More whitehouse.gov petitions of interest

I took a cruise through the entire list of petitions at whitehouse.gov today. There are over 130 petitions so far. Here are a few of particular interest!

I’ve organized these items into things the Obama Administration can act on directly and things that the Administration can support (usually requiring Acts of Congress).

Things the Obama Administration can act on directly:

• End the Military’s Discrimination against Non-Religious Service Members

  The US military fails to provide Equal Opportunity for non-religious service members.

  We are forced to participate in religious rituals during official ceremonies. This is not free exercise, this is forced exercise. Worship belongs in voluntary services, not in mandatory formations. This is unconstitutional establishment of an official preference for religion over non-religion.

  We are forced to take an unconstitutional religious test for “Spiritual Fitness”. Those who fail the test are forced to take remedial training instructing them to go to church and pray. This proselytization by the US military is forced onto us against our will.

  These policies create a hostile environment, division, and resentment within the military, destroying morale and threatening national security.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Examine the Government’s Failure to Investigate and Prosecute Church of Scientology Crime, Fraud and Abuse

  WHEREAS, the FBI has 300+ recent complaints of Scientology crimes and atrocities – human trafficking, forced abortions and civil rights violations, and the IRS has evidence of private inurement violations justifying INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS, and existing evidence on hand meets RICO statutes, WE REQUEST that the White House investigate and employ a Special Prosecutor to:

  EXAMINE why, with such an abundance of RICO evidence of Scientology being a corrupt and criminal entity, no law enforcement agency has moved forward;

  INVESTIGATE undue favor and pressure brought by lawyers for Scientology leader David Miscavige to stop the investigations;

  EXAMINE why around the world the “church” is investigated as a criminal entity while the U.S. Government does nothing?

  Click HERE to sign!

Things the Obama Administration can’t directly do, but can support:

• Edit the Pledge of Allegiance to remove the phrase “Under God”

  The Pledge of Allegiance is said every day in schools across America. It is a government sanctioned speech, and should remain neutral in matters of religion. In its current state, it supports the existence of God, which goes against several religions, and supports others. This bias should not be supported by the country according to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Remove “In God We Trust” from currency

  The currency of the United States currently contains the phrase “In God We Trust” on it. This was added in the 1950′s, and is unconstitutional. It supports one religion over another, and should be removed from all currency. It violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This phrase should be removed from created currency.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Support REQUIRED public financing of political campaigns, eliminating special interest influence over politicians

  The Citizens United decision, which permits corporations to engage in financially unlimited electioneering, is not the problem.

  The problem is the ability of individuals and groups to sway our politicians from objective decision-making through campaign contributions.

  Requiring that campaigns for national office be publicly funded will reduce the economic influence of corporations, organizations, and lobbyists. Politicians will be held accountable not to donors but to their constituents.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Repeal the Patriot Act

  We, the undersigned, hereby declare that anti-terrorism legislation passed by our US Congress since the tragic September 11, 2001 attacks on our nation, seriously damage and infringe upon the constitutional protections that are enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

  We declare that it is not patriotic, but rather Un-American to destroy the very freedoms which cause Americans to love their country. We oppose the “sneak and peek” provision of the PATRIOT Act, which infringes our 4th amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure by denying citizens their right to be aware that their property is to be searched and their right to protest such search. We oppose the PATRIOT Act’s destruction of e-mail and Internet privacy.

  “Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither”

  Click HERE to sign!

• Promote / Enforce the teaching of Evolution over Creationism

  Evolution has been unquestionably supported by scientific evidence, and is universally accepted in the scientific community, While it may run contrary to personally held religious beliefs, it is not the purpose of our publicly funded education system to teach religious dogma as fact, or even controversy, in a biology class.

  It makes as much sense to teach creationism in a science class as it would to teach that the sun rotates around the earth in an astronomy class, or that lightning and storms are created by the the gods in a weather science lecture.

