Take The Initiative

PLEASE HELP US STOP DEVELOPERS FROM STEALING OUR HOMES AND FARMS!!!

Our goal is to protect the rural land, homes, communities and environment from extinction by opposing the actions of NorthPoint Development and the City of Edgerton in their annexation and rezoning of the land in Southern Johnson County to Logistics Park.

NorthPoint’s Logistics Park is positioned to build 100 million square feet of warehouse in rural Johnson County. Their promo video here showcases all the rural land they plan to cover in concrete.

These warehouses will literally be across the road and in the back yards of hundreds of families who live in rural Johnson County, Kansas. This land use does not conform to the development plans of Johnson County or in any way meet the Golden Criteria for development established by the Kansas Supreme Court. The developments will place catastrophic burden on rural roads, bridges, communities, and the watershed of Hillsdale Lake – the sole source of clean drinking water for Rural Water District 7. NorthPoint and the City of Edgerton have acted in a highly coordinated manner to annex and rezone over 600 acres of rural land, despite the fact that every resident in the neighborhood opposes it.

Help us by signing our petition in opposition of overreach of the City of Edgerton to rezone our rural residential land in Southern Johnson County to Logistic's Park.

More information can be found on our website! Here is also a little video showing what we are fighting to keep! Our Facebook group can be found here!

Donate to our GoFundMe here to help with our legal fight!

Thank you so much for your support!

As a single mother of a medically fragile child, it’s hard to find nurses for all shifts allotted to my daughter for care. Due to the pandemic I lost my job and I was granted the opportunity to become a paid caregiver for her, as many other parents also were offered this position. This is an unprecedented occasion considering the State of Kansas only allows parents as paid caregivers for children 18 years and older. However, this recent opportunity will come to an end soon. It’s unfortunate because, it has given families an avenue to make a living wage while caring for their child, and to keep them healthy without outside care personnel entering our homes. This also has eased the stress of trying to also work outside our homes to support our households. It’s sometimes impossible to find jobs that fit around a nursing schedule anyway. I’d like for the State of Kansas to offer parents the position of Paid Caregiver with a competitive wage which would alleviate hardships on parents and families in my position. This, in my opinion, would keep some families from having to rely on state assistance to make ends meet, plus the child would benefit from the care of their parent. This will help so many families.

Several school districts in Kansas such as Blue Valley, Shawnee mission, etc. are pulling out the virtual education option for 2021-22 school year stating, "Kansas State Department of Education does not allow for remote learning next school year." The number of infections may have been on the decline, but that does not mean that we are out of the pandemic already. Neither CDC nor WHO has issued any statement indicating that the pandemic is behind us.

With no vaccinations, for children below the age of 12, the risk of infection and complications (such as MIS-C) from COVID are very much the same as last year. Our schools have no way of keeping children 6 feet apart at 100% capacity. It is very unreasonable to force families to send their unvaccinated children to in person schools by pulling out the virtual learning format for the age group that doesn't have vaccines available.

We urge the KS Department of Education to re-consider their decision and allow the school districts to provide the same virtual learning option as 2020-21 school year.

Royal Elder should be recognized for his service to the State of Kansas by having a State Hunting Area renamed in his honor. Royal Elder served the state of Kansas for 24 years; as Game Protector at Tuttle Creek Reservoir and as the first Hunter Safety Coordinator. During his years at Tuttle Creek (1960-1972), he enforced safe boating regulations which resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of boating accidents, injuries, and fatalities. During his last 7 years on the lake, there were no fatalities at all. In late 1972, Royal Elder was appointed the first Hunter Safety Coordinator for the State of Kansas. Within the first year, over 1000 hunter safety instructors were trained and they, in turn, trained over 30,000 students. In 1974, the program's second year of existence, the Kansas Hunter Safety Program was selected as the Best Hunter Safety Program in North America. For the next 10 years, Mr. Elder tirelessly worked with hunter safety instructors across the state and personally trained 100s of students himself. Including "hunter ethics" in the curriculum improved hunter/landowner relations in the state. The basic program that Mr Elder put together in 1972 is still in use today. Royal Elder retired in 1984 and passed away in 2017 at the age of 96. The lives and safety of untold numbers of Kansas hunters and sports men and women have been touched by the work of Royal Elder. There are numerous state hunting and recreation areas that are named with geographical points of reference; renaming such an area would not require removing the name of another person, nor does it require an act of the state legislature. Such areas can be renamed by the director of the Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.

