Take The Initiative

We the people respectfully request that Rhode Island follow suit with Connecticut and open the 2021 trout season.

Opening the fishing season early permits anglers to enjoy additional access to outdoor recreation, which has been a help to residents’ mental and physical health.

Furthermore opening the fishing season early helps to reduce opening day crowds limiting the potential for spread of COVID-19.

Thank you

Dr. Donna M. Hughes is the Endowed Chair of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rhode Island. A longtime champion of women's rights, she is also editor-in-chief of the online journal Dignity, which publishes articles and studies about violence and exploitation faced by women and girls.

In February 2021, Dr. Hughes published an article on the feminist website 4W, expressing her concerns about the effects of the gender identity movement on women's sex-based rights, stating

"The biological category of sex, particularly women’s sex, is being smashed. Women and girls are expected to give up their places of privacy such as restrooms, locker rooms, and even prison cells. When biological males identify as trans-women, they can compete in women’s and girls’ sports."
In the article, Dr. Hughes also stated concerns about the increasing numbers of children who identify as transgender being put on a course of medication and even surgery, and wrote "The trans-sex fantasy, the belief that a person can change his or her sex, either from male to female or from female to male, is spreading largely unquestioned among the political left."

In response, Annie Russell, URI's Director of the Gender and Sexuality Center, denounced Dr. Hughes and questioned whether someone with such opinions should be teaching in the classroom. Fourteen faculty members signed an email to the administration stating "We condemn statements that dehumanize people who identify as LGBTQIA+". At least three petitions have been started demanding that Dr. Hughes be fired or "held to account" by URI. Most disturbingly, the University of Rhode Island released a statement reading in part:

"The University does not support statements and publications by Professor Donna Hughes that espouse anti-transgender perspectives...The University also recognizes that its faculty have the general right to “academic freedom” in their teaching and scholarship...A faculty member’s First Amendment and academic freedom rights are not boundless, however, and should be exercised responsibly with due regard for the faculty member’s other obligations.”
The right to free speech is essential to academic life. An open exchange of ideas must be permitted by all sides on even the most difficult issues, and academic faculty should never be intimidated from participating in this exchange by the demands of those who disagree or by university administrations seeking to placate those demands. People who advocate for women's sex-based rights or question any aspect of gender theory, in particular, are frequently silenced by organized bullying from those on the other side of the issue, and it is no coincidence that most of those being silenced are women.

There is no right to be protected from being offended by other people's views, and suggesting that there is sets a very dangerous precedent that can only lead to the censorship of speech.

We, the undersigned, request that the administration of the University of Rhode Island make a public statement of unequivocal support for Dr. Hughes and affirm her right to express her feminist views without fear of academic reprisal.

We, the listed residents of Rhode Island, respectfully request to begin the process of finding a solution to having equal access to Rhode Island public land for the use of off-road activities.

For too long, off-road enthusiast's have been denied equal access to public land. We are hard-working tax payers who only want the right to enjoy our hobby as any other Rhode Island resident is able to.

We strongly believe that there is a solution that would work for all parties involved, if given a chance to open the discussion on the matter.

We do understand that there has been negative events in the past regarding this issue, but it should not set the tone for the entire off-road enthusiast community. Overall, we are a safety conscience group who care deeply about the environment.

It is also understood, that the idea of just opening land for our use is not a feasible option. But with the use of permits, additional insurance, and the help of the several responsible off-road groups in the state we can create a system that would work for everybody.

We appreciate you taking the time to read our petition and we hope to be starting a positive discussion on the matter in the near future.

Best Regards,

Residents of Rhode Island.

If this new bill gets passed 1.5 cents per fluid ounce will be added to any drink with a sweetener. That is a huge tax on your every day drinks and with crush everyone's pockets. It will hurt small businesses tremendously. When the 1% beverage tax was added people were so upset and took it out on the wrong people. Let's stop this before it can be passed. Please sign this and tell everyone you know to do the same

This petition is to encourage the state of Rhode Island to unmask our children for when school resumes in the fall. We believe that parents and their children should make the decision on whether or not they want to wear a mask. #unmaskourchildrenRI

Johnston County Public Schools have football stadiums that can safely host 750 to 1000 people for high school graduations with social distancing. So do most other counties. The proposed drive through graduations are unacceptable. Parents and Seniors demand that Johnston County provide safely designed opportunities for outdoor graduation ceremonies. Students and guests can be masked and socially distant (and outside with God's fresh air to dissipate potential germs).

