Indiana’s new “religious freedom” law is wrong. It is wrong to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and it is wrong to use religious freedom as a justification for institutionalizing discrimination.

That’s why, today, I signed a directive instituting a state-funded travel ban to the state of Indiana.

This is the right thing to do. Will you take a stand for equality, and lend your support to this action?

Stand with me. Sign my petition, and show your support for Washington’s travel ban to Indiana today.

I’m proud to have Washington join cities, states, organizations, companies, and individuals across the country in opposing this hateful law.

Washington state stands for equality. Our own courts, at the request of the state attorney general, recently ordered a florist to pay a fine for discriminating against a gay couple — the same activity that Indiana’s law allows.

Sign my petition today: Stand in support of my administration’s travel ban to Indiana!

I invite any companies or organizations who oppose this law to bring their business to Washington. We are open for business for all.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee

This is outrageous. Yesterday, the Obama administration announced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and then followed that up by approving Shell’s climate-killing plan to drill in the Arctic.

This is a setback, but we’re not giving up. Right now, six volunteers aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza are tailing one of Shell’s drilling rigs across the Pacific, and across the city of Seattle, where Shell’s Arctic fleet is set to dock, concerned residents are mobilizing. And people all over the world are standing up against Shell.

If we don’t come together now, Shell WILL drill in the Arctic this summer.

Please give today to protect our future from oil spills, climate change, and more. Help us reach $15,000 by April 15!

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. But the government and the international community are hardly responding. Let’s call for an emergency UN Security Council meeting now:

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. There is a reign of terror in Northern Nigeria.

But Nigerian President Jonathan has said almost NOTHING about this in his election campaign, and his brutal army, instead of protecting civilians, is fuelling the insurgency.

The world has put this crisis in the ‘too hard to solve’ box — the UN Security Council hasn’t even issued a Presidential Statement on Nigeria!

The only good news: escalating violence has renewed pressure to act.

Let’s multiply that pressure now and persuade our leaders and the United Nations to convene an emergency Security Council meeting and prioritise this crisis.

Join this urgent call — for the sake of that tiny, innocent girl, and all those like her at risk:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?biEWLbb&v=51541

Nigeria is deep into a brutal conflict that’s ostensibly a Muslim/Christian war, but underlying it are tensions between an oil-rich, corrupt, ruling elite and a poor, disenfranchised and neglected North. Over 10,000 people were killed in 2014, and over 1.6 million Nigerians have fled their homes. Boko Haram now controls an area the size of Denmark.

Politicians have fed this divide, and the recent surge in violence comes in the middle of a deadly election campaign. Shockingly, President Jonathan’s under-resourced response could be part of a dark game — if there is chaos in the North and low voter turnout, he is more likely to stay in power since his support base is in the South.

International military advisers and special forces have been sent in, but there is hesitation about working with Nigerian units with terrible human rights records. The UN Council should now prioritise a comprehensive plan that includes cleaning up and training security forces to contain Boko Haram; investing in the poorest regions; and prioritising an anti-corruption programme.

This is not a short, sharp, shock strategy — this crisis cannot be solved in days — but it is immoral to ignore it any longer. Our global community can ensure the UN Security Council finally lays out a genuine plan for peace.

If we do nothing, thousands more will be killed, and the Boko Haram threat will spread. The attacks in Paris have reminded us that terror has no borders. Join the call:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?biEWLbb&v=51541

With elections looming and violence escalating, Nigeria is like a boiling pot. Politicians have failed their people, and the international community has allowed the situation to deteriorate. We cannot wait any longer and with enough backing, a strong UN statement could begin to change the game. Let’s make it happen.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Pascal, Mike, Melanie, Marigona, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources:

Nigeria: two suspected child suicide bombers attack market (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/child-suicide-bombers-nigeria-market

UNOWA Briefing and Consultations
http://www.whatsinblue.org/2015/01/unowa-briefing-and-consultations.php

Nigeria’s Jonathan Slams Paris Attack, Ignores Baga Massacre (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/nigeria-s-jonathan-slams-islamist-raids-abroad-is-muted-at-home.html

Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Baga destruction ‘shown in images’ (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30826582

Uniting Against Boko Haram (BloombergView)
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-13/boko-haram-can-be-stopped-by-a-nigeria-united-again

It’s been a few months since we sent you an update about our GoFundMe-Darren Wilson campaign. In that time we’ve been in dialogue with the company and its lawyers, and here’s where we’re at:

In October, GoFundMe donated its profits from the hateful Darren Wilson fundraisers to the Ferguson-Florissant school district. This was one of our top-line asks: for GoFundMe to stop profiting from racially-motivated donors. This donation was an important step and would not have happened without the actions of 130,000 ColorOfChange members. Collectively, we spoke up and put pressure on the crowdfunding company that they could not ignore, including this billboard right outside their offices:

Moving forward, tech companies like GoFundMe know what the ColorOfChange community is capable of. And they know we’ll remain vigilant. Since the launch of our campaign, we haven’t seen anything like the Darren Wilson fundraisers on GoFundMe’s platform. If a similar fundraising drive does show up, the company knows that it will have to answer to us.

Our campaign targeting GoFundMe began when people started giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Michael Brown’s killer, celebrating his death. We were disgusted and outraged. We know that these types of fundraising drives lower the social and financial costs of taking Black lives. They send the message that shooters will be supported in the aftermath of killing Black men and boys.

In 2015, we’ll continue our work combating the culture of hostility against Black folks that’s present across our country. Thank you for being part of it every step along the way.

Onwards!

—Arisha, Rashad, Matt, Bhavik, and the ColorOfChange team