In the light of America's School shooting epidemic, high school students like us are extremely shocked and angry. We want to keep our schools friendly, safe, and welcoming, but with all of these school shootings happening, our sense of safety has been compromised, and fear has clouded our curiosity and will to learn. There have been a shocking 18 school shootings in the U.S. this YEAR. There have been 143 school shootings in America since Sandy Hook in 2012. Something has got to change. This is not just a "gun problem", this is a national security problem, one that concerns the youngest demographic and their education rights.This an issue that children and teenagers are going through. There needs to be action. We cannot stand this immense threat to our education. Reform needs to happen, we cannot keep losing young lives to the point where we become desensitized to it, and it becomes "normal." This is our future, and if the government will not fix it, we must. We need to get past our politics and beliefs and find a way to protect our future generation. We can be the change. Join us in supporting common-sense gun control so that we can save lives!

On the morning of November 24th 2017, Tina Stewart was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. Tina's boyfriend beat her to death; beating her to the point that he broke both of his own hands. On the day of court the judge stated, "This individual has a history with violence and why wasn't this known?".  It was at the moment, Don Estes, Tina's Uncle, made a promise to his niece, he would do everything in his power to change the law so there wouldn't be a next time that a judge, girlfriend, boyfriend, or anyone have the need to ask why they weren't aware of someone's violent history.  It's time to make a difference. It's time to take a stand. And, it's time to change the law!  We have a registry for sex offenders and we even have a registry for animal cruelty across the country. Why do we not have one for individuals that are abusing men, women, and children?  Tina's Law would require any person with a history of domestic violence, violent offenders, and individuals with Protection Orders Against them to be registered; similar to sex offenders. We need to hold these individuals  accountable for their actions. Making this change in the law across all states would prevent someone that's been charged (as mentioned above) from moving to another state and starting over, as if they've never been convicted of a crime. This would be a national registry so hiding or moving to another state is not going to keep anyone from knowing their history with violence. If you're convicted of domestic violence, you will go on the registry.  If Tina had known about her boyfriend's violent history, she would have never gone out with him. This law will save lives! We need your help by taking a stand with us to change the law. We're not only asking you to sign the petition, we're asking you to also share the petition and help us with making a change. 

UPDATE:  A federal judge has ruled that the law banning the ability to require masks on school campuses is in violation of the rights of children with disabilities and puts them and their families at risk! This means the ability to require masks on school campuses is again in control of local school boards! It's time to let these decision-makers know that we need them totake action that serves the best interest of public health! Recently 3 studies have come out showing that universal masking in schools makes a significant difference in rates of covid transmission in schools.: A study sponsored by Cincinnati Children's Hospital showed that he rate of students getting diagnosed with COVID-19 was 78% higher in partially masked schools than those that had universal masking.(https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/09/21/cincinnati-childrens-study-masks-lower-covid-19-cases-quarantines-school/5800121001/ The CDC has released similar data.  After accounting for other confounding factors, counties without mask requirements experienced larger increases in pediatric COVID-19 case rates compared to those that did. ( https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e3.htm?s_cid=mm7039e3_w In a study of Arizona school systems, the odds of a COVID outbreak in the school was 3.7 times higher in those schools that had no mask requirements. (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e1.htm?s_cid=mm7039e1_w We need school districts to make these tough decisions to provide for the safety of students, staff and community members. Let's implement these strategies NOW so we can avoid outbreaksa and illness and get to a place where we can safely return to normal! The Delta Variant now dominates across the U.S. Case numbers are out of control. In Florida, deaths have reached a height never before seen in the pandemic. Children now make up 22% of new cases of Covid. And Iowa's numbers are rising swiftly. Only 45% of the state is fully vaccinated, and only 30% of children 12-17 are vaccinated. Additionally, children 0-11 make up half a million people in the state, none of which can be vaccinated at this time. These numbers are nowhere near protective for the community as a whole. With schools back in session, and case counts rising rapidly in the state, mitigation strategies are crucial to limiting the spread of Covid. Laws that prohibit the ability of institutions to require masks put many at risk and threaten to prolong the pandemic. The CDC has made it abundantly clear all individuals in schools over the age of 2 should wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Multiple medical associations have repeated this recommendation, including the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, American Nursing Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Kim Reynolds and the state of Iowa have tied the hands of educators to protect their students. We, the citizens of Iowa, condemn the reckless law put into effect, in the dark of night, banning the ability of local governments and K-12 schools to mandate the usage of masks. Face coverings are now a well-studied, proven, simple, effective, and inexpensive public health tool that is near-unanimously accepted as being an important component of our fight in this global pandemic. This law is a reckless act by Iowa Legislators and Governor Kim Reynolds that is anti-science and directly endangers public health. It defies CDC guidelines for schools whose populations are largely unvaccinated and puts the health of the public at risk. Beyond these facts, the law is nonspecific and leaves these entities without recourse. Let it be known we will not forget this careless disregard for public health at the ballot box.      

The Iowa Board of Medicine along with many Iowa Citizens have urged Reynolds to issue a shelter-in-place order to further slow the spread of the coronavirus. As a health care professional, state parent and grandparent, I am calling on our states House of Representatives on the Impeachment of Gov. kim Reynolds. Her lack of leadership and lack of concern for what the majority of people in Iowa want to feel safe during this pandemic is unacceptable. Reynolds has failed Iowans by not issuing a shelter-in-place order for the state of Iowa. Local officials across our state have expressed concern over the lack of social distancing, but those officials at present are unable to respond with anything more than their own recommendations. 

Iowa State Against the Mandates!!! United we stand! We need EVERYONE whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated, pro-mask or anti-mask, to stand up. Everyone that is against these mandates, ALL Iowans, etc. We are asking that you sign this petition. We are not anti-vaccine nor anti-mask, but we are anti-mandate. *We should have the right to choose what goes in our bodies and whether to wear a mask or not. *We should have the right to make our own medical decisions. We cannot be afraid, this should be a CHOICE not a mandate.  We live in a country where freedom is supposed to exist. We must stand up for our freedoms before we are stripped of more and more. What will be next? *States are starting to ban mandates because WE THE PEOPLE are speaking out. Let’s stand TOGETHER let’s come TOGETHER Iowa ❤️

The Earth has been around for almost 5 billion years, with us modern humans evolving only about 200,000 years ago. In the 0.004% of our planet's total lifetime that we have been around for, we have managed to rip up around 46% of the trees worldwide in our luscious forests, pollute our majestic oceans and the almost-extinct coral reefs, and drive countless species to extinction. In fact, before the evolution of humans, less than 1 species per million went extinct annually; today, a devastating rate of 100-1,000 species per million are lost every year. We are destroying our planet faster than we can process the changes. These deaths are directly linked to habitat destruction by the hands of humans and climate change. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, "To keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45% by 2030." Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Climate Institute, states that the climate may become irreparable if we don't reduce carbon dioxide emmisions in the next 18 months. We must act now, if we have any hope of preserving this planet for future generations to come. Our climate is in a crisis. The U.S. federal government, one of the largest and most influential democratic governments in the world, must declare a climate crisis IMMEDIATELY. Chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, Tanya Steele puts it clearly: "We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it." Sign this petition to stand alongside us, and our planet. We are the ones who must save our Earth. The time is now!     Cover photo by NASA