We are asking for your support by signing a petition to allow parents to watch their children compete in high school sports this winter. At this time, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) has communicated that no spectators will be allowed at winter CHSAA sanctioned events. Join with us in telling CHSAA, Governor Polis, and local and state health organizations that we want to see our children compete and that we can act responsibly and safely if given this opportunity.

We believe that CHSAA and area school districts can create a safe plan for a limited number of spectators to attend competitions this winter. We further believe that in most facilities, a limited number of parents can safely be allowed to watch their children compete. If you take basketball as an example, the maximum number of parents that would need to be accommodated would be 48 given there are a maximum of 12 players on each team. We do not believe it is unreasonable to think that local schools, athletic directors, CHSAA, and government health agencies could create a safe plan that would allow this number of parents into a 5,000 to 8,000 square foot space.

The accommodation we are requesting is similar to the rule that surrounding states already have in place. States like Wyoming, Kansas, and Utah, are successfully navigating the COVID pandemic with limited spectators allowed at indoor athletic and extracurricular activities. Colorado should follow suit and set up rules similar to those created in other states.

Because Governor Polis and the state of Colorado have done a good job managing the COVID response, our state is seeing a decline in COVID outbreaks and overall cases. We believe that if schools and parents act responsibly, and follow accepted safety protocols, we can have a season, with limited spectators, without seeing significant outbreaks. We can give Colorado high school athletes and their families the opportunity for true competition and memories of a lifetime while also staying safe. This was proven by the recent completion of the football season which resulted in no significant outbreaks, no spreader events, and no deaths.

Sign Our Petition Today to let CHSAA, The State of Colorado, state school districts, and local and state health agencies know we can work together to responsibly support our children. Further, your support of this petition shows officials how important supporting our children and watching them compete is to us as parents.

USD 260 school district are proposing an idea to require uniforms throughout the entire district. this change would restrict any student in this district to express who they are, along with would make many students including me uncomfortable, these options include female and male, excluding those who identify as they/them, or those who are gender-fluid, non-binary, etc.

share the link to at least two people, and it can be anyone, elementary to high school, to your guardians, etc, help us prevent district-wide uniforms!

The Pandemic is past the one year anniversary of lock downs and mask mandates; upon 15 days to flatten the curb. At this point, medically, this is a chronic condition. Time for the healthy to stop having to cater to the sick and fearful! End the Covid mask mandate today!

Paul Marinsky lost his wife, Brittani, to cancer on August 30th, 2020 and now Starfleet Service Dogs wants to take away his dog as well. After seemingly and deceitfully hinting that they were willing to work with Mr. Marinsky, they sent someone to take the dog after a vet appointment. This dog was never just a tool but a beloved family member and companion to the family and is arguably continuing to fill her service dog role in the wake of the family's grief. This petition will be sent to Starfleet Service Dog Inc. to make them aware of the public's dissatisfaction with their ethics and gray area policies.

https://www.cbs42.com/entertainment/after-losing-wife-to-cancer-kansas-man-goes-to-court-to-keep-her-beloved-service-dog/

If you would like to help with legal fees then there is also a gofundme.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-fees-for-keeping-tootsie?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

Airline History Museum at Kansas City Wheeler Downtown airport, needs your help. The Airline History Museum and Lockheed Constellation have been a landmark of Kansas City since 1986. Signature Flight Support wants to close the museum. Why...You might ask? Well we don’t know. We are written into the master lease and are a tenant through 2050 as part of that lease. Signature does not pay rent to the city for our property but are demanding that we pay rent to them.


For years there have been tens of thousands of square feet of empty hangars which Signature controls. With the removal of the VOR, there are acres of vacant land to build new hangars. There are areas that are rented out for non-aviation use, yet Signature is pressuring the museum to vacate.


