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When Kim Kardashian re-tweeted me over the weekend, urging the President to re-instate the Assault Weapons Ban, my Twitter feed exploded! I gained thousands and thousands of new followers, but more importantly, I engaged in a vital discussion with her followers and mine. I watched how one simple tweet, just 140 characters, sent out to almost 17 million people, can spark a conversation about how we save our children from these weapons of war that have become so easily accessible in our country. I saw what the power of one voice, one celebrity, using it with the purest intentions, can do to make our nation more compassionate, more generous and more tolerant.

This is certainly not the first time that Kim has been vocal about her beliefs. For years, I have watched the evolution of Kim Kardashian and am proud of her resolve to become a voice for the voiceless. From her stance against “The War on Drugs,” to remembering the Armenian genocide, to standing alongside Muslims during the vicious attacks by Congressman Peter King, to supporting the stay of execution for Troy Davis, to her support for sensible gun control, Kim has not been afraid to use her voice. Not only will she stand up for what she believes in politically, but she also makes a lot of corporations shake in their boots. Just yesterday, she might have singlehandedly saved all of us from a very bad policy introduced this week by Instagram. Damn … if she can make a billion dollar company jump out of their seat, imagine what more good she can do to change the world. Bottom line is, if Kim Kardashian wants to rally, people will join her every time!

I have always believed that celebrity is worthless unless you use it to do good. Kim is using her power and I for one am thankful and applaud her. Oh, and if she can’t fix Instagram, I’m following her to any other service.

~Russell Simmons