Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana should become legalized in the United States. Not only will it assist with the issue of Mexican Drug Cartels, but it will bring other benefits. With easier, legal access to marijuana, part of the Mexican Cartels will be out of business illegally bringing marijuana discreetly. A Mexican cannabis farmer told NPR, “If the US continues to legalize pot, they’ll run us into the ground.” That is exactly what we’re trying to get to happen. To stop these cartels. Job opportunities will also be open. Not for the Mexican Drug Cartels, but for United States citizens in need of jobs. Not only this but, the legalization of marijuana will boost the economy. In Colorado, marijuana brings in three times more tax revenue than alcohol. Colorado is one of the states that has legalized cannabis. It has become a safer market for people who choose to purchase marijuana. Rather than getting it from the streets or supplied by a Mexican Drug Cartel, buying it in a dispensary is much safer. It also reduces the risk of being laced or put in danger. Some may claim that it is more dangerous to open legalized marijuana in the states. While this may partially be true, it has proven effective and beneficial to those with medical conditions. Medical marijuana lessens tremors in Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, nausea, weight loss, those prone to seizures, and many more. According to an analysis by the ALCU, 88% of the 8.2 million marijuana-related arrests were simply for possession. The legalization of marijuana will give police officers more bandwidth to spend their time searching for and arresting violent and dangerous criminals. By legalizing this plant, crime will go down.

Pro-Choice

On average, there are 433,648 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States. Without giving women the right to choose, if they were impregnated, they would be forced to keep that baby. That can often be traumatic and dangerous for rape victims, especially those of younger age. The prevalence of incest cases is reported to vary between 5% and 62% according to culture. Those impregnated by incest also deserve the right to choose whether they wish to have their baby or to have an abortion. 3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That's nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year. Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. No woman deserves her rights to be taken away. We must give them the right of choice. Even if you would never have an abortion it does not mean that someone who may need an abortion to survive should be denied that right. I would suggest legal abortion until the third trimester, but there are many cases where, for example, rape victims, are unaware of their pregnancy until weeks prior to delivery. It is 100% a woman's choice, and it is appalling that one would even think to take away this choice for them.

Gun Control

There must be more control over guns. The abundance of firearms is not a good thing. Despite your eligibility to purchase a firearm, many gun related accidents occur. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia discovered, “In 2015, 2,824 children (age 0 to 19 years) died by gunshot and an additional 13,723 were injured.” It was also found that “From 2006-2016, almost 6,885 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings.” This is very concerning. A total of, “161,374 deaths from unintentional injuries.” People may say that restricting those who purchase firearms to have more background checks, but they should also limit the weaponry given to each person. It is likely to get out of hand and cause an accident. Gun control must have better enforcement to do background checks and not illegally sell a firearm. Weapons are easily getting in the wrong hands. With the Executive branch enforcing this act, it will strengthen regulations. It will keep the same rules and eligibility, but it will strengthen the process of purchasing a weapon. To conclude, on the heavily debated topic, gun control must be better enforced. Certain people should be limited to access to firearms and this should be enforced by the executive branch. All people should have a limit on the number of weapons in their possession.

LGBTQ+ Rights

LGBTQ+ rights should be enforced. Gay marriage, for example, should definitely be supported. Same-sex marriage is a civil right. We have recognized equality for races, gender, and more. It is time to legalize gay marriage. 4.5% of adult Americans identified as LGBT so why are we denying almost 15 million people their right to marriage. That is unacceptable and must be changed. It is important to vote for what you believe in and if you believe in equality, you will vote for me.

Free Healthcare

Free healthcare should be offered to everyone in the United States. 7.5 million people in the United States (8.5% of the US population) do not have health insurance. The United States is the only nation among the 37 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations that do not have universal health care either in practice or by constitutional rights. We need to change that. The United States should provide free healthcare. Imagine this: A loved one is suffering with Covid-19. They are among the high-risk groups. This loved one does not have health insurance and cannot afford healthcare. They are denied hospitalization and care. This is so wrong. Now imagine healthcare was free and accessible to the United States. Help save our people and vote Future for free healthcare.