So we need your help to ask the Aviation Department - WHY? Why is the Aviation Department and the City allowing this? Why has the Aviation Department and City Council allowed Signature to take $500,000 meant for our museum? Why does Signature refuse to return $61,500 in wrongfully collected rent.


Please ask City Councilwoman Teresa Loar, [email protected] - WHY? Please ask Director of Aviation for KCMO Patrick Klein, [email protected] - WHY? Please ask Wheeler Downtown Airport Manager Melissa Cooper, [email protected] - WHY? Please ask Signature – WHY?

This isn't a request for money or donations, this is a request to bring awareness to the fact that the Airline History Museum is written into the new 2005 Master Lease to remain at its current location "as long as it remains a non-profit", however Signature is trying to use the terms of a terminated sublease from 2000 in an attempt to pressure the museum to close. The Kansas City Aviation Department has acknowledged the situation and agreed with the AHM but will not step in and right the wrong.


We cannot allow a Large Corporation to bully the city and our museum.

Dear Veterans and Community,

As the daughter of a Kansas veteran, I would like to inform veterans, their family and friends and the rest of the community of some proposed changes that I believe will negatively impact veterans who utilize services at the Topeka Veteran Affairs Medical Center and what we can do to stop it.

Recently, Anthony Rudy Klopfer, Director of the Eastern Kansas VA System, which includes both the Topeka and Leavenworth campuses, communicated with KSNT news about his proposal of changes to the Eastern Kansas VA System. This consists of consolidating services to Leavenworth and downsizing the Topeka VA Medical Center. These changes are supposed to benefit Kansas veterans. He states the changes better meet the needs of veterans by reaching out and providing more services. You can view his brief outline video here (VA Eastern Kansas 2021 Strategic Plan-Video 2-Goals, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p17uFDPMaHM on YouTube.

On November 25, 2019, KSNT reported the Topeka VA having the best patient satisfaction rate of any VA in the country. Currently, approximately 65% of the 35,000 veterans of the Eastern Kansas VA System use services at the Topeka VA. This leaves the remaining approximate 35% of Eastern Kansas veterans using services at the Leavenworth VA. Topeka has a population of ~126,000 while Leavenworth has a population of ~36,000 and is also a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which already has a large VA. The Leavenworth VA is only 36 miles from the KC VA. The Kansas City VA includes an Emergency Department, ICU, and Surgery Services, has more specialists available, and is able to see a wide complexity of patients. If the Topeka VA is downsized, veterans would have to travel either an additional 63 miles to Leavenworth or 72 miles to the KC VA for care.

Despite these facts, Director Klopfer plans to consolidate and move many resources and services from the Topeka VA to the Leavenworth VA. What benefit is there to Kansas veterans for consolidating and moving services from Topeka to the NE corner of KS, which already has these services through the KC VA? This consolidation would force all the veterans who utilize the Topeka VA to travel even further for their services.

The proposal also discusses closing down the Topeka VA Emergency Department, which is currently open 24/7, and replacing it with an Urgent Care that will not be open 24/7 and will not accept ambulances. Instead, it will be a walk-in clinic, open M-F 8am-8pm and 8am-4:30pm on weekends. For any medical emergency in the future, a veteran will have to drive to the Leavenworth, KC or Wichita VA's or downtown Topeka to Stormont Vail or St Francis. Additionally, the proposal also discusses consolidating the Topeka VA ICU and General Surgery to Leavenworth.

At one time, the Topeka VA had the best PTSD Program in the country. That program has recently been closed. In the proposal, there is consideration for not reopening this program. In the video mentioned above, Director Klopfer discussed the possibility of keeping the Fresh Start Program at Topeka, moving it to the Leavenworth VA or closing it down completely. The proposal also discusses improving services and veteran care at the CBOCs by consolidating all of the Southeast Kansas CBOCs into one clinic. At this time, the Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Emporia has already been closed.