Parents are willing to help with planning and executing these in-person graduations. Please help us to give our kids a joyous memory to end their years in JoCo schools. Help us to show these kids that their graduation is a milestone to celebrate not a moment in isolation.

You want these kids to grow up and take on leadership in the world. Let's show them how adults can be creative in a crisis; celebrate without fear; and be safe but joyful at the same time!

Please sign this petition to show your support for safe, well-planned outdoor graduation ceremonies for all Johnston County and NC public schools. Thank you!

The Constitution guarantees a public right to access court proceedings, which belong to the public and to defendant's in criminal cases. Currently in the state of North Carolina many avenues, businesses, restaurants, department stores, movie theaters etc. are starting to resume business, but our state courts are still closed for various sorts of business. The Corona-Virus Pandemic has crippled our legal system, creating constitutional dilemmas as the accused miss their days in court and families are torn apart waiting for custody hearings for children. The public health crisis has created a legal backlog that is overwhelming our courts across the state, leaving some defendant's behind bars longer, and forcing prosecutors to decide which cases to pursue and which to let slide. Children are being denied visitation and custodial time with the other parent, leaving many custody cases pending and children's futures hanging in the balance. Most North Carolina counties do not have the option for web-ex hearings and the use of remote proceedings are undermining the attorney-client relationship, altering the perceived credibility of witnesses, leading many participants to disengage with the judicial process altogether. As we know more often than not, those involved with the Court System are minorities, people with mental illness or substance abuse . In addition to being unfamiliar with the court system, self-represented litigants are also disproportionately likely to have limited computer literacy, limited access to technology, some may need language interpreters, may be hard of hearing and have other disabilities, normally in-person court proceedings can provide these accommodations but online hearings make this accommodation not so easy. Remote hearings often interfere with litigants constitutional right to a meaningful hearing by making it more difficult for them to present or examine evidence or by diminishing the reliability of witness testimony.

Please sign the petition requesting Chief Justice Paul Newby and Governor Roy Cooper open courts in North Carolina, ensuring that all litigants and defendant's constitutional rights are upheld.

We need to have leash laws here in North Carolina to make sure that our pets are safe and secure. It is in our best interest to do so our Pet stays with us at all times. There is 3,000+ animals getting euthanized in each county in nc per year and it is mostly due to lack of space. It's is only us that signs this that can get it to the attention of our state representatives and get this taken care of..

Currently the state of North Carolina has a restriction of 100 people at an outdoor high school sporting event.

With many stadiums across the state holding thousands, this number is just way too low. For some teams that carry large rosters, this number won't even allow for two parents to attend a game. If you include visiting spectators, some players may not even have one parent/family member able to attend.

It's hard to accept this number of 100 spectators outdoors when you walk around local retail stores, restaurants, gyms and more and there are far more than 100 people and that is indoors.

Though we are grateful to be playing, we ask that you consider allowing more spectators in. It can be done safely with of course mask mandates and social distancing put into place.

Our kids deserve this. They have endured so much through this pandemic and should at least have their families there to support them.

Update: Please be advised any money donated to change.org for this petition goes directly to change.org and not my family. Many people have brought this to my attention. My family has a fundraiser for a private investigator on GoFundMe titled Justice for Melissa Platt.

In October 2008, Melissa Platt was severely beaten and left wrapped in a blanket on a bed for 6 days with no medical attention. Melissa was found in this state on October 8 at her home only due to a welfare check her mother, Marian Mims, called in. She was life-flighted to Pitt County Memorial where she underwent an immediate craniotomy. The first responders included in their report this was the worst thing they'd ever seen. She was naked from the waist down, was only in a shirt, and wrapped up in a blanket. She was laying in her own urine and feces. The pictures taken of her when she was first admitted to the hospital are horrifying. She was bruised from head to toe, with bruises of varying age so some in the healing process, and some new. She had black eyes, jaw broken on both sides, brain bleed, blood clot, and a 2x5 deep bruising mark on her neck.She was in the ICU for 9 weeks and passed away from her injuries on December 17, 2008. Her boyfriend claimed the injuries were a result of her falling in the bathroom, however, the doctors said there was no way she could've sustained her injuries from a fall he described. The doctors also found she had old head injuries when they performed the craniotomy. Melissa was asked what happened to her, and when she was able to talk she to her family he dragged her out of the house by her neck, tore off her shirt, threw her in the bushes and hit her over the head with something hard.In January 2009, Melissa's mother, Marian, sent a letter to District Attorney Vickory and an investigation was initiated. Marian was told she would be informed when the investigation concluded and a decision was made, but they never contacted her. Marian had to call numerous times before she was finally able to speak to someone in District Attorney Vickory's office. The person told Marian Melissa's boyfriend wouldn't be charged. Marian insisted upon speaking to Vickory and only when she stated she would contact the Attorney General did he call her back. He'd her even though he believed her boyfriend did this to her, he didn't feel he had enough evidence to bring charges.My family would be eternally grateful for any assistance you can provide so we can hire a PI. I'm happy to provide proof of hiring one and their findings. We want to hire someone that cmwill treat her case with the care like it should have been from the start. My family has been heart broken and lost for 12 years now. Melissa's father passed away from lung cancer in 2010 so never got a chance to see justice for her. We are asking any North Carolina officials that have the power to do so reopen Melissa's case and properly investigate it. We also want her case brought to trial with all the evidence available.