Healthy School Lunches

On a given day 34.3 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 eat junk food. Two-thirds of them take in at least 25 percent of their calories from these meals. Now ask yourself, “is this healthy; should children be consuming mostly junk foods?”. No, children should be prompted to eat healthy. I propose that schools in America supply only vegetarian and free of trans-fat foods. This will allow students to ingest good food into their systems while being suitable for all children with dietary restrictions. They will maintain their energy throughout the day, to in turn perform better in their academics.

Immigration Policy

There is no moral or logical way to limit immigration to the U.S. Morally, limiting immigration to the U.S takes away values of equal opportunity, but logically, if immigration to the U.S isn't limited, overpopulation in the country is at risk, especially due to the families that are built from foreign population in the country. With this said, there is a way to limit immigration while commuting equal opportunity. This can be seen through slight changes in the speed-process of citizenship. If we can speed up the process of the immigration "wait list," and stay efficient with requirements (passport, citizenship, skills to offer, etc.), then we will see the immigration issue in a different way. There will be increasing numbers of immigrants, but not as much meaningless immigration. By meaningless, I mean people who settle in this country to take advantage, instead of contributing (for example: ones we see in poorer communities in California; don't have jobs, illegal use of shelters, accessing public education without paying into the system, etc.). To immigrate to this country, there should be proof of something an immigrant can offer, whether it is cheap labor, high-work skill, higher education, children that can succeed through education, or through the military. There should also be a policy/treaty made with Mexico that can abolish illegal immigration over the border. This policy should involve communication between the U.S and Mexico to where there is equal funding on both sides. Instead of border patrols and limitations, there should be an immigration reform town at the border. This town can help illegal immigrants start applying for citizenship, get education, get a passport, find skills/passions, and have daily life needs. The town could also provide jobs for those within to be more self-sufficient. Instead of illegal immigration and poor morals through its limitation, there can be reform and usage of these people that benefit them, their families, and the country.

COVID-19 Response

It is no secret that the Corona Virus is beginning to take over our lives. The positive cases for Covid-19 continue to rise. In order to keep you as well as your friends and family safe, I intent to place a one-month lockdown. The lockdown will begin a few months after the election, the entire month of April. This means there is no out-of-state travel by plane. Any travel is discouraged. Meetings with people who do not live with you is not recommended. Most stores will be closed during this time with the exception of hospitals and grocery stores. Grocery stores are only open to curbside pickup. If you must leave your home, always wear a mask in public. Failure to do so will result in a fine. It is advised to plan ahead. We are also actively seeking a team to build a vaccine. We understand that this may be hard, but this is the fastest way for us to decrease the Covid cases and return to normal life.