When the consolidation is complete, there will be 2 ICU's, 2 Surgical Centers and 2 Emergency Departments in close proximity in the northeast corner of the state (Leavenworth and KC). This leaves the veterans in the greater Topeka area, including those from Sabetha to Emporia, Lawrence to Salina, and the surrounding areas that currently utilize the Topeka VA, without an Emergency Department, General Surgery and ICU, and possibly will lose the Fresh Start Program and PTSD Program, as well. All of these services will no longer be offered through the Topeka VA. If these changes occur, those services will be lost permanently.

Director Klopfer wants to take away these services from the Topeka VA, that veterans in both Topeka and rural areas utilize. If services were increased at the Topeka VA vs the Leavenworth VA, it would benefit a higher number of veterans in the state of Kansas. In the video, Director Klopfer states: “I’ll tell you why we really need this. Because if we don’t, someone else will come here and say what Eastern Kansas is going to be like.” We believe services should stay where the veterans need them the most.

We still have a chance for our voices to be heard but we need your help. It is urgent that everyone: veterans, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and local businesses consider signing and sharing this petition. If you would like to know more ways to help, please consider either writing, emailing and/or calling the Kansas Senators and Congressman plus Kansas VA officials and inform them of how important the Topeka Veteran Affairs Medical Center is for Kansas Veterans. Please help us keep these life-saving services, that Kansas Veterans have earned and deserve, at the Topeka VA.

Thank you,

Alex K.

Morrigan Miller passed away 01-17-2020. When they did the autopsy, they found fentanyl in her system. It was an accidental overdose. She was in treatment and getting sober, and someone had given her a pill that caused the overdose. I won’t name him or give any hints to who he is, because he isn’t charged with her death and nothing legal has came out of this yet, but “he” was with her as she started showing signs of overdosing. There is exchanged text messages from him to her, she never saw because she was already gone, of him stating she fell off her bed and he couldn’t pick her up, she stopped breathing, he took her shirt off thinking it constricted her breathing, he attempted CPR on her and then rolled her to her side and left her laying on the ground. Her mother was 10 foot down the hall, and also a nurse to add, and he didn’t get Morrigan any sort of help. She could still be here with us if he would’ve gotten the appropriate help she needed. He didn’t warn any friends or family what had happened to her that night. He obviously knew she wasn’t okay, because the next morning she had not answered his texts and he said “he knew something was wrong” and asked her other friend to come check on her with him. He ran free and isn’t paying for her death, when he should be the one charged with her death for leaving her all alone on the floor that night. We just want justice for Morrigan as it seems it isn’t happening. If someone was with someone leading up to their death and didn’t get them help, they should be the one paying for their life. There should be some sort of legal action taken to have justice for the families involved. There is a law called “failure to rescue”, but it isn’t enforced in Kansas. Help Morrigan’s Law become a law. Morrigan didn’t pass away for no reason, her reason is to save deaths that could’ve been prevented like hers.

This is a petition to put a four-way stop at 175th St. and Four Corners Rd. in Gardner, Kansas. This is an unsafe intersection as traffic that travels North and South on Four Corners stops and 175th does not. There is a blind hill right before the intersection on the East side that people have to be cautious of due to cars cresting the hill quickly. The current posted speed on 175th St. is 45 mph. This intersection has had many accidents over the years. Recently, on 4/12/21, there was a fatal accident. This petition is to reduce the accidents and possibly future fatalities.

The declawing of cats is an inhumane and unethical procedure. Declawing cats is an unnecessary surgical procedure designed to modify a cat’s behavior by robbing them of their primary form of defense. Many people believe that declawing cats is like the equivalent of trimming your nails, when in reality, if done on a human, it would be more like the equivalent of cutting off each finger at the last knuckle.

Not only is it inhumane, declawing is both ineffective at solving behavioral issues and harmful to cats’ long term health. Research by the Humane Society of the United States and others has shown that declawed cats are significant more likely to have problems with biting and using litter boxes. They are also more likely to experience chronic stress and back problems, and the surgery puts them at unnecessary risk for infection.

Scratching is a normal cat behavior. It allows cats to stretch their muscles and mark territory. Using a surgical procedure to correct completely normal and healthy behavior is inhumane, especially considering the alarmingly common long terms health and behavioral impacts of the procedure. The procedure is already banned in several cities in the US. Please consider signing this petition and helping to add Wichita to the list.

