President Trump's recent immigration and refugee executive order has sparked passionate discussions on both sides of the spectrum of human rights and freedom of religion versus national security safeguards. Whether you want to support or reject this executive order, it's important to be informed on what exactly this order states, and the implications of those statements for Americans as well as the people from the seven countries banned in the order: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Tucsonians can come to the Muslim Community Center of Tucson for an open forum on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. to hear lawyers who specialize in these areas discuss this executive order and what legal changes Americans could expect to see within the next four years. Isabel Garcia will make the opening remarks and moderate the discussion, Tarik Sultan will be leading the conversation on "immigration law in the Trump era," Thabet Khalidi in "Civil Rights and Wrongs," and Jose Vasquez in the "Use and misuse of criminal law against targeted minorities."

Don't let ignorance be your compass to your political decisions. It's your right as an American to think, believe and say whatever you choose, but your voice will be much more effective if you make the time and effort to ensure it's an educated one.

1,200 people. That's the number the police department says attended Tucson's "Resist Trump" rally in front of Senator McCain's office Tuesday evening. That follows 15,000 at the Tucson Women's March the day after the Inauguration, and a few other gatherings in between. I've participated in a number of street-side demonstrations, but this is the first I've attended in Tucson where the people were lined up at the curb five deep, with a bulge of 200-300 people in an area where people were speaking.

The crowd wasn't protesting McCain, especially since he's been something of an ally in the fight over the Muslim ban—though he has a bad habit of talking the talk, then wimping out when it's time to walk the walk (Stick with it, John. It's the right thing to do). Most of the signs and the emotions were directed at protecting the rights of Muslims and Hispanics who have every reason to fear for their safety and stability in the face of the pronouncements from Trump and his administration. The most frequent chant was, "No hate. No fear. Refugees are welcome here."

The rally is part of a national "Resist Trump" movement, and the plan is to make Tuesday the day people gather—#ResistTrumpTuesdays. Moveon.org, which is one of the groups coordinating the nationwide effort, held an hour-long call on Sunday updating listeners on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and efforts to fight against Trump's outrages.

You can see photos from rallies across the country here.