  Evolutionary theory is the basis for much of modern biology, and to accept creationism is to reject modern knowledge of geology, carbon dating, genetics, and history. Depriving or confusing students about Evolution is unacceptable.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Abolish Abstinence-Only Education From US Public Schools

  Abstinence-only education is a hazard to our children. Studies have shown that teen pregnancy rates are the highest in states (New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, etc) where abstinence-only sex education is taught. And lowest in states where safe-sex education is taught (New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota). Instead of teaching our children to abstain from sex all together and to fear it, the US should encourage safe sexual practices that promote the use of condoms and birth control. Ignoring the fact that our kids will engage in sexual activity regardless of what they are told is not a healthy perspective to maintain. Instead, the US should ban abstinence-only programs in US public schools and reform the sexual education curriculum.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Stop Federal Funding and Support for the Boy Scouts of America

  The United States government generously supports the discriminatory organization known as the Boy Scouts of America. This organization is very clear in their published policies that they do not accept Atheists, Agnostics, or Homosexuals. We the People feel that this is contrary to the spirit and laws of our Nation and therefor, petition the Obama administration to take steps to sever support in all forms for the BSA.

  We request that the United States Military sever relationships with the BSA. We request that the President of the United States no longer serve as Honorary President of the BSA. We request that all financial support for the BSA be cut. We hope that these actions will help cause a change to a more open and accepting stance on the part of BSA.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Reflect upon the Qualifications of Supreme Court Justice Scalia, Considering His Focus on Religion over Law

  Justice Scalia has been recently quoted in his belief that “The Rule of Law is second only to the Rule of Love,” alongside his insistence that much “moral judgment” is “based on religious views”.

  While Justices are entitled to their religious opinions outside of a court of law, their actions inside court are expected to be non-partisan –in both party and religion.

  In 2003 he recused himself from a case challenging “Under God” in the pledge; after all, he asserted weeks earlier that the Framers of the Constitution didn’t intend to “exclude God from the public forums and from political life”.

  Considering how he values his religious views more highly when making court-decisions than on the Constitution’s wording, we urge the Obama Administration to reflect upon his capacity for non-bias.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Reverse the SCOTUS ruling on Citizens United v FEC, with a Constitutional Amendment by supporting H.J.RES.78

  Reverse the SCOTUS ruling on Citizens United v FEC, with a Constitutional Amendment by supporting H.J.RES.78, which is sitting in committee (Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary 9/12/11).

  H.J.Res.78: “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to clarify the authority of Congress and the States to regulate the expenditure of funds for political activity by corporations.”

  Click HERE to sign!

• Pass the Uniting American Families Act to create the category of ‘Permanent Partner’ in Immigration legislation

  This petition calls for the passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) that seeks to add the category of ‘Permanent Partner’ in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

  This will allow US citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents to sponsor their same sex partner for immigration benefits to the US in the same way that an opposite sex married couple can.

  Currently the category of ‘Spouse’ in the INA is defined as a husband or wife of the opposite sex. Therefore legally married same sex couples cannot file for immigration benefits in this category.

  The inclusion of the category of ‘Permanent Partner’ would allow same sex married couples to seek immigration benefits based on their relationship – which would be adjudicated with the same scrutiny as a married opposite sex couple.

  Click HERE to sign!

• Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act

  The Defense of Marriage Act bypasses the Constitution in making it so states do not need to recognize other state’s marriages if those marriages are not between a man and a woman. This results in confusing legal issues when a gay couple moves from one state to another, as well as creating a definition of marriage that is bigoted against homosexual couples.

  Click HERE to sign!

We all realize that signing any (or all) of these petitions won’t change a law. But by making our voices heard, we can show that it isn’t only a handful of Americans who want reform.

Related articles:

1. Whitehouse.gov petition: Change national motto to “E Pluribus Unum”
2. The Fourth of July and Freedom: Why Texas Gov. Rick Perry doesn’t understand America
3. Local Option Error: N.J. Gov. says school boards can promote Creationism
4. Prelate Pressure: Baltimore Bishop badgers Gov. on marriage equality – unsuccessfully
5. Correcting a confused columnist: Why Gov. Perry’s exclusionary prayer event is wrong for Texas – and America