Once again endangering the American government, Josh Hawley is blocking Biden’s Homeland Security nominee. You know, the one who’s in charge of security. Thank you to all those who have signed this petition. We now have over 22,000 signatures. There are others calling for his removal from office. We have been successful in putting pressure on him and those who have supported him.
He has lost his book contract with Simon & Schuster. He is no longer supported by John Danforth who has said. “This is the worst mistake I have ever made.” He has lost his position teaching at the University of Missouri. His wife’s name has been removed from the website at the plush legal firm Kirkland and Ellis where she was employed. his fellow Yale classmates and over 20,000 lawyers have signed a letter to the Missouri Bar asking that he be disbarred. He has lost several of his major contributors. These are just the beginning. Keep up the pressure. This could have been prevented by an apology and changing his ways. He must know that there are repercussions for committing sedition and that he cannot cheat the people of Missouri. Thank you in advance.

I can be reached at:

The Rev. Mimi Savidge

5700 NE Poplar Dr

Kansas City, MO. 64118

or via email:

[email protected]

or by texting (816) 832-3621

On January 23rd, 2021, the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, the Kansas House passed the "Value Them Both" constitutional amendment. Sign this petition to show public dissent and disapproval of Kansas restricting abortion access for its citizens.

The amendment is stated as follows:

"Regulation of Abortion. Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when necessary to save the life of the mother."

http://kslegislature.org/li_2020/b2019_20/measures/documents/hcr5019_00_0000.pdf

If this Kansas constitutional amendment is passed, it will allow restrictions on abortions, including pregnancies caused by rape and incest. A woman would not have the right to choose an abortion when experiencing prenatal complications that would result in her death. A woman would not have the right to follow her physician's advice or family's wishes in this case. Overall, this amendment would allow restrictions on access to abortions and general women's health care.

Women of color are disproportionately affected by rape, assault, and lack of prenatal care. Therefore, this amendment will also perpetuate systemic racial injustices.

The right to have an abortion has improved women's lives. Abortion legalization increases women's involvement in the workforce. Abortion legalization reduces teen fertility. Both of these effects are heavily correlated with black and latinx women, due to disproportionate rates of rape and access to resources. Access to abortion improves long-term education and economic outcomes (Institute for Women's Policy Research). In 2019, 11 percent of women (11.1 million) aged 19-64 were uninsured (KFF). Now more than ever, women need access to politically unbiased health care.

https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/womens-health-insurance-coverage/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2015%25%20of%20men,in%202008%20(Figure%202)

https://iwpr.org/iwpr-issues/reproductive-health/the-economic-effects-of-abortion-access-a-review-of-the-evidence/

During a global pandemic, Kansas political officials are instead focusing on politicizing women's right to make a choice regarding their own bodies. Furthermore, the KS House of Representatives deliberately chose to put the anti-abortion amendment on a low voter turnout ballot instead of the general election ballot. The "Value Them Both" amendment will be on the polls for the August 2022 Kansas primary election.

Sign this petition to stop this gross human rights injustice before it goes any further. The Value Them Both Amendment does not value women's right to make their own choice.

If you don't know, HB2210 was introduced in the house on Wednesday, February 3rd. This bill would make it a level 8 felony for doctors and physicians to prescribe puberty blockers, testosterone to females, estrogen to males, or even to perform surgeries that sterilize, alter or remove body parts on transgender kids under the age of 18.

The House bill now has to go through a committee for discussion, and be voted on.

As much as I wish that I had something personal to say about this, I don't. I am not trans, but I do have transgender friends who transitioned during high school, and who this would have effected had it been passed back then. This legislation is completely and morally out of place. As I have established in previous posts, gender transition has a positive effect on transgender individuals. There are studies that even show for transgender youth specifically that transitioning has helped improve their mental health and dysphoria. So when I tell you that signing this into law and taking away those opportunities for people is a death threat, that's exactly what it is, point blank period.

