In response to a recent article published on IVN about the White House petitions page, some have argued that the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution do not apply to people who are not citizens of the United States. Yet, this idea seems to misunderstand the meaning of the Bill of Rights.

Friday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law House Bill 5711, imposing new restrictions on abortion clinics and doctors which further tighten abortion regulation in the state. The bill requires clinics that perform more than 120 abortions a year be licensed and screening patients to ensure they aren't being forced into the abortion.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government's ability to identify and intercept national security threats became paramount. With this concern came the Patriot Act and its inclusion and extension of the Cold War-era FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown’s appointment to California corrections secretary, Jeffrey Beard, was sworn in at the capitol. The appointment as head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations (CDCR) still needs to be confirmed by the California Senate.

It was reported in a recent article in Governing magazine that several cities across the US are installing audio surveillance systems on their public buses, which has sparked a debate over privacy concerns and whether or not this particular type of surveillance violates wiretapping laws or maybe even the Constitution.

Remaining well hidden from the public eye, human trafficking is, in fact, a problem in the United States. Sex-slavery and severe labor exploitation, what can be considered modern-day slavery, requires addressing. According to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), between 15,000 and 17,500 people are trafficked in the U.S. every year.