hswan

Hannah Swan West Virginia Moderate Liberal

The senators that are most like me are Joe Baca of California, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas and Tom Ryan of Ohio.

5 Interesting Facts About My State Are...
 * West Virginia has the oldest population. The median age is 40.
 * The state bird of West Virginia is the Cardnial
 * The state tree of West Virginia is the Sugar Maple
 * Famous gymnast Mary Lou Retton was born and raised in West Virginia
 * West Virginia was the 35th state created

5 Interesting Facts About My State That Deal with My Issues Are:
 * The last excution in West Virginia was in the early 1950's.
 * There is no innocence project devoted to cases in the state of West Virginia
 * Currently West Virginia does not have the death penalty
 * States without death penalities have lower homicide rates
 * West Virginia became the 12th state to abolish the death penalty

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">My Three Issues Are: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">-Adoption and how people should be deemed worthy of possesing a child that they have not given birth to. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">-Whether or not the death penalty should be abolished <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">-Whether or not there should be more of a push to try and get the United States as a whole to a healthier weight because many people are currently obese; focusing specifically on children.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Issue One: Adoption <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I feel that though sometimes people who are looking to adopt are questioned and their homes viewed to see if they are suitable to bring children into, the search should be more through. Many times the new parents just put on a show so they can adopt the child they want and then they are not really willing to take care of the child and in some cases they are lacking the resources to properly care for the child. In one case, a couple adopted five children and killed them all. To make sure that, and other adoption abuse cases stop occuring, I think that social workers should have more strict guidelines for suitable parents.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Issue Two: Abolishment of the Death Penalty <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Currently many states have abolished the death penalty. In the United States only about 7 states use the death penalty as a consequence and then there are some foreign countries are using it as well. People feel that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and that it should no longer be used. I feel differently. Some people in this world have done horrible crimes. They are threat to everyone else in this country, in most cases they are a major threat to society. These people who commit awful crimes like mass-murders should not be allowed to come out of jail or prison after a certain amount of time. They should not be able to buy their way out of the punishment their actions have earned them. To make sure that the public is safe from the people, sometimes the death penalty is the only way. I think that it should be brought back in all states, but only used in extreme cases seeing as it is an extreme punishment and then the world may slowly become a safer place.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Issue Three: Obesity ( Specifically in Children) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It is no secret that our nation is one of the heaviest in the world. America's obesity is on as steady an incline as America's economy is on a decline. Years ago children and adults alike were much healthier, athletic and happy. Now the average weight is much higher than normal. Americans eat much more fast food than they did 30 years ago, not because it tastes good but because of the convience of it. If someone is working late or late to a sports game then they are more likely to pull into a McDonalds drive-through than to wait until they get home to eat something much healthier. Children especially are being effected by obesity. When they are obese, there are other health problems that can occur such as devolping diabetes. Being obese may even lead to bullying because weight is a sensitive subject with almost everyone. To improve life over all for everyone, I feel that America should strive to be a healthier country. We would then be happier, and more productive. When less kids are overweight, then they there may be less cases of bullying. America's unified goal of weight loss is a step in the right direction for our country.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Link to our bill page: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">http://mockcongress2011.wikispaces.com/SB53

The purpose of our bill its to try and clear the country of illegal immigrants. Many mothers and fathers come from Mexico every year while expecting children to have their children in the Untied States. Because their child has citizenship in the states, the parents gain citizenship as well. Usually, the parents do not have the money to pay for taxes, education, a home, etc. These payments come out of our taxes to support people that are taking jobs from the real American citizens. Before we can help others, we first must help our own. Our bill would be the first step to doing so, in appealing the Fourteenth Amendment. Just recently, on March 28, 2011, in San Gabriel, California, people in a community had been complaining about a lot of noise. They had noticed a lot of pregnant women coming and going from the apartments, and it seemed suspicious. When the group of police came in, they saw a row of bassinets holding several sleeping infants on the kitchen table. Apparently for the past few months, Chinese women had been coming to the United States as tourists, paying tens of thousands of dollars to deliver their baby in the United States, and guaranteeing their child a life of freedom with citizenship in the United States. Kim Jeong Yeon gives a simple answer as to why this is done "Its easy. If you register the birth, its automatic that your baby can get an American passport. All my friends would come to have their babies in the United States if they could." So why the United States? One might ask themselves. The answer is this; education. A man who offers a birthing home in California for Chinese women says this "We don't encourage their moms to break the law- we just encourage them to take advantage of it." A woman has a child here in the United States, and the child gains citizenship. Then, when the child comes to an age when college is in the question, a whole world of opportunities opens up. Immigrants have to pay a higher college fee than American citizens. Usually, the parents are not interested in living in the United States at the time of the child's birth. They would like somewhere to live after they retire and their child is in college.

Other cases like that in San Gabriel are occurring all throughout the country. The Tucson Medical Center offers a "birth package" where women from other countries can schedule a C-section and then arrive in the country a few weeks before their due date. To take care of this, tourists would have to be living in the country for at least a year before they can conceive and give birth to a child in our country. As well, our bill will add jobs to our economy, by the need in doctors and security guards rising if this bill passes.

Our bill should be voted on to help many areas of America that need helping. If our bill is voted through, then jobs will be created in the economy to help the families that need the money. It will also help with the overflow in school, because we are eliminating many children that are not from here that take up our resources. Finally, it will help keep families together. When a woman comes to this country to give birth, she is leaving her family from her home country behind. Sometimes she is leaving her husband behind as well. This bill will make sure that the woman and child have to return to her country and family. This bill not only benefits the United States, but the families of the tourists who want to see their new family member as well. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Sources: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Moe, Barbara A. "Adoption: Overview." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">"abolishment of the death penalty." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

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