I've linked a petition below to ask the House to vote NO on the legislation, and I would implore you to sign it if you are looking to make a change quickly. However, if you have more time on your hands, I would really encourage you to look at the roster linked below of members of the House, find the members for your district, and email/call them about this issue as well. We need to make sure this does not get passed, for the safety of all transitioning children and individuals in Kansas.

HOUSE MEMBERS LINK

Support the University Press of Kansas.

On February 5, 2021, the University Press of Kansas informed authors of its publications of the financial challenges that could possibly shut down the press in the following message:

"We’re writing to inform you that the trustees of the University Press of Kansas have initiated an independent review to propose direction for the Press’s future amid significant financial challenges.

An external consultant, Richard Clement, recently retired dean of College of the University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, will conduct a review of the Press and put forward a recommendation to the trustees. Clement expects to submit his recommendation by March 1st, 2021. The trustees will then decide how or if the Press will continue to operate. . . .

Founded in 1946 and established as a consortium by the Kansas Board of Regents, and with approximately 1,000 books in print, the University Press of Kansas publishes a world-class list of books in US history, military history, law, political science, and other fields, as well as regional books that contribute to the understanding of Kansas, the Great Plains, and the Midwest. . . ."

In response to this message, we ask all to support the University Press of Kansas in any way that you can such as buying books and spreading the word! Another GREAT WAY TO HELP is write to the UPK Board in support of the Press. Please sign this petition to the University Press of Kansas Board of Trustees to support and save the University Press of Kansas. We want to spread and stress the message to the board and world that we VALUE and want to SAVE the Press.

Also please consider sending a letter directly in support of saving the University Press of Kansas, which you can address to the following email addresses of the Board members:

University Press of Kansas Board of Trustees

Emporia State University: David Cordle, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs: [email protected]

Fort Hays State University: Jill Arensdorf, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs: [email protected]

Kansas State University: Charles Taber, Provost and Executive Vice President: [email protected]

Pittsburg State University: Howard W. Smith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs: [email protected]

University of Kansas: Barbara Bichelmeyer, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor: [email protected]

Wichita State University: Shirley Lefever, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost: [email protected]

UPK author Dr. Tai S. Edwards drafted and sent this letter to the Board members and has agreed to share it with others for inspiration:

"I'm writing to implore you to maintain the University Press of Kansas.
University Press of Kansas serves students. The content they create is directly used in Kansas classrooms and libraries. Their premier series on Presidents, Constitution, Military and War studies, Environmental and Indigenous peoples (Native American) histories among many others are part of courses across the state and nation. I've used UPK books in my teaching at KU and Johnson County Community College. And I know I'm not alone.

It is the responsibility of Kansas colleges and universities to produce scholarship on this state for our students and community. My students have checked out so many UPK books from the library for their research projects, especially on Kansas. Janovy's No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas and Buchanan, et al., Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills are just some of the examples of the work that UPK produces by Kansans for Kansans, but also for the world. This is part of public education's service to our community. And if UPK isn't producing this scholarship, who will?

Please do not eliminate a Press that is both wonderful to work with (I know because I've published with them) and is producing critical scholarship that helps our students and community understand the past to succeed in the present. The last thing Kansans or the U.S. needs right now is a loss of critical examination of U.S. history, especially in the fields UPK focuses on.

As someone born in Kansas, who works in public education in Kansas, and published scholarship with University Press of Kansas I know the value of this press. This is a prestigious press that produces foundational work (just look at the awards their books receive!). This is part of your mission to serve your students and this state.

I will happily be part of any work that is required to save this press. Let me know how I can help serve.

Regards,
Tai S. Edwards, Ph.D.
Director of Kansas Studies Institute"

SAVE KANSAS PRESS! #savekansaspress

On January 22nd, 2021 Jose Abundio Gomez was stopped by a sheriff officer then he was picked up by ICE. Currently he is sitting at a ICE Detention center in Morgan County, MO. He is a father of six US Citizen children who depend on him to come back home.

