How many such petitions have there been that have been popular enough to warrant a response? 100? Of those, how many have led to actual changes in policy? Has there been any example of a successful whitehouse.gov petition?
Why do people keep doing these? They're worse than useless. Send letters, don't shout into the void.
Why do people keep doing these? They're worse than useless. Send letters, don't shout into the void.