My name is Meaghan Thomas and I live in Wilmington, North Carolina. I have recently adopted an adorable 7 year old Yorkie boy who is the sweetest pup ever. His name is CeCe and he has come from a very rough family background.
Before I begin our story.. Do you all have any pets? If so, go ahead and grab your phone and take a quick look at your babies picture.
My sweet CeCe came from a family who was... how can I put this nicely...the devil! He never had a safe place to call home since day 1 of his little life.
They had 3 kids who tortured him and the dad was the worst. The mom was crazy too.
Recently, this past October of 2020 they took CeCe to the vet to have 5 teeth pulled. Before the procedure the mom asked.. while he is under can you please DEBARK him?! His bark is annoying my husband!
The vet responded by explaining to this woman there were other options he could do that might make it a little less difficult procedure for CeCe like just quieting his vocal cords so not as loud or high pitched.
The mom was not satisfied with any of the other options the vet gave her but fully taking away CECE’s VOICE!!
I cringe and tear up every time I tell this story and I am starting to as I write this and snuggle my sweet boy.
My son never had a voice in reality to begin with and they still continued to take it away from him till it was all gone.
They gave up CeCe to his wonderful foster family this past October of 2020. He has been with me his now forever mama since January 4th and we have been inseparable every since. I am happy to say that CeCe passed his physical last week as well and is a very healthy boy!
He is the sweetest boy in the whole world with nothing but love to give. When he tries to bark it just sounds like a little cough and it breaks my heart in a million little pieces every time. Thankfully, he no longer is in any pain but this procedure was extremely painful for him. It can also cause difficulties with future breathing for some dogs who have it.
With all that being said... I am writing you to ask... no begging you to please ban debarking of any dog in our state unless it’s a medical emergencyc for that dog.
Debarking is banned all over the United Kingdom and currently in only two states in the United States. Those states are Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Please, please, please consider adding our beautiful state of North Carolina next to step up and ban this horrid act that my baby dealt with.

CeCe would do anything to make it so none of his furry friends have to go through what he did!

Love and paws always

Meaghan and CeCe Thomas

North Carolinians;

Here's your chance to help make SXS and UTVs road-legal in NC.

By signing this petition, you'll help gather support from the NC General Assembly to amend House Bill 307 (S.L. 2020-40) to include mid-sized utility vehicles, aka SXS or UTVs, for in-state road use and road-legal classification.

So there isn’t a question and to avoid unwanted attention from NC law enforcement by running out of state tags on your SXS – sign this petition to help NC become the next state to legalize SXS for on-road use.

To check out the full rundown, you can read more here: https://unseenpass.com/lobby-nc/

Cheers,

Kyle

P.S. For those who have SXS in NC and are interested in discussing this movement, please join NC SXS Group and the national Street Legal SXS's Group which are dedicated to the cause.

Lets just face it. Single use plastic is just NEVER recycled. It doesn't matter how much the consumer tries it just doesn't happen. North Carolina is a beautiful state with gorgeous beaches, and breath taking mountains. Single use plastic has got to go. If it can't go in glass or isn't made of compostable packaging it has got to go. Not in 2022 and not in 2023, it has got to go in 2021.

NO MORE:

single use plastic shopping bags (use cloth shopping bags)
take out containers (use foil containers),
straws (they make great ones actually made out of corn),
Styrofoam (it should have just never existed).
Humans are ingesting plastic every day!

So are wildlife, and so are marine animals. When it comes to animals we are more trashy then animals. We need to bring back bottle deposits where it puts the recycling in the hands of the ones who made the product in the first place. The manufacture should be the one responsible for the product and the waste that they create with their own product.

