Color of Change helps you tell Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck to fire Officer Kevin Ferguson, and without the kind of severance pay that leads folks to think that police can just do whatever they like. Why? Because, during a confrontation with teenagers about a year ago -- and by "teenagers" I mean "just barely" -- he chased and tackled one of them, then pulled a gun out and fired at the ground near his feet, while calling the other teenager the c-word. Even the prosecutors who wouldn't file charges against him called Mr. Ferguson's actions "unwise, immature and flat-out horrible." And his own police department found earlier this month that he violated department policy with his actions, saying that Mr. Ferguson should have de-escalated the confrontation and gone home to call police, instead of firing off a completely unwarranted "warning" shot. Don't justify Mr. Ferguson's actions by saying cop life is hard -- it is, but police serve the public, and they have to do that right.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania residents, take note: if you've missed previous opportunities to tell your state legislators to support real redistricting reform in Pennsylvania by supporting SB 22/HB 722, then Fair Districts PA still helps you do that. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court just released its map of U.S. House districts in the Keystone state, and these districts are a thing of beauty, actually -- they conform much more closely to county lines, rather than divide individual towns (and streets!) with worse-than-Rorshach-blots districts. But though this map might lead to more competitive House races, the next redistricting will happen in 2021, and as the law stands, whichever party controls the legislature will get to draw maps to its liking, again. SB 22/HB 722, however, would create a more independent redistricting commissions that would give us a fighting chance at better maps, and thus better representation. So let's get to work.
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