Death Penalty Abolishment

The death penalty should be abolished. Regardless of the crime, the death penalty does not deter criminals. Evidence suggests that it does quite the opposite. Since abolishing the death penalty in 1976, Canada’s murder rate has steadily declined. As of 2016 it was at its lowest since 1966. This supports that it is that the abolishment of capital punishment, which is legal punishment by death, is beneficial for reduction of crime. The Washington Post describes capital punishment as, “withering away because the process of litigating the administration of it is so expensive, and hence disproportionate to any demonstrable enhancement of public safety, but also because of a healthy squeamishness that speaks well of us.” It is found that the states with the highest death penalties also have the highest rate of crime. This shows the death penalty does not influence the crime rate positively. It may be negatively influencing crime, by inspiring more criminals. Police chiefs also took a survey nationwide and it was discovered that they rank the death penalty as one of the lowest ways to deter violent crimes. One might tend to assume that the death penalty will reduce crime. As this may present to be true, it is exceedingly rare. The abolishment of the death penalty acts in effective ways to deter violent crime and keep our cities and families safer. It is found in many cases that some people were wrongfully sentenced. And even worse, they were wrongfully sentenced to death. Courts do not typically release evidence of innocence after one has been sentenced to death, but there are a few public cases. An ACLU study showed that since 1973, over 156 people have been released from death rows in 26 states because of innocence. Imagine being one of those who were innocent, but still wrongfully convicted, facing the death penalty. This evidence proves that are plenty of people who were innocent but still given the death sentence. Joeseph O’Dell was convicted of murder as well as rape. He was to have been sentenced to death. Newfound evidence brought up doubts regarding O’Dell’s conviction. DNA evidence was refused to be reviewed by the courts. He later faced the death penalty without proper involvement in evidence review. Now it is unknown whether O’Dell was guilty or not, but the courts are not taking becoming clear of this prior to execution. O’Dell may have been an innocent man who is now dead due to the uncertainty of his case. People do not deserve this capital punishment for something they possibly did not do. Let alone being denied proper investigation of a case. To wrongfully sentence one to death may be as bad, if not worse, as the crime they were convicted of. Once given the death sentence, criminals may be relieved or be put at ease. As odd as it may sound, the death penalty, for most, is better than living in the prison system for eternity. Facing prison for the rest of one's life is perhaps worse than simply facing the death penalty by lethal injection. “Hurrah for anarchy! This is the happiest moment of my life.” This is what George Engel exclaimed just moments before his death by death sentence. Engel was hung and supposedly better off instead of meeting the rest of his life behind bars in a miserable prison system. Engel was thrilled to be dying. It is unknown if he was suicidal, but it can be assumed he was just wanting to not face permanent imprisonment. Who would? Who would want to face prison for the rest of their life when they could easily get out of it by death? That is enough to deter anyone sane from committing a violent crime. At that point, when the remaining of one’s life is behind bars, being sentenced to death may not seem like a dreadful thing to them. This offers the criminals what they want. Those who have committed violent crimes should have to suffer through the prison system and live a miserable life. That is what is deserved for their intents along with their violent acts and crimes. They should not be given a way out of facing this by the death sentence. Rid the country of the evil death sentence.

Racial Equality in Classrooms

Understanding the causes of racial disparities can help form a solution on how to handle them and how to lower chances of them. The Enfield solution is the best action to take throughout school districts all over the country to fix this issue. In this program, the staff of schools receive training in working with students who have experienced trauma. They also receive training on how to handle conflicts by talking through them. There is also much expansion in training teachers on how to better handle student’s emotional needs to help them feel more comfortable. All these trainings are significant to the success of a student, especially those of color. The ability for teachers to understand conflicts and behavioral issues, and how to talk them through is very important. Suspension rates for children of color will be lowered, as students are better equipped to handle their emotions and solve conflict through common agreement found in conversation/discussion. “In 2012-13, 10.4 percent of Highline’s black students, 11.1 percent of its special education students, and 4.2 percent of its white students were suspended out-of-school at least once. Four years later, the number for black students was 2.9%; for special education students, 3.9 percent; and for white students, 1.5 percent.” This shows that Enfield’s plan, when put in place, made a significant amount of progress on not only lowering suspension rates for minorities, but lowering them all together. It can be seen from this that the system Enfield has put into place has changed the behavioral attitudes with children, and in turn, benefitting the environment of the district. Academic achievement has been improved with this program as well. From 2012-13 to four years later, graduation rates increased within Highline 16.5 percent, moving the rates up to 78.8 percent of their students graduating. This shows that students in this district have performed much better as the program has progressed. Hispanic student graduation rates increased from 50.1 percent to 75.1 percent, and graduation rates for black students increased from 54.6 percent to 76.3 percent. The significant increase in academic success for minority students reflects upon this program as a successful solution to racial disparities within academics. In this program, if a student misbehaves to where suspension is in consideration, there is an in-school suspension given. These in-school suspensions have proven to be beneficial to students, as teachers use this time to interact with students, make them feel better emotionally, and motivate them by doing activities that focus on study skills, student academic strength, life skills, reflections on themselves and their behavior, and personality knowledge. The students of Highline appreciate this and gain a lot of insight from it that help them stay more focused on emotional stability and education. Classrooms, in general, focus on covering these aspects of learning and interaction much more. Motivation of students, along with the community reflected upon the program has been proven to be very efficient compared to what it was like beforehand and what it is like in other districts around the country. This positive change in motivation and the schooling environment through this system has benefitted minority student population throughout the district, as there is a significant change in behavioral practices and academic achievement, showing that the Enfield program is very professional and necessary to solve racial disparities.