In Salisbury, North Carolina an officer was caught on camera abusing his canine, Zuul. He hung and swung the dog from the leash and carried him hanging by the leash to the police car, then forcefully slammed the dog into the car and looks like there was even a punch thrown at the dog!

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!

In the video you hear another officer saying “we’re good, no witnesses”. You also hear another cop asking about cameras being on and to turn them off… Which acknowledges that they were doing something wrong and didn’t want to be seen!!!

This is absolutely sickening to me to see an animal abused by the people who are supposed to protect and serve us. If they are doing this to their own canines, imagine what they could be doing to people!

There is no reason for this! Animal abuse is now a felony, and If a criminal did this to a police k-9, he would be charged with assault on an officer!

Just because you’re a police officer doesn’t mean that you should get a slap on the wrist for something like this. He should be charged with animal cruelty and assault on an officer along with being fired from his job!

How can you trust someone that can do this to an animal that is supposed to protect and serve you? You can’t!

Do the right thing and help sign this petition and let’s stop this animal cruelty and show that police that decide to do this that they won’t get no special treatment and be booked and charged like any other person!

This year students have had to face a lot and have had to take role they would not have had to do before. Students have had to constantly adapt to the changing times. Many students have to motivate them selves to get all of their work done. It is my belief that if we count grades this year our state will suffer. Several students are facing mental health issues this year as well. So I call upon West Virginia to not count this grades so students can go to the next grade.

Southwest Virginia Cheerleaders have came together and decided we want to start a petition to allow all Virginia cheerleaders to participate during football season. We were allowed to cheer during basketball games, but were told we cannot cheer outside during football games.

Governor Northam,


We, the Senior Class of 2021, are writing to ask you to allow an exception to your cap of 25 at social gatherings, just for one night to allow us to have a safe celebration, such as prom. After losing the last year and half of our high school experience, this would allow us to gather at our local high schools and safely celebrate our much-deserved prom during the month of May. Please consider a one-time safe event with a larger capacity in our schools that matches what schools are already safely doing during the school day.

This time last year, the world seemingly came to a stop. When it became abundantly clear that quarantine would last more than two weeks, and would impede on the celebrations of the Class of 2020, we scrambled to compensate for their loss. Celebrities did all that they could, hosting virtual proms and graduations, giving speeches in which they promised the feelings of loss would fade with time. While the pandemic was new and people did not fully understand the gravity of the disease spreading, parents prioritized the execution of graduation parties, pseudo-proms, and beach weeks - only done to support and celebrate their children. Schools went out of their way to reach out to seniors and to empathize with them.

The Class of 2021, has been met with a much different response. We have struggled through the difficult and painful parts of senior year with no reward for our efforts. The Class of 2021 completed the infamously horrific junior year standardized testing online, with little to no guidance in the wake of school closings, without complaint. We completed the entire college process without visiting campuses or any idea as to what admissions would look like this year, and many of us are still waiting on decisions as universities continue to push back dates. We have watched every last “last” moment go by without any recognition – our last pep rally, homecoming, winter formals, and much more have slipped away. All the while, students have been devoid of social comforts, and perhaps even lost loved ones. The empathy and condolences the Class of 2020 received are nowhere to be found – we are meant to accept without recognition the unacceptable end to our high school experience. The silence has been deafening. And the toll, short and long term, on our mental health, is monumental. While bigger and better things may lie ahead, for indeed it seems there could be nothing worse than the loss we have suffered this year as a community, it would be impossible for the Class of 2021 to move on to those things without some closure. Each senior has lost something specific to their high school journey that would have offered such a feeling – their last performance, last game, last debate. However, there are in fact two universally American experiences that offer closure and indicate the end of a long four-year journey; prom and graduation. Suffice to say, the Class of 2021 has been relieved to hear there are plans to have in-person graduations. The decorated grad caps will have their day in the sun after all, and proud parents can look on and realize how much we have accomplished in the face of adversity.

This sense of relief of graduation in person was mitigated by the news that we would be deprived of prom. Though the Class of 2021 has acknowledged that nothing will look normal this year, the hope for some sort of prom, some kind of last dance, became a sort of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Truly, graduation is for the parents – students look forward to prom as our last celebration. For us, it represents more than just another social event. It is the culmination of four years of hard work, a single evening in which we had the opportunity to feel like the young adults we all strive to become in high school. Because we have worked so incredibly hard to get here. The stress of senior year is normally balanced by celebrations throughout the year – for the Class of 2021 that stress was only compounded by the stress of living through a pandemic with no discernible end in sight.

