"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Declaration of Independence July 4th, 1776 My dearest friends here in America and around the world: Tonight, I write from my heart, and from my soul about something that I wanted to share sincerely: The last few weeks have been the most profound and the most incredible 2 weeks this nation and this world has ever seen. And I can tell you, as I write this message to you tonight, The words on this sacred document that our forefathers wrote more than 2 centuries ago, never seem more clearer to me now that never before! With the recent supreme court's decision to make marriage legal to ALL PEOPLE in all 5O States, it makes me lift my head strongly higher and prouder to live in a nation where the rights of all people are guaranteed. We have also have seen the power of the human heart in a hour of darkness where compassionate light of love and grace has been seen in such horrible tragedy. I cannot tell you enough what this says about us, as citizens of this great nation and planet we live upon. But the struggles our youth are going through, are still around us, and the one issue that I still feel that we need to stand up to, is the one issue that has NOT YET been addressed fully... Bullying and Bully-cide Our country has seen the recent tragedies of our youth being harassed, embarrassed, mistreated, intimidated, and more in schools across the country and online to the point where it leads to such tragic results, and one of them...is bullycide (Suicide by bullies with malice and no fore-thought to the consequences by the person who committed such actions). My friends, I cannot let our youth of this nation, who are the most precious treasures of this country and this planet, and who will be the leaders of change and more, suffer in silence, suffer in anguish, suffer in pain, and worst of all, when they commit the unthinkable, leave their families in grief. As we celebrate our nation's 239th birthday, I think that we all must make the most of this celebration to re-commit ourselves to change, to justice, to equality, and most of all, really be passionate to help our youth be able to go to school in freedom, in peace, in safety, with a resounding voice of justice and more importantly ... to live and do what they can to be citizens not just of this country, but leaders of change in the world, no matter who they prefer in gender, religion they practice and more. As you have your fireworks, your bbq's, your parades and more, could you make the time today to declare your voice for our youth to be free from bullies? Can you be the voice of change and justice for them? Can you celebrate the 4th by re-committing to the call of freedom for our youth to go to school in peace? Together let's truly make the words our forefathers wrote with sound fervor mean more than ever before... THAT ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, INCLUDING LIFE, LIBERTY AND HAPPINESS to live and love and more Have a happy 4th of july and thank you for all your tireless and undeniable support! Sincerely yours, Christopher C. Gagliardi Petition Creator Give the Youth The Rights For Justice Against Bullies!