - sometimes with forced standing - for up to seven and one-half days, forced to stand on broken limbs for hours on end, threatened with mock execution, confined in a coffin-like box for 11 days, bathed in ice water, dressed in diapers. One detainee "literally looked like a dog that had been kenneled." The executive summary of the torture report was made public, but the 6,700-page report remains classified. The summary depicts the CIA at best, as keystone cops, at worst, as pathological, lying, sadistic war criminals. The CIA lied repeatedly about the effectiveness of the torture and cruel treatment. Interrogations of detainees were much more brutal than the CIA represented to government officials and the American public. Bush's CIA directors George Tenet, Porter Goss and Michael Hayden should be charged with crimes, along with their minions who carried out the torture. In light of the gruesome revelations in the torture report, it is high time President Barack Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty to enforce the law. The US Constitution states the president "shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed." Yet Obama refuses to sanction prosecutions of those responsible for the torture. When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Geneva Conventions, we promised to prosecute or extradite those who commit or are complicit in the commission of torture. The report documents torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, all of which violate US and international law. The War Crimes Act punishes torture as a war crime. The Torture Statute (Statute) provides that whoever "outside the United States" commits or attempts to commit torture shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years "and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life." The statute defines torture as an "act intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon another person within his custody or physical control." When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Geneva Conventions, we promised to prosecute or extradite those who commit or are complicit in the commission of torture. A ratified treaty is part of US law under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. Yet the Obama administration persists in its refusal to bring the culprits to justice.

  894 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill
• Don't Punish Women. Stop the 20 week abortion ban

  UPDATE: The bill has passed the Senate. It's now in the House with a vote likely the week of 3/13. Sen. Michele Brooks is jumping on Trump’s “Women Must be Punished” bandwagon. This ban is part of the plan by anti-choice zealots to punish women and criminalize doctors who perform abortions. Here is what you need to know about 20-week bans: 20-Week Bans Are Part of an Agenda to Ban All Abortion: The introduction of these bans doesn’t come in isolation. They’re part of a dangerous, out-of-touch, and coordinated effort to chip away at abortion access. Anti-abortion politicians in the General Assembly are pushing their agenda, bit by bit, to ultimately outlaw abortion completely. 20-Week Bans Criminalize Doctors: Politicians shouldn’t have the right to take options away from doctors in dangerous medical situations or prevent them from informing patients about all their health care options — and politicians certainly shouldn’t be allowed to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term with no chance of survival. 20-Week Bans Are Unpopular: These bills — and the extreme agenda they are part of — are deeply unpopular with the public. When Americans understand the real-world impact of 20-week bans, a solid 60 percent of voters oppose them. In fact, 78 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans, and 71 percent of Independents — say this is the wrong issue for legislators to be spending time on. 20-Week Bans Are Unconstitutional: 20-week bans are unconstitutional and a clear attempt to erode Roe v. Wade at the expense of women’s health. In fact, 20-week ban proponents are outspoken about their goal to challenge the 1973 Supreme Court decision protecting a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion.

  4,023 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by Michael Morrill