Logistically, allowing high schools to hold prom is in everyone’s best interest as a community that would like to prevent COVID-spreader events from occurring. If high schools are not allowed to sponsor proms, events in which adults could supervise students obeying social distancing and mask mandates. Additionally, we would not allow food to be served at the event. We do not want students to make plans of their own and celebrate their prom in an unsafe manner, which they will in the void of a school-sponsored prom. Isn’t it better to let us all celebrate safely under the school’s strict safety measures than risk many private and potentially unsafe parties? Given reasonable guidelines, schools could hold proms to satisfy those desires while ensuring students’ safety. And, many seniors and their parents are starting to get vaccinated, with more vaccinated by May and June.

The ability to host prom at a school also becomes an issue of equity. Although some students have developed COVID-bubbles that they may be comfortable holding their own proms with, many students do not. Whether this is for safety reasons or simply because of typical high school social life, this would leave those students without an opportunity for closure. Moreover, it would worsen the mental health component of this issue for those seniors, as they watch peers pursuing either unsafe or non-inclusive behavior and events.

Finally, schools have been allowed to return in-person with far more than 250 students at a time, why should students be deprived of such a milestone event using the same facilities? In-person school has been prioritized because it has been made clear the effect virtual school has had on our education and mental health. A lack of prom, for seniors, would have a far more detrimental effect on our mental health than virtual school has. The latter, we have collectively grown numb to. The former has been one of the few hopes we allow ourselves to have regarding celebrations this year and put us mentally on a better path to successfully navigating the change from high school to college.

The Class of 2021 is asking you to reconsider. To take into account the life-altering circumstances under which we have been forced to surrender what was meant to be one of our most memorable years. We ask that you put yourself in our grad caps and imagine our devastation. Governor Northam, you are in a unique position to ensure that the Class of 2021 is not forgotten. You have the power to reinvigorate schools, parents, and seniors, and offer the Class of 2021 the love, support, and recognition last year’s graduates received.


Kind regards,

The Class of 2021

Virginia Tech has removed Spring Break in favor of 5 "one-day breaks" spread out through the semester in order to "provide students with downtime and stress relief". Most students have first-hand experience in situations such as this e.g Fall Break, where professors will actually provide more work to be done, knowing that there is more out of class time to complete these assignments. Furthermore, with the removal of a week break, the course material structure of classes will most likely not be able to be restructured in an efficient manner; causing more stress to students instead of removing some.

VT Administration and Tim Sands have a history of treating the student body as children. Most, if not all, of the student body, are of legal age to drive, vote, drown themselves in debt, and die for our country, yet they do not believe that we are capable of making smart and educated decisions on our own regarding the safety of our health and others. If anything, allow law enforcement to deal with any issues that are actually a threat to other as this falls in their domain.

Please sign this petition and share with others to show the administration that we need to have autonomy over our own decision as we have most of this semester, keeping the number of COVID-19 cases from spreading like wildfire across campus.

On February 27th, at a "Big/Little" hazing event held by the Delta Chi fraternity at Virginia Commonwealth University my cousin, Adam Oakes, lost his life to alcohol poisoning. Being told to drink an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period of time as an initiation rite of passage shows a lack of empathy and a complete disregard for human life. After hazing him, they let him tragically die on the ground alone without getting him help. Our lives will never be the same due to one group of boys, one night, and one fraternity.

Unfortunately, Adam's death is not the first in the state of Virginia. There have been at least 9 deaths in Virginia due to hazing! How many more lives must we lose before action is taken? Hazing is a criminal act. However, in the state of Virginia, if you haze someone to the point of bodily harm or death, it is a Class 1 Misdemeanor. The maximum punishment for causing injury or death is 12 months in jail and a $2500 fine. We need your help to change the current law against Hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony. Please sign our petition against hazing so people who haze are held accountable for their actions.

The Humane Society of America and Project Coyote are actively and persistently attacking our rights as hunters to host and compete in predator calling competitions. They are petitioning the game department and the current administration to ban predator tournaments. As you may know, they have successfully persuaded 7 states to implement some sort of similar legislation, banning or limiting predator calling contests. VA is next in their crosshairs and there is a hearing scheduled for March 18. Even if you are not an active tournament hunter, or predator hunter, let their be no mistake, once they topple the first hunting "domino" deer hunting, turkey hunting, bear hunting and everything else in between, is next. They are against all types of hunting and will never stop until all hunting is banned. Please reach out to us and we will let you what you can do to help us fight these radical anti hunting groups. As hunters we need to all stick together as 1 to fight to keep our rights.