Congressman proud of his transgender granddaughter

California congressman Mike Honda tweeted a picture of his transgender granddaughter with the caption, “I hope she can feel safe at school without fear of being bullied.” His granddaughter is currently eight years old and transitioning. Malisa recently asked to be called her chosen name and be addressed with female pronouns. 

This is important to our government because most people in politics are either against the LBGT community or they simply choose to ignore it. Maybe now, since it is happening to one of them, they'll think differently about it. 

I think this is a major breakthrough in the LGBT community. Now that this is being addressed by so many people, including a congressman, the community will gain more support, and support is desperately needed.

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Aaron Hernandez, former NFL player, charged with murder

  Aaron Hernandez was sentenced today to life without parole for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Odin was killed in June 2013 at the age of 27, much too young for anyone to die.

This relates to our class because it has to do with the court system. He was sentenced by a judge and jury and it has become a national affair.

I honestly believe that murder, whether intentional or not, deserves a harder punishment than just jail time. Not the death penalty, but some form of punishment that is forever changing. Jail becomes a cycle, a routine of sorts, and I don't think murderers deserve that stability or comfort, because their victims sure didn't get that.

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Boston Bombing Trial

The Boston bomber was found guilty of thirty charges today. The jury took eleven and a half hours to make a decision today. The trial will now move into a penalty phase where death penalty will be decided.

This relates to our class because it has to do with our court system and the judicial branch of the government. 

I personally believe that he deserves the death penalty because he killed many people and injured many others, including children. And if he doesn't get the death penalty, he definitely deserves a life sentence.

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Girls who escaped Boko Haram return to school

Three hundred girls were captured and the reason? They went to school. The girls were captured by Boko Haram. They were taken from their school and loaded into trucks. Two girls jumped from the trucks, barely surviving, and now one of the brave girls has returned to school. She says she wants to be a teacher, even though school will always be a reminder of what happened to her. Of fifty girls that escaped, four are attending school at the American University of Nigeria.

This relates to our class for multiple reasons. The first, we believe that this will never happen to our daughters or sisters because we are protected by the government. Our government keeps out groups such as Boko Haram. Secondly, we have more civil rights than the girls that were taken. And because of those rights, we are protected.

I think it's great that these girls have gone back to school. Just because something bad happened to them, they aren't letting it ruin their lives and their futures. What happened it awful, but I'm glad that they are bravely returning to school. 


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Fetus cut from mother's womb

A woman, who was seven months pregnant, lost her child after a response to a Craigslist ad went sour. The woman went to a house in Colorado to buy baby clothes from another woman, "Dynel", when she was stabbed and had her fetus cut from her womb. The woman then was left as "Dynel" took the baby with her. The woman was found and arrived at the hospital at the same time a woman, Dynel, arrived at the hospital with a fetus, claiming a miscarriage. 

This relates to our government as Dynel has yet to be charged with murder. Colorado law states that for it to be murder, the baby must have first lived outside the mother's womb, and whether that means one breath or one hour is still undetermined. 

I personally think that Dynel should be arrested for murder, whether the child lived outside the mother or not. The woman was seven months pregnant, which means that child had a heartbeat and was almost fully developed. Now this is different from abortion, since most states have laws restricting when you can get an abortion. Most abortions take place before a heartbeat is even formed. Once again, this is a super controversial case and it involves an online site. The internet is a place filled with uncertainties and creepy people.

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Univision Host Fired for Comments about First Lady

Rodner Figueroa was fired for comparing the First Lady to a character from "Planet of the Apes" after a picture of her was shown. Figueroa claims that he was referring to a bad job done by her make up artist. He also claims that someone from the White House called and complained, and that's why he lost his job. 

Obviously this relates to our governement because it involves the First Lady, but this also relates to the First Amendment. On many other nationally aired shows, celebrities and well known figures are harshly critized for what they do and how they look and that's just fine. So is Figueroa just exercising his right to freedom of speech, and is the First Lady taking that away from him? 

I think that even though the comment was rude, he shouldn't have been fired for it. Things like that are said all the time to everyone. I can't complain to my principle and have someone suspended if they said that to me, so why does a man have to lose his job for it? Figueroa has apologized multiple times but, understandably, he is bitter about it. 

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ISIS Throws Gay Men Off Roof

ISIS posted photos, dated March 2015, showing "a large crowd, mostly men, but also among them a handful of women and children, all looking up" and "Three men on top of a building, faces covered in black balaclavas, stand on either side of their victim, while a fourth seems to be taking a photo or video." A final photo shows a man laying face down on the ground with a small group around him holding weapons, and even stones. Men are being killed just because they are accused of being gay. 

Although this is a bit extreme, we see cases of homophobia constantly throughout any country or group. Some people just don't approve, and that's their right, just as gay people should have rights. If governments start giving gay people more rights, will people stop being so vicious towards them?

I personally think this is really messed up. People are people, they don't choose to be how they are. It's no longer socially acceptable to shame people of color, so why are we shaming people of the rainbow? We're all different, and that's perfectly okay. Don't hate people for things they can't control. People are people, no matter what.

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