Dear Next President,

My name is Sarah, I am a senior at Pacific Coast Charter School in Northern California. I am writing to you to discuss the issue of equal rights for all. We need equal rights for everyone no matter their skin color or sexuality. This is including Hispanics, African Americans, and LGBTQ people. We need to have everyone at the same level and not discriminate against them.

As for people of color, they have faced a legal system that has treated them differently than whites. This double standard needs to stop. People of color are also more likely to get stopped and talked to by the police than a group of white kids. This is unfair and not okay. Many of these people also face police brutality and end up getting injured or killed because the cops are overusing their power. According to mappingpoliceviolence.org , “unarmed black people were killed at 5x the rate of unarmed whites in 2015” , also “police killed 346 black people in 2015” and 230 this year. This is not right and needs to stop. This just shows the injustice towards people of color.

The LGBTQ community also needs our help in creating equal rights for all. We need to stop the judging and accept people for who they are. They need to be treated just like anyone else would. Right now many people are getting discriminated against in school, employment, housing, using public restrooms etc. They get kicked out of houses, fired from jobs, and denied the opportunity to do things, just because they’re different. Suicide is the leading cause of death of queer youth. We need safer schools without harassment and bullying. According to speakforthem.com, “Gays and Lesbians are two to six times more likely to commit suicide than Heterosexuals.” There have also been many hate crimes recently against this community which needs to be put to rest. For adoption agencies and everyone else, LGBTQ parents are just as good and qualified as you. Everyone deserves to be happy.

I do understand some might say we already have equal rights but really if you think that, you need to open your eyes and look around or ask people. I know states probably think that by allowing gay marriage they have done their part, but no there's so much more that can be done. Yes, I know the government protects their workers but we need to use different means than violence and guns. You might even think people of color deserve what they get because of their crime, but they don't deserve to die. This is true epecially for innocent people that get caught in crossfire or caught in police brutality.

I don't want to be apart of people being disrespectful to others because of their differences. We are all human beings and that's all that should matter. So, I hope by reading this you understand a little more of what we need to do to have equal rights. We as a nation and community, need to work together to end discrimination and bring equal rights to all. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sarah Squires