Actions to take now!
Please call ICE ERO Kansas City, MO office at (816) 880 5000 and demand that officer Joshua Johnson use his discretion to free Jose Abundio Gomez.
(You can press 0, or dial by last name)

Please sign this petition directed at Office Joshua Johnson who is in charge of the ICE ERO Kansas City, MO Office. He can use his discretion to free Jose Abundio Gomez.

His treatment does not reflect our American values, nor does it reflect President Biden’s latest enforcement priorities and we demand that he be released to his family. We are asking for his immediate release for Jose to be able to fight his case outside in a safe environment.

Brief background story:
Jose was cleaning up materials from a job site after normal work hours, as he had gotten busy in the day, when a neighbor called the police saying there was a Mexican man stealing from a job site. The police arrested him and that is how his ICE case began. The allegedly stolen items in his truck were worth less than $15 all charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence, but his immigration case pushed forward.

Jose has consulted multiple attorneys to review his case, but his options are completely limited. Jose has been in the United States for seven years, but not the 10 required in order to fight Cancellation of Removal. He is the father and sole provider to his six US citizen children whom he has raised alongside his loving wife. They are a family that regularly helps out at church and they have deep ties to the community they have chosen to call home.


Jose has never had any problems with the police and is an exemplary community member. Currently, his six children, the oldest is 14 and youngest is 2 years old, are all battling depression and anxiety due to his sudden detention and uncertain future.

Jose’s request for a Stay of Removal has been denied and he has lost his appeal. Like many before him, Jose has fallen victim to a system which prioritizes the criminalization of immigrants rather than family unity.

Legislators in Kansas are actively trying to eliminate trans youth. They want to pass House Bill 2210, which would make it a crime for doctors to provide life-saving healthcare to transgender youth. These young people are members of our community and are just as deserving of basic human rights as anyone else.

By criminalizing essential healthcare for a marginalized and vulnerable group, HB2210 also attacks the medical community by forcing doctors to go against the oath they swore to do no harm.

This is a matter of life or death. Together with my church community, I’m calling on Kansas legislators to do the right thing and oppose HB2210.

All children deserve love, acceptance, and the support of their families and communities. Too often, the voices of faith that we hear on these concerns don't espouse love. Not this time. Some want to carve out protections for religious freedom, because they wrongly assume that it’s a sin to be transgender.

This is not the tradition of freedom and equality that abolitionists fought and died for to found the state of Kansas, and certainly not the position that we take at Plymouth Church, United Church of Christ.

The proposed legislation tries to pretend that transgender people are not valued members of society. The role of the church is to love, support, and ally itself with all persons. Thus we condemn transphobic legislation in the strongest possible terms. Every Sunday, we state that “All are welcome” at Plymouth Church and we do not take those words lightly.

We stand with the transgender community in demanding that the shared humanity of all persons be respected and that members of the legislature vote against this act which is based on hate and fear and, instead, promote the values on which our state was founded.

I made this petition to make sure that the guidelines and criteria for Amber Alerts change. This issue affects every missing child that didn't have an Amber Alert made for them and we need change now! Please sign and share with others!

Xavior Harrelson went missing on a wet, rainy, and colder than normal day at 11am May 27,2021. He's 4'9 approximately 100lbs with Brown hair and Blue eyes.

Because of today's guidelines and criteria for amber alerts there wasn't one issued for Xavior. With the lack of a vehicle description and no known suspect.

Xavior is extremely loved and very missed by his family. We have all come together as a community to share his face on social media. We've had fliers made handed them to anyone who's willing to take them and hung them up all over Iowa. We've asked out of state friends and family to print off more fliers and hang them in their area as well.

There was also a Facebook group created to help spread awareness about Xavior that to date has 11,000+ people nationwide in it. That's still only a fraction of the people it could reach if Amber Alerts were changed.

I feel that if the Amber Alert guidelines and criteria were different, that Xavior's face and description could have gotten out a lot faster, and spread out to a wider range of people in a shorter amount of time than what we are able to do right now.

Xavior needs to come home. More people need to be aware that he's missing, so that he can be found and brought home to a family that aches to hold him again. To see him smile, laugh and tell his silly stories.

Please help us change something good and make it better to help not just Xavior but all the other missing children with families who love and miss them.